Why am I obsessed with interior design when I'm years off buying a home?

Originally published January 2020

If you're also partial to #instahome, #interiordesign and #kitchensofinstagram, I hear you, I see you...and I'm fully with you.

"Babe, these are the windows I want - are you looking? The slightly curved ones that look like they should be in a place of worship; look at how the light fills the space”. You’d be forgiven for thinking I’m about to embark on the rewarding task of building my own house; a homeowner, or even on the lookout for property. But in my mid-twenties, living in London and about £30,000 away from a deposit, the likelihood of that is the same as Rihanna hand-delivering me her long-awaited new album and us becoming best friends - so likely right? I don’t know what it is, but I am obsessed with property and homeware; even having the absolute gall to criticise homes I see in estate agent windows that are far beyond anything I could dream of affording - another monochrome colour scheme with crushed grey velvet and diamanté appliqués? How original. Old house with a poky kitchen? I could knock through that wall, build an island and paint the kitchen cabinets a bold colour – Bobby Berk would be so proud. Even though I’m aware that my fascination and deep interest in anything house-related is ridiculous bearing in mind it will probably take me another 25 years before I can afford a house in Zone 3, I just can’t help myself - looking at Victorian free standing baths and working out which Farrow & Ball paint I’ll use in the hallway seems to soothe me.

“Another monochrome colour scheme with crushed grey velvet and diamanté appliqués? How original.”

While I chuck £4,000 into an ISA every year and hope the housing market collapses, I'll let myself dream. Sure, binge-watching Grand Designs, George Clarke's Old House New Home and The Restoration Man (Channel 4 have the creme de la creme of property shows) might set me up for unattainable goals when I eventually purchase my first home (it's got to be a five-bedroom townhouse with period features or I'm not having it); it's a pleasant escape from the depressing reality of the housing crisis. And if overloading my Pintrest boards and buying the occasional succulent slightly quenches my thirst for home-ownership, I will indulge myself.