Nested Living

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Nested Living Based in Oxfordshire

Creating interiors, bespoke furniture, kitchens and crafted pieces that enrich life- honouring nature through design and craftsmanship to nurture people, places and the planet.

At Decorex, our co-founder Helen joined Kerryn Harper-Cuss and Mirry Christie to explore nature, nurture and how our sur...
15/10/2026

At Decorex, our co-founder Helen joined Kerryn Harper-Cuss and Mirry Christie to explore nature, nurture and how our surroundings affect us.

From the influence of light, colour and sensory experience on our brains and bodies, to neurodivergence, healthier materials and the wider impact of our design choices.

One of the strongest messages was that small changes can make a difference. But we also need to ask bigger questions.

At Nested Living, our purpose is Design for Life.

For us, that means understanding the nature of the people we’re designing for, the place we’re working within and the materials we choose.

Where have those materials come from? How do they affect our health? What relationships and resources have gone into making them? And what happens to them next?

We are part of nature, not separate from it. The health of people and the health of the living world are connected.

Good design isn’t just about how a space looks. It’s about how it supports life.

We’ve shared more reflections from the discussion in our latest stories article on our website.

Read Beyond Beautiful: Nature, Nurture and the Wider Potential of Interior Design via the link in our bio.

Thank you Decorex International | Europe’s Luxury Interior Design Show , Kerryn Harper-Cuss Diana Blanchard & Kerryn Harper-Cuss B•ABLE Christie.

13/10/2026

Do you know what’s really inside your sofa?

Most of us don’t. We choose furniture for its appearance, comfort and price, trusting that the materials manufacturers use are safe. We probably haven’t even considered that some might contain harmful chemicals.

In this video, our upholsterer Delyth shows us what’s inside an everyday chair.

Much of our modern upholstered furniture contains polyurethane foam, a plastic derived from petrochemicals. It’s cheap, versatile and easy to manufacture, but it can also contain chemical flame retardants added to meet UK fire safety requirements.

Delyth has spent years campaigning to change these regulations, working with scientists, government and the upholstery industry to make it possible to produce fire-safe furniture without relying on potentially harmful chemical treatments.

And this matters not just for the people living with these materials, but for those manufacturing and working with them, and for the wider environment.

We’re currently working with a client who has significant chemical sensitivities and wants to avoid plastics and potentially harmful substances in their home. We’re reconsidering flooring and reupholstering existing furniture, looking carefully at what’s inside as well as what’s visible.

At Nested Living, understanding the origins, composition and impacts of materials is fundamental to how we design and make.

But surely everyone should be able to know what’s in the furniture they bring into their homes?

We shouldn’t have to become experts in chemistry to make informed choices about the things we live with every day.

Thank you for the work you’re doing to bring these issues to light and help change the industry.

IndoorAirQuality DesignForLife

A tree is more than a tree.It is shaped by the place in which it grows. By soil, water, weather and the life around it.I...
08/10/2026

A tree is more than a tree.

It is shaped by the place in which it grows. By soil, water, weather and the life around it.

Its grain and markings carry something of that story.

We’re delighted to have our work featured in the wood issue of the Journal of Biophilic Design.

At Redstones, we gave 200-year-old oak, salvaged from a nearby barn, a new life within the home.

For us, designing with wood is about more than bringing natural materials indoors. It’s about understanding where they come from, valuing what already exists and considering how they might continue to be part of our lives for generations.

A different way of seeing materials, and our relationship with the living world. Photographer: Jon | Interior Photographer Journal of Biophilic Design

Did we close the loop? Or what became possible because we went around it?Our co-founder Helen was invited to speak at th...
07/10/2026

Did we close the loop? Or what became possible because we went around it?

Our co-founder Helen was invited to speak at the OISD Annual Conference at Oxford Brookes, exploring innovation for a sustainable built environment.

Her talk, Circularity Beyond the Loop asked what happens when we look beyond the material loop itself. How do we retain the value of the materials and products already around us? What relationships, skills and infrastructure make those loops possible? And what could our design decisions enable, beyond reducing impact?

The afternoon opened up wider conversations around climate adaptation, overheating, healthier buildings, adaptive reuse, and how research and innovation make their way into practice.

We were particularly interested in the work of HEARTH and its systems-thinking, people-centred approach to net zero, health and extreme heat. As conditions change, buildings can’t be treated as a set of separate problems to solve.

Helen also joined the closing panel on knowledge exchange and real-world impact, discussing the practical barriers to getting good ideas into practice — from funding and match-funding to earlier collaboration and better connections between research, industry and practice.

There is no shortage of knowledge or ideas. The challenge is creating the conditions that allow them to develop and make a difference in the real world.

Thank you to the OISD team for inviting Helen to be part of the afternoon.

