Inner knowledge
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Marlene Macmillan has always been interested in fitness, and in the last few years this interest has expanded from a hobby to include her home and work.
After a 20-year career in the sports industry, during which time she worked in sales and marketing for Reebok, Macmillan changed focus after an accident. "About eight years ago I fell off my horse and broke my back," she says. "None of the conventional medicines helped, and I just wasn't getting any better. I was used to being fit and I just couldn't do anything.
"Someone introduced me to magnets, so I went on to a magnetic sleep system and started wearing magnetic insoles. As I had such a good response to the magnets and I'm passionate about health, I decided to explore it further, as a business. I started offering one-to-one consultations on health and nutrition and marketed myself as Marlene Macmillan, wellness consultant."
Macmillan moved into a cottage just outside the Lanarkshire village of Strathaven a few years ago, and although she didn't have to do anything structurally to the property, she has added her signature marks of serenity and calm.
The business has now expanded to include the corporate market and last year Macmillan opened her Academy of Wellness, which she runs from her studio in the garden of her home.
The exterior of the house belies its modern interior, which is deceptively spacious. But it's the colour scheme that is the most interesting aspect. One side of the house is predominantly white and the other side is bolder, with dark woods and splashes of turquoise and black. It's an interesting contrast and one that works exceptionally well. What's surprising, however, is how cosy the white rooms feel. "I love white, as you can see, but I think you can have a lot of white without it being clinical," says Macmillan. The IKEA kitchen is a good example. It's white, spacious and open, with the colour provided by nature - from the free-standing beech counters to the stunning views over Ben Lomond and the Campsies. The design is ideal for Macmillan and her partner Bill, whose macrobiotic diet means spending plenty of time in the kitchen.
"I think this design is more adaptable. We cook a lot so we like the space and there's plenty of room for the living water system, too." Drinking water is one of Macmillan's tips for health and the living water system, which sits on a worktop near the sink, gives tap water the quality of spring water.
Next to the kitchen is the white lounge and the entertaining room. "It's a very relaxing room and when we have friends over, we're always in here," says Macmillan. "Until Bill moved in I didn't have a TV, although I have managed to hide it a bit in the ledge.
"The sofa and the lamps came from Linda Reid. The mirror has been placed on the floor for feng shui reasons - it drives my mother mad as she's convinced it should be hung up." Double doors lead on to the hall and the middle part of the house, where Macmillan and Bill have their office, laundry room and bathroom - and then you reach the next contrast.
Although the second lounge uses some similar furniture to the first, it is far from identical. "I like traditional and modern styles but I can't mix them," says Macmillan. "I wanted one lounge to be really white and this one is more like a cosy den, a wee snug. It is very different, almost like being in two different houses.
"I've done the same with the bedrooms, one is quite modern and the other is quite traditional - I like the contrast. I love the French doors too, it means there are views from nearly every room. I've opted for blinds for all the windows as I thought the view was too nice to obscure with curtains."
As well as distinctive styles, the bedrooms are fitted with magnetic sleep systems. Macmillan says: "The beds have special magnetic mattresses and infrared duvets. These help produce melatonin, which is the hormone we need for sleep. There's also an HEPA air system throughout the house which pumps out negative ions. It adjusts depending on the environment, so if someone came in who was all dusty it would turn itself up to compensate."
Macmillan has also been flexing her creative talents in the guest bedroom. "I made the headboard myself from MDF. I don't especially like big headboards and apart from the walnut sleigh bed in the master bedroom, which is a complete bed, you tend to buy a bed and then look for a headboard, which I'm not keen on. So I decided to make it myself.
"I don't know where I get my ideas from. Both my sisters are quite creative and I think it runs in the family. There's nothing in the house that is particularly expensive and I shop in lots of different places.
"The bedside tables in the guest bedroom came from Marks & Spencer and the leather chair is from Linda Reid. The tables in the white lounge came from IKEA and I've got lots of pieces from The Store in Anniesland."
Macmillan's studio, formerly the garage, is another white haven and it's perfect for consultations. "Clients come for an hour's consultation and we cover hydration, nutrition, fitness and sleep. We give you a magnetic roll-out - everything to make you well and make you healthy.
"My philosophy is simple - eat a good nutritional diet, drink plenty of water, sleep well and fit some sort of fitness into your life and you'll keep the stress out of your body. It's all about living life in balance."
Take a leaf out of Macmillan's book and you might just achieve that balance for yourself.
Macmillan launches her book, Marlene Macmillan's No Nonsense Guide to Healthy Living, at the Vitality Show in Glasgow's SECC, which runs from 7 to 9 April. Tel: 01335 578799 or visit www.wellnessconsultant.co.uk for more information on her programmes.
by Nichola Hunter
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