heiter speaks to the idea of finding happiness through intentional living. Approaching the way we live and create mindful displays in our homes can become a gentle invitation to do exactly that.

When I style a table, I don’t begin with objects. I begin with a feeling: how do I want to feel when I sit here?

Calm, inspired, restored… this becomes the thread that quietly ties everything together.

For this coffee table setting, I’ve kept things simple and within reach. A pretty glass bottle is repurposed to hold cuttings from the garden - a resplendent magnolia tree and a little clematis that’s just starting to climb; a nod to the idea of blooming. There’s something grounding about bringing in what’s just outside your door or plucked from a pathway or nearby hedge, it softens the space instantly.

Around it, a few thoughtful elements create both beauty and purpose:
- a favourite magazine, ready to dip into.
- a notebook and pen for capturing passing thoughts.
- a shell to hold incense, a small ritual if the moment calls for it.
- a tiny tray with a few meaningful objects.
- a candle to light as the day begins to soften.

The materials do their own quiet work: glass catches the light, marble reflects it. Brass warms it, forever jewellery for the tableau. Linen and sheepskin on the seating nearby add a softness that balances the shine.

Nothing is crowded. There is space to place a cup of tea. To rest, to pause… to just “be” for a moment.

That balance is important. A coffee table should feel considered but never precious. It’s there to be lived with, used, reset, and styled again.

If you have a busy household, this might look different. You might keep a basket beneath for books, papers or everyday essentials. The notebook handy for a spontaneous game of hangman or noughts and crosses. The key is not perfection, but intention. Even a small surface can hold a sense of order and calm.

I often think of styling as a form of meditation. A quiet editing. A moment to notice what you’re drawn to, what feels right, what can be taken away.

And perhaps that’s the real purpose of a coffee table – not just to hold things, but to hold a mood. A small, everyday space that reflects how you want to feel, and gently brings you back to it.

Emily Chalmers is the founder of Caravan Style, a blend of interior styling, an online shop and Sea Tower, a creative coastal location. She offers 1:1 consultations, working with clients to gently unravel styling dilemmas, refine spaces and bring a renewed sense of clarity and direction.

Her work is rooted in an instinctive, thoughtful approach, creating environments that feel as good as they look and invite calm, creativity and connection. Sea Tower, both family home and shoot location, is an evolving expression of this, designed to inspire and adapt.

Explore more at www.caravanstyle.com and @caravanstyle

“Homecoming” can have different shapes and forms. This is also something Costa Rican glass artist Juli Bolaños-Durman explored when creating La Casita—“the wee house”, her new home and creative anchor. Designed in close collaboration with Architecture Office, the Edinburgh-based project brings together colour, curiosity, and conscious making, resulting in a space that feels both deeply personal and quietly radical in its approach to reuse.

Known for transforming discarded glass into joyful, sculptural pieces, Juli approaches her work with a sense of care for the overlooked and a fascination with imperfection. That same philosophy runs throughout La Casita. Every room is shaped by resourcefulness—materials reclaimed, repurposed, and given new life—while still honouring the character of the Victorian building beneath.

Architecture Office, led by Alexander Mackison, embraced this ethos from the outset. Rather than imposing a fixed aesthetic, the design evolved through a “material-first” process, letting found objects, offcuts, and reclaimed elements guide decisions. The result is a home that feels intuitive and lived-in, crafted through collaboration with local makers who share the same reverence for craft.

At the heart of the flat sits a bespoke kitchen built by Studio Silvan almost entirely from surplus timber. A gradient of Brown Oak, Oak, Cherry, Douglas Fir, and Ash forms a gentle patchwork—each species celebrated for its natural tone and texture. Even the internal carcasses are formed from repurposed Valchromat, revealing flashes of colour behind the refined fronts. It’s a space that feels warm and tactile, a quiet celebration of sustainable Scottish craftsmanship.

Stone, too, plays a playful role. Offcuts supplied by Britannicus Stone—Frosterley, Ledmore, Swaledale Fossil and Stoneycombe—have been arranged according to the sizes they arrived in, creating a joyful, almost puzzle-like surface language across the home. In the living room, a forgotten firebox led to the creation of a sculptural mantelpiece: three rescued slabs from local mason AB Mearns, assembled into a monolithic, almost totemic form. With raw edges intentionally left exposed, the fireplace becomes a grounding point—a moment of honesty within the room.

The palette stays gentle. Walls painted in Little Greene’s Re:mix range provide a soft background that lets Juli’s vibrant objects shine. But there are bursts of joy, too: a corridor painted a striking, sunny yellow, inspired by the Cortez Amarillo tree from Juli’s hometown. It casts warmth into the surrounding rooms, softening the Victorian bones and anchoring the space with a sense of home.

True to Juli’s practice, La Casita is also a living gallery—a place where her collected treasures, from glassware to ceramics, can be arranged and rearranged. As she describes it, “These everyday items surround and inspire me, each one a beautifully humble moment.”

More than a renovation, La Casita is a conversation—between artist, architect, and the community of makers who contributed. It’s a reminder that originality doesn’t need to come from newness. Beauty can be coaxed from what’s already around us, waiting to be noticed. Architecture Office’s Alexander Mackison reflects this spirit well: “The project became an exercise in composition and balance… allowing the materials to speak for themselves.”

In its quiet, joyful way, La Casita poses a gentle challenge: to look again at what we discard, to value local surplus, and to open ourselves to the possibilities in reuse. It’s a home shaped with compassion and ingenuity—a small, bright example of how thoughtful design can nurture both the everyday and the extraordinary.

How to style a coffee table for calm moments at home

La Casita: a colourful, considered home for glass artist Juli Bolaños-Durman