Slow Living – A More Conscious Lifestyle
The last couple of years have presented us with numerous unexpected challenges. Social, political, and technical developments are continuously setting new precedents. Our professional and private life is often rapidly changing. Additionally, we are constantly exposed to new trends. These factors affect all our lives and eventually also the way we use our homes. In many departments of life, our awareness continues to evolve. We are often talking about deceleration and consciousness, about change and sustainability.
The ”SLOW“ movement which Slow Living is a part of started in Italy during the 1980s, initially as a counter-movement to fast food. In the 1990s the Slow movement expanded into other aspects of life such as travel. In Slow Travel it’s all about the journey. You travel to explore the world and savor every part of the trip not just to visit a final destination.
The concept behind the different Slow movements is always the same: We try to be more conscious and aware of our actions and their impact on the environment and try to concentrate on the most essential things in order to improve the quality of our lives. But Slow isn’t just about decelerating our daily life. Each letter has a specific meaning. The Slow Living movement only started in the last couple of years as a reaction to a world that is becoming increasingly digital, hectic, and perishable.
This movement is not a trend but a way of life. The main focus is creating an environment that reduces stress and helps you to achieve inner peace.
As an interior designer, I constantly try to create spaces in a way that fulfills the needs of my clients and improves their wellbeing. We should take time to design our home because we need a relaxing and inspiring environment in order to relax and feel comfortable.
Materials
The selection of furniture and materials is one of the key aspects. Slow Living also includes a conscious effort to focus and quality and sustainability. Therefore we should choose natural materials that are long-lasting and environmentally friendly. Did you know that there is almost no other resource that is as sustainable as natural stone? Its manufacturing needs very few resources as the stone is a natural object that has developed over millions of years. It is abundant in nature and only needs to be cut and polished. The energy required for the processing of the stone is very low compared to other building materials. When it comes to disposal, no other building material has a comparable positive environmental balance when compared to stone. Furthermore, natural stone is an incredible building material that can be implemented in many ways as a design accent. Long transport routes are a big contributor to a resource’s carbon footprint. Therefore it is important to first consider materials that are available in Europe when deciding to use natural materials in your project. The curation of furniture should also be carefully considered. Besides choosing regional and long-lasting products you should try to avoid mainstream trends to oppose this wasteful mentality and reduce trash.
Another aspect of Slow Living is the reduction of the unnecessary. When redesigning our home we should ask ourselves what we really need. In this case, less is more as a clear structure of the rooms is equally as important to achieving a relaxing and inspiring atmosphere as a clear design language or the selection of materials. Decorating your home is an individual process. Trends can serve as inspiration regarding shapes or colours but in the end, your home’s interior should be a reflection of yourself.
Colour
The colour palette should not only suit our personal taste but should also contribute towards creating a harmonious atmosphere. There are different ways to incorporate colours into the design of your rooms:
• Colour harmony: is created by choosing colours which are close to one another on the colour wheel, for example, blue and green or yellow and orange
• Monochrome colour schemes: using different hues and shades of one colour
• Accent colours: are used as a highlight within the room. Accent colours are best integrated into rooms with neutral colours such as white, grey, or beige to create vibrant highlights.
• Colour psychology: Colours can induce different moods and emotions. Green is said to have a soothing effect on humans and is therefore often implemented in bedrooms.
The right choice of colour is ultimately dependent on a multitude of factors such as the function of the room, or personal taste and style. Careful planning and consideration of different options contribute towards achieving harmonious and sustainable interior design.
Lighting
Lighting also plays an important part. We should consider that our rooms need to get enough daylight and that the lighting within our home is comforting and atmospheric. At the same time, the lighting should also be functional in rooms such as the kitchen, your office, or your bathrooms. Functionality and atmosphere are equally important and need to be addressed based on your individual needs. It is important to select efficient light bulbs for each application. LED technology is the most common solution because of its ability to easily and efficiently create different lighting moods. These can be installed in conjunction with a smart-home system to allow you to easily adjust the lighting throughout your home.
Slow living is about being purposeful and considerate when decorating your home and addressing the topics of sustainability, quality, regionality, and reduction. A calm and inspiring environment allows us to relax and recharge. Frequent and thorough discussions with your clients are crucial when creating a slow-living home as the end result should reflect the clients’ needs, tastes, and their personalities.
When planning such a project the process should evolve from assessing your clients’ needs to first concepts and lastly into the final plans needed to execute the project.
When selecting the furniture and materials both personal taste but also quality and origin of the products should be carefully considered. Short transport routes are more environmentally friendly. A sense of awareness should also be present when choosing building materials. Try to implement sustainable resources such as recycled materials or wood from sustainable forestries. Focus on minimizing the use of single-use materials such as PVC or Styrofoam.
They say “You are what you eat”. Shouldn’t we use this concept in slow living and say: “I inhabit, therefore I am”?
Our choice of interior design allows us not only to express our taste but also to showcase who we are. Interior design can also affect our health. Sustainable design in line with the principles of Slow Living contributes towards our well-being and can even positively affect our health by reducing the amount of toxic and harmful materials in our environment.
Each of us has a responsibility. Towards themselves, their peers, and the following generations. Interior Design and Slow Living are not necessarily parallel to each other. Interior Design is simply an important aspect within the concept of Slow Living.
