Olivia Attwood thought her new London apartment was cursed. Months later, she says the curse has been lifted – after she turned to feng shui and sage-d the entire space.
‘I did a lot of reading on feng shui,’ she says. ‘Basically, I sage-d the apartment.’
Olivia moved into the apartment following the end of her marriage, but quickly sensed that something was off. ‘I'm a big believer in energy and I just felt at that time my energy was quite chaotic. There was a lot going on,’ she says.
Looking for a solution, Olivia turned to the ancient Chinese practice of feng shui. For her, this meant having no mirrors at the end of her bed and no knives on display in her home. ‘I sage-d the whole apartment because I was worried that it had bad energy, but I think the energy was me,’ she says. ‘Touch wood, it’s been all fine since.’
Speaking to Olivia following her recent partnership with SharkNinja, we discuss her decorating style, the Zara Home item she always gets compliments on and whether or not her interiors style clashes with boyfriend Pete Wicks'. Here's what she had to say...
You moved into a new flat in London earlier this year. How's that feeling?
It might surprise people but I'm not great with change. I like familiarity – I’m a typical Taurus, and so it took a moment to adjust. Now, though, I’ve got to a place where it feels like home. I’m creating new memories.
How’s the decorating going?
I’m in a very modern apartment so it’s really a case of furnishing it. It feels very homely. I call it hotel vibes – quite neutral, quite warm.
You can often tell a lot about a person from their apartment. Does your decorating style clash with Pete's or are you quite harmonious?
We don’t live together, but I think that across the board, we have quite a similar style when it comes to clothing and interiors. We're quite aligned on that, which is a good thing, I think.
Have you made any decorating mistakes over the years?
I wouldn't say it's a mistake because I think it was of the time, but in my very first home where I lived alone, I had a crushed velvet sofa and a crystal chandelier. You look back and you absolutely want to vomit, but at the time, it was very on brand.
What about your childhood home? Has it influenced how you decorate now?
My mum was always into interiors, and she created a very beautiful space for us to grow up in. Whilst she was quite particular about what she liked in the house, she let us have our bedrooms exactly how we wanted them and let us be really creative.
For quite a few years, I had this hot pink bedroom. My walls were fuchsia pink, I had posters up. Looking back, it's like it was an absolute ******* eyesore.
Were pink walls your way of expressing yourself as a teenager?
It was like pink threw up in my room. I had Playboy bedsheets and, anyone who's the same age as me will remember that whole era. Everything was fluffy. There were fairy lights around my bed. It was absolutely just what I would hate to have now.
Did you say Playboy bedsheets?
They were pink and had a massive symbol of the Playboy bunny on the sheet. I also had their matching cushions. I remember everyone wanted them but none of my friends were allowed. Obviously, I was innocent to what the connection was. I just thought it was cool.
You remember the Regina George bedroom in Mean Girls? That was very similar to what my bedroom was like.
And the pink is all gone now?
I think that I outgrew it and probably realised that it was not a good combination for someone with a hyperactivity disorder. It was probably why I didn't sleep for the first like 20 years of my life.
When you go shopping now, what’s your favourite homeware store?
I love Oka – I’ve got a lot of their pieces in the house. I also love John Lewis. My electrics are Ninja. I just think they are like the best on the market for what they do.
I also like The White Company and Jonathan Adler for those fun pieces.
You have a new partnership with Shark Ninja. What was the thinking behind the campaign?
The whole campaign is based around this idea of out with the old and in with the new, and that made sense for me. The Ninja CRISPi microwave is a great product and a great innovation – so all around, it felt like a very obvious collaboration.
Speaking of shopping, have you found any great steals recently?
People ask me all the time online about my dog beds and recently, I've always got my dog beds from Zara Home. They’re not super expensive, but everyone says that they look like they are.