Oxford Brookes University

Beyond Beautiful: Why nature and nurture are the future foundations of healthier homesSunday, October 11, 2026 4:00 PM t...
21/09/2026

Beyond Beautiful: Why nature and nurture are the future foundations of healthier homes

Sunday, October 11, 2026 4:00 PM to 4:45 PM · Decorex.
Visual aesthetics only skim the surface of the full potential of interior design. As our understanding of health, wellbeing and sustainability evolves, so too does our discenment of the far-reaching and positive impacts of good design. The most forward-thinking designers are recognising the value of creating spaces that support both people and planet, responding to a growing demand for interiors that are as healthy as they are beautiful.
Kerryn Harper-Cuss, Helen Gordon (our co-founder) and Mirry Christie explore how neuroscience, healthier materials and regenerative thinking are the future of interior design, and how a deeper consideration of the relationship between human physiology, materials and place is creating spaces that not only inspire, but actively help us thrive.

This one-off dining table was made from London plane that once grew in Kensington Palace Gardens, sourced through Fallen...
09/09/2026

This one-off dining table was made from London plane that once grew in Kensington Palace Gardens, sourced through Fallen & Felled.

For us, provenance matters. Knowing where a material has come from creates a connection to the place that provided it and allows its story to continue.

We retained the distinctive grain, markings and natural variation of the London plane, allowing the character of the tree to remain visible in the finished table.

Now it has another life, a table to gather around, live with and care for. A piece that carries the story of one place into the life of another.

Designed and made in our Oxfordshire workshop. Photographer: Jon | Interior Photographer

Fallen & Felled

Some things are made to belong and made to last.Our work at The Old Orchard spans two chapters of the home’s story, firs...
03/09/2026

Some things are made to belong and made to last.

Our work at The Old Orchard spans two chapters of the home’s story, first making fitted furniture for the Gresford family and later being invited back by its new owners.

For the new wardrobes, solid English walnut was chosen to sit alongside furniture they already owned and loved. Behind the details is the same care: glueless construction, low-VOC materials and furniture designed with longevity and future adaptability in mind.

Because circularity begins long before something reaches the end of its life. It begins with how we design, what we choose to make from, and whether what we create is made to be valued and kept.

Designed and made in our Oxfordshire workshop. Photographer: Jon | Interior Photographer Architect: Tom Gresford

We’re delighted to have been shortlisted for Responsible Interiors Brand at the Future Icons Awards 2026.For us, respons...
02/09/2026

We’re delighted to have been shortlisted for Responsible Interiors Brand at the Future Icons Awards 2026.

For us, responsible design goes beyond reducing harm. It means considering the whole life of what we create. Where materials come from, how things are made, how long they will last and what happens to them in the future, as well as the health and vitality of the people, places and wider living systems our work becomes part of.

Ultimately, it’s about designing for the long-term vitality of people, place and the living world.

We’re really pleased to have this approach recognised.

Design for Life. Together.

Country & Town House

We’ve started asking where our food comes from.Who grew it. How it was made. What’s in it.But we rarely ask the same abo...
22/04/2026

We’ve started asking where our food comes from.
Who grew it. How it was made. What’s in it.

But we rarely ask the same about the things around us
in our homes, workplaces, and shared spaces.

A table. A counter. A piece of joinery.
Where did the material come from?
Who made it?
How was it put together?

Every piece of timber passes through many hands —
from the tree, to the workshop, to the place it lives.

And along the way, something else is passed on too:
care… or a lack of it.

Because the real difference isn’t just how something looks.
It’s how it was made and whether that process respected
people, materials, and place.

“When you choose something made with care,
you’re not just buying an object.
You’re becoming part of its story.”

And that’s what makes something worth keeping.

A simple question to ask:
Do I know where this came from?

designforlife madewithcare.

We’ve started asking where our food comes from.Who grew it. How it was made. What’s in it.But we rarely ask the same abo...
22/04/2026

We’ve started asking where our food comes from.
Who grew it. How it was made. What’s in it.

But we rarely ask the same about the things around us —
in our homes, workplaces, and shared spaces.

A table. A counter. A piece of joinery.
Where did the material come from?
Who made it?
How was it put together?

Every piece of timber passes through many hands —
from the tree, to the workshop, to the place it lives.

And along the way, something else is passed on too:
care… or a lack of it.

Because the real difference isn’t just how something looks.
It’s how it was made and whether that process respected
people, materials, and place.

“When you choose something made with care,
you’re not just buying an object.
You’re becoming part of its story.”

And that’s what makes something worth keeping.

A simple question to ask:
Do I know where this came from?

designforlife madewithcare

Address

Lockwood Farm
Abingdon
OX143ES

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+447767828048

Website

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