How Homeware Became the New Handbag
I really had to check myself when I threw a mini tantrum after finding out my grandma gave away her amber-coloured Le Creuset set because it was too heavy for her to hold.
My first thought was, “It doesn’t matter if you can’t hold it, it’s a Le Crueset set! It’s an heirloom!” In fact, I’m still upset about it.
Can you imagine how amazing that would have been to own a Le Creuset set from decades ago?
Devastating.
But it did get me thinking about how the cultural shift from handbag to homeware happened, and what influenced it.
There was a time when the presence of a Dior Saddle swinging asymmetrically off your wrist was a symbol of success.
Now it’s the Mason Cash mixing bowl that rests between each wrist as you try your fifth attempt at making a decent Viccy Sponge
The conversation has moved from what labels you’ve been wearing to what tableware you’ve been setting. Not the Bottega logo on your tote, but the Baccarat crystal tumblers on the bar cart, along with the scent that lingers long after guests leave.
The Journey Here
It would be crazy not to go back to the pandemic with this one.
The biggest shift in our lifetime was when the world collapsed, and the home became our universe. The kitchen became our conference room, our therapy space and and social club.
The women who were once mastering PowerPoint presentations were suddenly fine-tuning their sourdough recipes, cooking with friends on Zoom, and who can forget banana bread mania?
And more recently, with the success of Meghan Markle’s Netflix hit, With Love, Meghan, which I thoroughly enjoyed ( although I still do not know where to purchase a Meyer lemon), showed that even our favourite royal rebel was now baking pies with friends and setting immaculate tables.
But despite what the forever-hating Markle Bandits claim, Meghan wasn’t playing house, she was redefining it.
Quite similar to the Martha Stewart documentary, which was an interesting and entertaining watch as she excelled at what society would deem late in life and still goes on to thrive well into her eighties, casually posting selfies from her gardens and hosting friends around her kitchen island.
These women didn’t come ‘domestic’, they became architects of what it meant to be ‘lifestyle’.
The Rise of the Trad Wife
We’ve all scrolled past Nara Smith blending her homemade nut milk in a silk slip and thought, “Is this performance art or soft dictatorship?” Did anyone else find something eerie about it?
Nevertheless, the rise of the ‘tradwife’ with Smith and Farm Girl Ballerina leading the phenomenon got everyone talking about a new, possible, cultural rebrand of submission disguised as sophistication.
This feminine domestic renaissance, which should have been something for those who are genuinely passionate about food, drink and the home, unfortunately took a dark turn once we realised we were being fed (excuse the pun) into the adjacent return of the fascist regime.
The internet has made the home look glamorous again, and if I’m honest, as someone who loves art and interior, I’m not entirely made at it, but we must ask: who’s really benefiting from that narrative?
The resurgence of the hyper-feminine domestic traditional wife with milk frothers, choreographed kitchens, and egg aprons walks a fine line between empowerment and performative regression.
There’s a creepy element of patriarchal control underneath all that beige marble and upside-down frowns.
This new domestic obsession mirrors history’s most strategic tool, keeping women busy.
Of course, it’s a little seductive, the ritual of table-setting, the visual pleasure of order. But when entire digital industries profit from women decorating instead of disrupting, we must stay awake.
Luxury can liberate. However, if you are not aware, it can also distract.
Home Became the Headquarters for Taste
But let’s not get lost in the gloom.
Not every woman buying Tom Dixon lighting or collecting Maison Balzac glassware is falling into a patriarchal trap.
Some of us are just evolving, fascinated by a different kind of artistry, one that outlasts trend cycles and fast fashion.
For many women, this shift toward homeware isn’t about regression. It’s about uncovering a new layer of our multifaceted selves.
We’ve entered an era where the same woman who once queued for the Saint Laurent Sac du Jour now finds herself studying marble veins, brass finishes, and the precise glow of a pendant light.
She’s watching Architectural Digest home tours like runway shows, visiting PAD London with the same curiosity she once reserved for Paris Fashion Week, and building Pinterest boards that feel like art galleries.
Somewhere between lockdown, social media, and the burnout of always being seen, women started finding comfort in being surrounded.
The appeal of homeware isn’t only aesthetic. It’s psychological. It’s stability, sensuality, and sovereignty expressed through space.
And maybe that’s the most exciting part of this new era, that women are no longer choosing between beauty and meaning. We’re creating spaces that hold both.
Finally
Homeware is less about excess and more about intentionality. A Sabre Paris chees knife isn’t a prop. It’s a reminder that you live by choice, not by chance.
When you start living like that, the energy of your environment sharpens your sense of self. Your home stops being a place you return to and becomes a reflection of a life you have chosen to curate.
The home has become our final form of storytelling. Every corner, every scent, every surface now speaks our language one of discernment, beauty, and discipline.
This isn’t about returning to the domestic sphere; it’s about reclaiming authorship over it.
Are you ready to live in luxury?
If you’re ready to design a home that mirrors the woman you’re becoming, not the woman you were raised to be, download the Living in Luxury Handbook and learn how to turn your space into your most powerful statement piece.
