New year, new you – and new guy

Happy New Year! I hope that 2022 is off to a good start for you and that any new year's resolutions are intact so far.

One of the funniest things I read over the holidays was a New York Times article about how entering a second Covid winter is far more difficult than the first. Why? Because the things that gave us comfort – from houseplants to throw pillows to sourdough bread – have lost some of their potency and we're left wondering how they ever sustained us to begin with.

The accompanying illustration drives the point home: a melancholy woman is perched on her sofa with a river of knitting cascading down to the floor and a fern overhead whose elaborate tentacles are merging with her hair. She's gazing at an intricately patterned curtain as if it once gave her pleasure and is now simply a source of exhaustion.

Check out Another Covid Winter, but Our Quarantine Comforts No Longer Work if you need a laugh – and perhaps a jolt of recognition.

From day one, guy with an eye has been premised on the idea that tweaking the arrangement of things closest to us can have enormous mental health benefits, especially during a pandemic. It's something I tried to capture in a five-word post on Instagram back in June:

Even though I've experienced the fatigue highlighted in the article – who hasn't? – I still believe the thesis of this newsletter holds true. Small design moves can have big results, including an elevated sense of well-being.

So my promise to you is this. As we begin Season 3 of guy, I will do everything I can to help you feel more at home, at home. Over the next 12 weeks I'll share tips on the little things you can do to turn housebound time into something joyous.

Good furniture might be good company, and so might an email from a friend. Think of this newsletter as a convivial companion, a reliable weekly pick-me-up.

Until next Wednesday, stay warm and stay connected.