“I want to swap toxic politics and the anxieties induced by social media for reliability and kindness. Indeed, Laura is the editor of The Evening Standard’s ES Magazine, meaning she is constantly surrounded by the dizzying whirl of the news cycle. “When the world feels uncertain and unwieldy our instinct is to control what we can, and revert to our own cosy personal environments.” “I think getting older and shifting priorities can be a contributing factor but regardless of age, the winter months encourage us to hibernate,” she says. When the world feels uncertain and unwieldy our instinct is to control what we can, and revert to our own cosy personal environments. “I think at one time it was all about the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and now it’s about JOMO (Joy of Missing Out)” says Laura. From clothing and crafting to food and films to the bigger themes of kindness and generosity, Laura’s book gives us the chance to take stock and find comfort in the everyday. In her new book, Cosy: The British Art of Comfort, Laura Weir celebrates the essentially British cultural quirk of ‘cosiness’ which is so intrinsically linked to being at home. But more than anything, it’s the stories which unfold within a home which make it a place of comfort. But it’s about choosing things you really love, things which make being at home an even more pleasurable and comfortable experience – whether they come from a luxurious department store or a car boot sale. That’s not to say that beauty isn’t important when creating a home. That is what really matters – much more than nice cushions or designer wallpaper. To have somewhere that we can truly be ourselves and be loved and accepted just as we are, is something we all – on a human level – aspire to. But the universally accepted definition of a home is of it being a safe, secure and permanent place to call your own. It can just as easily be a person as a place.

What does ‘home’ mean to you? It’s a loaded word which can mean many things to different people.

Cosy the british art of comfort