Ellie Simmonds: 'When my house is clean and neat, my brain is too'
My Happy Home: Ellie Simmonds OBE talks to House Beautiful about her Ikea flatpack disaster, the unusual item she collects on her travels, and why cleaning is her therapy.
Ellie is a British Paralympian and record-breaking swimmer who was born with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism. She began swimming at the age of five and became the youngest member of the Team GB swim team at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, aged just 13.
A year after returning with two golds in the 100m freestyle and 400m freestyle, Ellie became the youngest recipient of an MBE, which in 2013 was elevated to an OBE for her services to Paralympic sport.
Ellie, who was named the 2008 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year, retired in 2021 following the Tokyo Paralympic Games with 10 World Champion titles and five Paralympic gold medals to her name.
She went on to compete in BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, and more recently appeared in the latest series of ITV's Cooking With The Stars.
Ellie, who was adopted by her parents Val and Steve at the age of two, featured in a 2023 ITV programme Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family, which documented her reunion with her birth mum. The programme won the Single Documentary Award at this year's TV BAFTA Awards.
What makes you happiest at home?
ES: I love walking through the front door, getting my slippers and comfies on, being in my own mind and switching off from the world. Home is my cocoon — where I'm cosy, comfy and distracted from everything else going on in my life.
I moved from Cheshire to my new home in London in February. It's a lovely flat with a bit of a patio and garden area where I can socialise and friends can stay. It's lovely.
I'm happiest at home when I have a chance to unwind. The work that I do is go, go, go all the time. I'm so thankful for all the opportunities but it's nice to come home and not have to talk, to just be relaxing under a blanket on the sofa and gripped watching a series on the TV.
Tell us about your childhood home
ES: My childhood home was in Aldridge near Walsall in the West Midlands. I had a very busy and fun childhood. I'd never be inside watching TV. I was always outside in the cul-de-sac, hanging out with everyone on my bike or scooter, or in the back garden bouncing on the trampoline.
What is the first thing you do when you get home?
ES: Take off my shoes and get my slippers on!
What is your favourite room in the house?
ES: My open-plan living room and kitchen, the place where everyone gravitates. I adore my kitchen, which is home to my De'Longhi coffee machine. I could not survive without coffee. I recently spent a week at The Body Camp in Mallorca where coffee is served only once in the morning and it was really hard going without!
What would we find on your bedside table?
ES: A book. I'm currently reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, a lamp and my drinks bottle because I get through a lot of water to keep hydrated – at least three litres a day.
What's the best home bargain you've ever snapped up?
ES: My grandma's wooden dressing table and side table. I keep the dressing table in my bedroom and the side table in my living room/kitchen. They're very retro, Scandinavian style. As a child, I always loved them and when my grandma sadly passed away, she left them to me in her will. Every time I look at them I think of my grandma. They're precious so I really look after them.
And what's your biggest extravagance?
ES: My new L-shaped DFS sofa and loveseat. I went for grey because it complements all the blue around the house!
Describe your decorating style
ES: Pretty minimalistic. I don't like mess and chaos so I'm quite a clean, simple person when it comes to decorating and decor. I've got lots of neutral furnishings from Ikea and Next Home with pops of ocean blue through artwork, mirrors and candles. I love blue because the ocean and water is my happy place.
Have you ever had a decorating disaster?
ES: A few years ago I was putting together an Ikea side table and built it totally wrong so a friend had to come to my rescue. I don't have the patience to read instructions so when I guessed, the result was a shambles!
Do you collect anything?
ES: Fridge magnets. I get them every time I go travelling, most recently from a trip to Krakow in Poland and another from Mallorca when I was at The Body Camp. The magnets are all on my fridge holding up photo booth pictures with friends and mementos like Wimbledon tickets and my invitation to this year's TV BAFTA Awards. It's like a memory wall on my fridge. I'm travelling to Australia later this year where I'll celebrate my 30th so I'll pick up another then!
Describe the view outside your window
ES: Some stairs up to the flat above my garden and lots of greenery.
What would you buy as a housewarming gift?
ES: Plants and flowers because they grow with people. I'm massively into plants — I've got 14 in total around the house — and have vases of flowers dotted around too. I treat myself to bouquets of flowers because they make me happy so I know they'll make others happy too.
If you could snoop around anyone's house, whose would it be?
ES: Taylor Swift – I'm a bit of a fan and love her music. She's got quite a few homes but I'd love a peek around her home in New York. I imagine she's really homely and her place is full of memories, awards and cats — even though I'm a dog person!
What is your dinner party aesthetic?
ES: Relaxed rather than silver service! I make sure everyone's got plenty of home-cooked vegetarian food, such as sweet and sour sticky tofu with rice and tenderstem broccoli. Even when people pop around unannounced, my fridge is always stocked with picky bits and I've got plenty of herbal teas in the cupboard for my best friends.
I love hosting and making sure everyone's comfy, so in my house I'm all for guests getting their shoes off and their pyjamas on! It's always just super chilled.
Where do you shop for the best homeware?
ES: Dunelm, Ikea, Next and John Lewis. I recently got some new Dunelm duck egg blue blinds for my spare room to add a bit of colour.
What design trend are you least likely to follow?
ES: Maximalist. When my house is clean and organised, my brain is too. When there's stuff lying around everywhere, I can't think straight. I don't have a cleaner because I quite like cleaning. I find it therapeutic.
Are you green fingered?
ES: I'm really good at looking after my inside plants. You just water them and sometimes change the soil. Outside it's a different story. I'm awful. Plucking out weeds isn't my thing!
Describe your perfect Sunday...
ES: Lying in and going to the gym, followed by coffee and brunch with friends before relaxing in the afternoon and evening — recuperation before the week ahead. I don't swim much anymore but when I do, it's normally during the week because it's easier to plan when I'm having a hair wash day.
This or that with Ellie Simmonds...
Eat to live or live to eat? Live to eat, definitely. I adore food and I watch what I eat but I enjoy my treat days as well.
Quick shower or relaxing bath? Relaxing bath. I always light candles.
TV in the kitchen? No. I don't even have a TV in my bedroom.
Entertain or be entertained? I like entertaining.
Gadget guru or technophobe? Probably technophobe. If something's happened with my TV, I normally ring my dad. I definitely rely on other people to help me.
Interior design: DIY or get someone in? I do it myself mainly because I just do what I like. I like being in control. I'm quite instinctive when it comes to interior style.
Hoarder or declutterer? Declutterer, just like my mum. She loves sorting out and so do I. Getting rid of stuff is such a good feeling.
Shoes off at the door? Definitely. Shoes on brings all the dirt in from outside.
Ellie Simmonds is supporting the expanded British Gas PeakSave, offering half-price electricity every Sunday and Super Saturday from 9am to 5pm.
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