Art as a stimulant

Last month, our team spent a fascinating afternoon at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge. Despite the excitable spring outing energy, we soon drifted off into quiet corners, drawn to objects and views that invited us to slow down and notice.

Once the home of Jim and Helen Ede, it’s a serene and truly remarkable place. A sequence of domestic rooms filled with art, natural light, and everyday things, arranged with astonishing care. It reminded us that good design is as much about feeling as form.

We found it peaceful, thoughtful, and moving too. The way objects are placed – a bright lemon on a pewter plate, shelves of plants in front of a window – changes how you see them. Nothing is labelled. The rooms invite you to slow down, look properly, and consider what it means to live with beauty and intention. We bumped into each other, drawn to point out objects and details that moved us.

Jim Ede used to open the house each afternoon to students. He and Helen even lent artworks to undergraduates to hang in their rooms. That spirit of generosity taught us something, as it has countless others. One day, we hope 19 St George’s Square, our home and studio, might open itself up in a similar way, helping to stimulate new points of view.

We came away alive with ideas, inspiration, and a renewed love of understated, intentional design… along with a hundred photos of stones in sunlight and collections of postcards that we’ll never bring ourselves to part with.