Objects That Will Spark Joy In Your Home

“Joy is a uniquely exuberant emotion, a high-energy form of happiness,” says Ingrid Fetell Lee. An expert in human-centric products and former design director, Lee is the author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. She believes in the “aesthetics of joy” – the idea that the forms of certain objects can have an enormous impact on our emotional wellbeing – and sermonizes on the benefits of creating living spaces that keep this principle in mind.

After years of Marie Kondo-inspired asceticism, our homes are becoming abundant and playful again. Shelves are filling with colorful Murano glassware and sculptural objets d’art. Tablescapes are dappled with pleasing combinations of candlesticks and hand-painted ceramics. We’re reintroducing display cabinets to house treasured collections gathered on travels, inherited from family or discovered in antique markets. Jubilant eclecticism is back on the agenda.

According to Lee, joy should be a central motivation when choosing what we live alongside. It’s a sentiment echoed by those in the interiors world who recognize the beautifully simple and personal nature of evoking the feeling. “Objects that spark joy are anything that brings out your curiosity and emotion,” says interior designer Anne McDonald. Rather than endlessly editing and refining our possessions, there is a growing appreciation for things that inspire wonder, provoke conversation or put smiles on our faces when we walk past them.

Lee asserts that certain forms, colors and arrangements tap into ancient psychological associations. One of the most obvious examples she gives is our attraction to curved and spherical forms. Evolution taught us to associate sharp edges with danger, so rounded shapes, by contrast, feel safer, softer and generally more approachable and lovely.

“If you look through my home, you’ll find a lot of objects with curves,” says Annie Meyers-Shyer, creator of This Oak House. “A rattan vase with curled handles, beautiful antique glazed bowls, a curvy stone bust, round sterling frames. I find that these rounded silhouettes naturally soften the corners of vintage side tables and dressers, and the sharper edges of collected books and framed artwork.”

Key pieces: Scandinavian designer Louise Roe’s celebrated draped vases will add a touch of swirling, arciform movement in glass to an otherwise subdued mantlepiece. Or opt for Fourth Street’s curious, egg-shaped chrome orbs, which are a wonderful conversation starter and lovely to the touch.

Color, says Lee, operates in much the same way as curves do. Moving away from the quiet luxury of greige tones such as Farrow & Ball’s beloved ‘Elephant’s Breath’, now is the time to look for hues that signal vitality and abundance. Butter yellow, tomato red and cobalt blue are slipping back into our homes. Think primary colored pouffes, brightly dyed placemats, stained glass and vibrant curiosities. Even your coffee table books should catch the eye.

“I love experimenting with color,” says interior designer McDonald, “I've paired blue vintage armchairs with a tomato red table lamp, dark woods and a bright purple Eames chair with pops of yellow and orange books, and placed colorful Murano glass objects below abstract art.”

Key pieces: Handblown Laguna~B glasses featuring painterly motifs will turn any drink into an occasion. Alternatively, a series of bright ceramic Loewe Perfumes candles will be a treat for the eyes as much as the nose.

Why keep all the joy for yourself, when you could bring friends into the gaiety?

There is nothing chicer than a home that intrigues its guests as well as satiates them. Think clusters of ceramics, cabinets filled with treasured curios, objects gathered over time and tablescapes that surprise and enchant diners as they eat. Multiplicity, according to Lee, suggests richness and possibility.

“I've been collecting antique marble mortars and bowls for years,” says interior designer Wendy Labrum, of the objects her guests always ask about, “they sit on kitchen shelves, coffee tables, and my most favorite ones get a spot on the dining table.”

Key pieces: Astier de Villatte and Sacai’s patchwork gold-plated ceramic salad bowls are an unusual nod to the Japanese art of kintsugi, and as beautiful as they are complex. Gohar World’s mother-of-pearl napkin rings will bring a bit of delicate, beachy double-entendre to anyone you seat. Why serve liquids in a simple jug, when you could offer it in a Natalia Criado silver and lapis lazuli art form?