The Wind Down With Harriet Langsbury

This week on The Wind Down we chat with Harriet Langsbury, an Interiors & Product Stylist who has worked with a number of beautiful brands; from Seedlip and Fujifilm Instax, to LIHA Beauty.

You can take a look at Harriet’s work on her Instagram and website.

Harriet Langsbury | Photography by Darcie Judson

Home has never been more important, and whilst we can't visit in person, we'd love you to describe what we'd be seeing if we were visiting.

My partner and I renovated our red brick end terrace house ourselves in 2018, it took a lot of hard work, vision and the best part of a year to complete. We now live here with our golden retriever Ellie and rescue cat Nuisance.

We both love vintage and second-hand items, most of our home is kitted out with car boot and Facebook marketplace finds including our freestanding bath that was just £80. It would be so easy for us to fill the house with these lovely things but we’ve done our best to keep a sense of minimalism in each room whilst keeping the character of the house. We have a cosy living room with a log burner and an open plan kitchen/dining room with big bi-folding doors leading to the garden. We are so proud of our space and the fact that we did everything ourselves (with the help of family and friends) makes our home so much more special. 

Relaxed in Dove | Photography and styling by Harriet Langsbury

Have you found any small joys or silver linings in staying at home?

Modern technology is wonderful; I’ve managed to spend so much more time talking and spending time with loved ones than I normally would. It's so nice to take a break from the same four walls and catch up on FaceTime with my friends. We’ve also managed to do so much around the house, we’ve finally finished the garden and have also managed to spend a lot of time on our new renovation project that's just a street away.

I have volunteered with our local council to be a point of call for our neighbours if they are self-isolating and need anything. I’ve had so many beautiful messages from people thanking me for the kind gesture and even people offering their help. There is such a sense of community, and this alone is helping me get through.

Relaxed in Dove | Styling and photography by Harriet Langsbury

How are you finding winding down in the same place that you've spent your day?

I’m a freelance stylist and work from home part-time anyway, It’s always been hard to separate work life from home life especially now my partner is temporarily off work.

I’ve found that separating my spaces out has really helped, I work mostly from our kitchen table and within 'working hours' I do my best to turn it into a ‘work space’. I also make sure to stick to a routine, stop regularly for tea breaks and make sure to set strict working hours.

Relaxed in Dove | Styling and photography by Harriet Langsbury

Are there any products you've really found have helped during this period?

• Obviously, my Bedfolk bedding is offering so much comfort in these uncertain times. I’ve been sleeping in Relaxed in Dove.
• Galaxy’s new vegan chocolate is helping me get through those overwhelming periods. My mum tells me to always listen to Professor Lupin and eat a square of chocolate when things get too much.
• My sister gifted me a pair of Barner Screen glasses for when I’m working in front of the computer, they block out the harmful blue light, my sleep has improved since wearing them.
• I’ve recently subscribed to Vegan Bunny’s zero waste Monthly Tealight Subscription, I always have a candle burning and subscribing to this means that I cut down on so much unnecessary waste, not to mention how beautiful and strong each scent is.
• I’ve found that the stress of this situation has caused my skin to breakout. The Carbon Theory charcoal soap has helped me so much with this.

Relaxed in Dove | Styling and photography by Harriet Langsbury

Your favourite words of wisdom for this enforced downtime…

There's a beautiful quote by Ranier Maria Rilke that was used in my new favourite film JoJo Rabbit.

Let everything happen to you⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Beauty and terror⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Just keep going⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
No feeling is final

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I think about it often, It’s such a beautiful way of looking at things, especially this situation we are currently in. We will have all gained so much when we eventually overcome this, everyone has been able to step back, slow down and spend time with family and that's the most important thing.

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Home Comforts

The Music 

I’ve been working on my ‘Slow’ playlist for a while, it features a lot of Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, Anna Leone, Amy Winehouse and a little White Stripes.
 

The Scent 

Lavender essential oil is currently in my diffuser, it’s such a soothing scent to fall asleep to. 
 

The Meal

We’ve been making a lot of vegan comfort food from our favourite recipe book that I was gifted last year - ‘Vegan 100 by Gaz Oakley’. We are big fans of the mushroom burger. 
 

The Book 

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker, it's been recommended to me so many times and I’ve finally had the time to pick it up. 
 

The Series 

We’ve been binge-watching The Walking Dead for around a month now, we are halfway through and completely hooked.
 

WFH Uniform

You’ll always find me in one of my Olive Clothing knitted boxy jumpers, I have the same one in 4 colours! 

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Stay home, stay safe & take care of each other x 

We know not everyone is able to stay at home at the moment. We're teamed up with Dr.PAWPAW, Catherine Tough, Woods of Windsor, Nightire and Freya + Bailey to create some boxes of comfort for those on the front line. If you know a hero who deserves the gift of comfort, drop us an email to nominate them on hello@bedfolk.com.