Homing

Skye McAlpine on Hosting, Christmas & the Myth of Perfection at Home

For a special Christmas episode of Homing, I was invited into the home of cookery writer and ultimate host, Skye McAlpine. Skye is like a modern-day “Mother Christmas”. She was raised between London and Venice by parents who were great bon viveurs, and her childhood home was an open house, filled with guests, conversation and celebration. It’s there that she absorbed the idea that a home is meant for sharing – a philosophy she has carried into both her life and her work. If you follow Skye online, you’ll see that her kitchen is at the heart of everything she does; a space to cook and gather those she loves around one long table. For Skye, hosting is an expression of love, and choosing a favourite event is, in her words, “like choosing a favourite child”. The glamorous version of her life is only one side of the story. Skye also shows me the unseen, everyday moments of life at home. During our tour, she laughs about the dust that gathers on every surface, which makes her cough. We talk about insomnia, doomscrolling, introversion, and the importance of not letting the pressure to appear perfect stop you from putting yourself out there. This is an episode about place, belonging, childhood, and what it really means to make people feel at home. So before your Christmas dinners, I hope you give this episode a listen and absorb Skye’s wisdom for creating a table full of love. This episode was filmed in person at Skye’s London Victorian townhouse. – Matt To hear more from us: YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt [https://www.youtube.com/@HomingWithMatt], to watch the video version Instagram: @homingwithmatt [https://www.instagram.com/homingwithmatt/] TikTok: @homing.with.matt [https://www.tiktok.com/@homing.with.matt] Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com [hello@mattgibberd.com] Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496 [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496] Music by @simeonwalkermusic [https://www.instagram.com/simeonwalkermusic/] Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office  Produced by @podshoponline The full visualised home tour is available to our Patreon community. Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt [http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt] ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMatt]

Max Rollitt on Interior Decorating, Sentimentality & the Home as Autobiography

Max Rollitt is a highly respected interior decorator and antiques dealer. Extraordinary pieces pass through his hands every day, yet most of the objects he chooses to live with at home have little monetary value. Instead, they are tokens of respect and love. The conversation begins with Max’s childhood in Winchester, where he struggled at school because he processed information in images – something we’d now recognise as dyslexia. It’s this visual approach that is the foundation for a ‘Max Rollitt’ interior: decorating a home the way an artist composes a painting. Nowhere is that sensibility clearer than in his family farmhouse in the South Downs. Every piece of furniture and object has a story to tell: artworks from his sons, photographs of his wife, and handmade gifts from his mentors. During our private home tour, some of these objects even moved Max to tears.  We also talk about how to create a nurturing environment for creative children, the grounding effect of rural life and finding personal fulfilment through spirituality. This episode is about how the objects we surround ourselves with are more than aesthetic items – they are containers for people and experiences. This episode was recorded in person at Max’s farmhouse in the South Downs. – Matt An extended version of the tour is available to our Patreon community. Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt [http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt] To hear more from us: YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt [https://www.youtube.com/@HomingWithMatt], to watch the video version Instagram: @homingwithmatt [https://www.instagram.com/homingwithmatt/] TikTok: @homing.with.matt [https://www.tiktok.com/@homing.with.matt] Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com [hello@mattgibberd.com] Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496 [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496] Music by @simeonwalkermusic [https://www.instagram.com/simeonwalkermusic/] Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office  Produced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMatt]

Polly Morgan on Taxidermy, Family & Letting Things Go

Much like her taxidermy-based sculptures, Polly Morgan is an artist who delights in looking beneath the surface.  Her home in Camberwell is deliberately minimalist - a space viewers may recognise from Netflix’s Baby Reindeer. As she prepares to move out after 13 years, with most of her possessions already shipped off to the countryside, she reflects on the highs and lows of her time there.  Growing up in the Cotswolds, Polly’s childhood was characterised by watching animals die and by seeing her father dissect bodies to understand anatomy. Those early experiences formed her way of seeing, not as something morbid, but as a curiosity about life and its endings. Entirely self-taught, Polly has always worked slightly outside of artistic convention. She speaks about wanting to notice what most people overlook, to find the parts of things that are usually hidden. It’s with this same outlook that she talks about the loss of her sister and mother, and the decision to say goodbye to her city life as she prepares to return to the countryside. This is a conversation about artistic process, growing older, family, and learning what to hold on to and what to let go of. This episode was recorded in person at Polly’s home in Camberwell. To hear more from us: YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt [https://www.youtube.com/@HomingWithMatt], to watch the video version Instagram: @homingwithmatt [https://www.instagram.com/homingwithmatt/] TikTok: @homing.with.matt [https://www.tiktok.com/@homing.with.matt] Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com [hello@mattgibberd.com] For more content and exclusive walking tours: Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt [http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt] Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496 [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496] Music by @simeonwalkermusic [https://www.instagram.com/simeonwalkermusic/] Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office Produced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMatt]

Chris Packham on Neurodiversity, Safe Spaces & Finding Solace in Nature

Chris Packham has always fascinated me. As a broadcaster, naturalist, and conservationist, he’s helped millions connect with wildlife and the natural world through shows like BBC’s Springwatch – but sitting down with him in his home, I realised how much of his story is about creating refuge, both at home and within himself. In this deeply personal conversation, Chris speaks candidly about his childhood in Southampton, being diagnosed with autism in his forties, and how he has designed a home that helps him manage sensory sensitivities – ironically filled with furniture and artwork that is deliberately uncomfortable. He reflects on solitude versus loneliness and how nature provides safety, structure and healing when the human world feels overwhelming. It’s a conversation about finding comfort in discomfort, about refuge and resilience, and, above all, about what it means to feel at home in the world. It’s also one of the most memorable episodes I’ve ever recorded.  This episode was recorded in person at Chris' home in the New Forest. To hear more from us: YouTube: Subscribe to our channel Homing with Matt [https://www.youtube.com/@HomingWithMattGibberd], to watch the video version Instagram: @homingwithmatt [https://www.instagram.com/homingwithmatt/] TikTok: @homing.with.matt [https://www.tiktok.com/@homing.with.matt] Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com [hello@mattgibberd.com] For more content and exclusive walking tours: Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt [http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt] Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496 [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496] ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMatt]

Homing With Matt Gibberd

The Homing podcast explores the importance of home in shaping who we are.   Join Matt Gibberd, author and co-founder of The Modern House, as he takes listeners inside the homes of inspiring guests to examine what really happens inside our walls – how they influence our emotions, creativity and sense of self.   Featuring leading voices from art, film, wellbeing and beyond, Homing is a thoughtful journey into remarkable homes and the minds that shape them.    Be prepared for tears, laughter, and everything in between. "The Best Podcasts To Listen To" – Vogue  Homing is produced by Podshop, with music by Simeon Walker. Homing is an independent podcast and operates as a separate venture from The Modern House Limited. While Matt Gibberd is a co-founder of The Modern House, all opinions expressed on Homing are solely those of the host and his guests. To hear more from us: YouTube: Subscribe to our channel Homing with Matt Gibberd [https://www.youtube.com/@HomingWithMattGibberd], to watch the video version Instagram: @homingwithmatt [https://www.instagram.com/homingwithmatt/] TikTok: @homing.with.matt [https://www.tiktok.com/@homing.with.matt] Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com [hello@mattgibberd.com] For more content and exclusive walking tours: Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt [http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt] Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496 [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496] Music by @simeonwalkermusic [https://www.instagram.com/simeonwalkermusic/] Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office  Produced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMatt]