⚠️Warning: This Question Might Turn You Into a Nosey Neighbour
Newsletter #12
Flipping houses
A couple of years ago, my two children really needed their own space, the odds of them killing each other were rising by the day. The only way to make another bedroom was by flipping my house upside down. With a sprinkle of brilliance from my friend Anna,1 we now have our bedrooms downstairs and living area upstairs, complete with a cliché post divorce pink kitchen,2 overlooking my East London street.
The impact from this shift has been just as I expected in some ways, sleeping in the darker part of the house is much more relaxing, it’s easier for my children to have friends over and to shout at each other to “get out of my room.” My pink kitchen gives me joy every single day, but what has been totally unexpected is how it’s giving us all a new sense of connection to our neighbourhood.
We now notice, and giggle, every time someone stops to have their photo taken next to an admittedly cool green vintage sports car, which feels like a local celebrity. We can wave at our neighbours and the kids can shout out the window to their friends whenever they pass. When my neighbour Ashley had a huge turf delivery I was able to leap into good neighbour mode and help her haul it through her house. There is a whole world out there happening that we just couldn’t see when our living area was on the lower floor.
A new viewpoint or perspective has literally and figuratively changed how I view and interact with my street. Which brings me to …
This week's question:
Why this question?
Do you remember that brilliant ad for The Guardian newspaper, where a young guy appears to mug an older man? And then the camera zooms out and you see he's actually saving him from falling bricks? (I’ve added the link below3 if you’re not a child of the '80s child and have no idea what I’m talking about).
I loved that ad because it showed how often we are living with such narrow view that we get things wrong often. We’ve invented tools for seeing the stars or tiny cells but where are the tools for seeing our own blind spots? For spotting hidden consequences? There’s no easy, everyday way to shift perspective. And that’s exactly where unintended impact sneaks in.
This is a question to help us to spot patterns, people or consequences we’d otherwise miss. And in doing so shifting perspectives helps us connect with others on a deeper level4 and build confidence in decision-making,
“When you look at situations from multiple angles, you're not just being open-minded – you're actually strengthening your brain's decision-making circuits!
Research shows that people who regularly practice viewing situations from different perspectives have more active neural connections in their prefrontal cortex”5
How to use this week's question:
Try out a new perspective this week, not just to see differently, but to learn something you might have missed.
Take one business idea or decision you’ve been working on and imagine it from the point of view of someone completely different in your ecosystem. Look out for the overlooked maybe something they’d find confusing or frustrating or wonderful.
Physically shift your view. Sit somewhere new whilst you work or go full child mode and hang upside down off the sofa. (Seriously, it’s weirder and better than it sounds.) Notice what shifts in how you see your space and if it nudges your thinking too.
Reach out to someone you don’t usually connect with. A supplier, a peer, or maybe a neighbour - it might spark a new relationship or reveal something that was hiding in plain sight.
Keep questioning,
P.S. If you do end up hanging upside down from the sofa this week, please send photographic evidence. AND bonus points if you’re holding a cup of tea.
Inspiration & Credits:
I hope giving some distance between sources and their links frees you from ending up in an unintended rabbit hole! If you’re interested though - click away!
Here’s Anna’s website if you’re ever in need of any interior design magic.
The Sunday Times, ‘The rise and rise of divorce interior design’ 11/04/2025 - this is paywalled apologies.
‘Points of View’ Guardian Ad 1986