Ele Cooper peeks inside her neighbours’ front rooms – all in the name of research, of course.
I love nothing more than walking home in October. There’s a refreshing crispness to the air, the leaves are ablaze with the fiery hues of autumn and, most importantly of all, now that it’s getting darker earlier I am doing the walk at the precise time when people have their lights on but haven’t yet shut their curtains.
But before you write me off as a creepy peeping Tom, let me clarify one thing: it’s not the people I’m interested in, it’s their homes. In this line of work, one develops a borderline unhealthy obsession with how people choose to decorate, and when the opportunity arises to peek inside a perfect stranger’s house, it’s very hard to turn down. The fact that I can walk past scores of seemingly identical terraced properties and yet none of them (or at least none of those with the lights on) mirrors another in decor or furnishings is a source of endless fascination to me. Yup, my name’s Ele and I’m a home-a-holic. And a little bit nosey.
One of my neighbours has an amazing pair of bookends in her front room and last night I had to concentrate really hard on carrying on walking down the street rather than knocking on her door to ask where she got them from. A young lad further up the road, meanwhile, appears to have something of an obsession with weight-training and gym-related paraphernalia – unsurprisingly, this has proved to be less envy-inducing and more the kind of space I pray to God I’ll never have to smell.
My favourite property so far has got to be the enchanting spot on the corner. On the rare occasion the venetian blinds’ slats are tilted at optimum long-distance spying angle (I haven’t yet resorted to nose-to-window tactics), I am able to glimpse what can only be described as a Moroccan wonderland.
It takes real commitment to properly theme a room, and where most of us would be content adding a couple of sparkly cushions and an exotic-looking light fitting, Mrs Marrakech (as I have come to call the resident) has really gone to town, using earthy hues on the walls, a gorgeous carved chest for a coffee table and a frankly ingenious combination of mixed-level lighting and pretty coloured trinkets to achieve the sort of effect that I wouldn’t be surprised to see featured in a glossy magazine.
Thus far I have managed to resist grabbing Mrs Marrakech’s arm as she takes out the rubbish and imploring her to teach me her interior design secrets, not least for fear of receiving a restraining order. Instead, I have channelled my admiration into a one-woman mission to track down the loveliest Moroccan-inspired homeware and furniture on the market, and I have to say I’ve come up with some stunning results. So, this one’s for you Mrs Marrakech – thanks for giving me the idea. Oh, and you might want to look at the John Lewis cushions – they would go marvellously with your sofa…
Have you been inspired by seeing inside another person’s house? Let us know in the comment box.
