08.12.2025

Journal Talks Interiors with Alice Ekberg Betts

If you’ve ever spent time in the Nordics, you know how deeply the seasons shape us. The long, grey winters and the fleeting blaze of summer light seep into our conversations, our moods, and our homes.

As we move toward the darkest month of the year, we turn inward, seeking the quiet rituals of space. In this new series, we step inside the interior worlds of curators and creatives who inspire us, people whose homes mirror not just their aesthetics but also their sensibilities.

Welcome to Journal Talks Interiors, an ongoing exploration of the people, spaces, and ideas that define our collective sense of beauty and, hopefully, offer a touch of inspiration for your own hibernation season.

PR and creative consultant Alice Ekberg Betts works with fashion and beauty brands but finds her equilibrium somewhere between Feng Shui and Snoopy, vintage Charlotte Perriand and modern minimalism.

You’ll find Betts on Substack, where she muses on Swedish Grace, chats with creatives like Stephanie Broek of Vogue NL, and opens a window into her unmistakable sense of taste.

For her, home isn’t a backdrop, it’s an energy field, a mirror of feeling. She believes that objects carry echoes of what they’ve witnessed: love, laughter, loss, and tiny imprints of living.

JT: How do you bring your sense of style into your home?

Alice: My style is quite classic but always with a little twist, something surprising, a touch of fun, or femininity. I invest in a few designer pieces that really resonate with me, then mix them with one-of-a-kind vintage finds and new, young designers. My home mirrors that balance, classic intertwined with playful, color with calm.

How do you define home, place, feeling, or self-expression?

For me, home has always been a feeling. I grew up moving between countries, so I learned to create home through small details: books, family photos, candles, and blankets. These familiar anchors, and the people I love, my husband, family, and close friends, always make me feel grounded.

Do rooms absorb energy?

Most definitely. I’m an empath and can sense the mood of a space immediately. A room that’s been loved and nurtured for feels and looks different from one that’s been neglected. I believe in Feng Shui and try to keep my home harmonious, avoiding clutter, burning palo santo in the morning and before bed, opening windows, and moving furniture. Small rituals that reset the energy.

Is there an object you’d never part with, not for beauty, but for its story?

I would never part with the framed vintage 60s mirror of Snoopy my husband bought for me. It has Snoopy in an armchair and the text “This has been a good day!” I look at it pretty much every day, and it makes me smile, a good reminder to be grateful.

Do objects carry memory, or do we project it onto them?

I believe thoughts and emotions carry vibration, and that vibration interacts with the things around us. Objects can hold imprints, echoes of emotion, memory, and intention.

Where’s the line between collecting and hoarding?

I think that the difference lies in who’s in control, you or your possessions? Collecting is purposeful, joyful, and meaningful. Hoarding is accumulation without direction.

How do you want your space to make others feel?

Welcome, safe, calm, and inspired, which is also how I want to feel within it.

Do you decorate for the eye or for the body, the visual or comfort?

A good mix of the two. The best is when you can incorporate both elements. For instance, one of my favourite items in our home is a vintage Charlotte Perriand chaise lounge chair and it’s both stunning to look at and also incredibly comfortable to lie in.

Imperfection: erase or highlight?

I like to highlight it, to a certain degree, I don’t like every single thing to be too perfect, I find that boring.

Has your sense of beauty at home evolved?

Yes! I feel as though it became much more refined after I met my husband and we moved in together since he works with interior design and has a very good eye, so he definitely had a positive impact on my own taste and ideas of what makes a home beautiful aesthetically. In contrast to when I was younger, I now prefer to have fewer things in my home that feel special and meaningful or that please the eye.

Permanent arrangements or constant change?

I love to rearrange every now and again, to try out new things and to create some fresh energy. In particular, when I move to a new place, I like to change things up a lot, to create a fresh start, a new era.

If you could claim any home as your own?

Ohh that’s a really tough one to only pick one! I think either Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027, in Roquebrune Cap-Martin in the south of France overlooking the sea, or Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan.

What scent defines your interior world?

A blend of palo santo, wood smoke, and something fresh, figs or blackberries.

Find Alice on Substack
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