Interior designer Tricia Guild shares how to create a happy home – with life’s simple pleasures

The Queen of Color, Tricia Guild OBE, is a British designer and the founder and Creative Director of Designers Guild – a globally-renowned home and lifestyle company. 

Tricia is admired for her ingenious injections of color and pattern that have enriched homes worldwide, but she is also a master at stripping homes back to basics. Yes, despite her kaleidoscopic signature, Tricia teaches us that the secret to a happy home lies in life’s simplest pleasures – from a single garden flower to a scented candle on the dinner table. 

See: Interior design tips – decorating secrets for the world's top experts

Tricia Guild's tips to a creating a happy home

Speaking recently to Homes & Gardens in our podcast, The Well-Crafted Life, Tricia shares how she celebrates life’s natural pleasures to create a home that looks good but also sparks happiness through everyday routines. 

Naturally, we were taking notes on everything the Designers Guild founder had to say. 

1. Allow your memories to shape your interiors

When designing, Tricia firstly looks at memories – what we can learn from them – and how we can pay homage to them throughout our homes. 

‘We all have [memories]; we just have to find them and not be fearsome of them,’ Tricia says. She adds that there is so much fear in selecting what to bring into our home, which is a shame because we can draw energy from our memories on a daily basis.

Tricia continues, sharing an example of how her home changed after returning from Japan: ‘I became much more contemporary,’ she begins. ‘I appreciated what they were doing. It was a more minimal way of looking at one’s space. Do I need to have great big bunches of flowers? No, I could have maybe one, two, or three. It just changed something, and that’s what I love about traveling.’

See: Living room ideas – inspiring ways to decorate and furnish your space

2. Enrich your senses with simple decorations

Tricia continues in her discussion of flowers to encourage us to focus on the small yet joyous pleasures that fill our homes with personal pockets of happiness.

‘I’m not talking about spending fortunes here. I go into the garden, and in the summer, I have scented geraniums. I am keeping those leaves going. Just a few leaves or one bunch of narcissus, and suddenly there’s a scent of those beautiful spring flowers. I’m not saying that this is a luxurious thing – it is about care and thought,’ Tricia says. 

3. Find happiness in a simple routine 

Similarly, Tricia urges us to elevate our everyday routines with uncomplicated pleasures, such as a scented candle or some beautiful leaves. 

'Suddenly you come into a space, and it feels alive. It feels welcoming. It is an effort, and in a way, it’s cooking from proper ingredients,’ she shares. Tricia continues, suggesting we find a ‘sense of occasion’ in these domestic routines – including cooking and dressing the table. 

‘All of those things are really important, and it can bring a sense of occasion. A meal, to me, is a sense of occasion,’ she adds. 

See: Dining room ideas – inspiration for decorating and furnishing your space

We need no further encouragement to celebrate the every day. For more expert tips and tricks, pick up one of Tricia's books, where you can browse some of her finest designs in one place.