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This autumn, relax into slow living style

If the short days and long nights have driven you to seek cosy relaxation by an open fire with a good book and a cup of tea to hand, then you’re not alone. These days, the quest for finding peace and tranquillity in simple pleasures goes by the name of slow living, a popular lifestyle approach characterised by reconnecting with nature, bringing balance to your life and making every moment count. As autumn drifts into winter, slow living style is the perfect antidote to busy modern life thanks to this trend’s warm earthy tones, beautifully crafted furniture and simple yet striking decorative touches. Read on for how to bring home slow living style.
Design Inspiration Hints & Tips Lifestyle
Slow Living

Slow living is about finding sanctuary

Slow living is an approach that really can be applied to every aspect of life – home, family, relationships, work. If you find the notion appealing, but aren't quite sure how to put it into practice, start small by creating your own personal slow living sanctuary – a single room in your home where time stands still and you allow yourself to truly relax.

As its core function is rest and rejuvenation, the bedroom is a good place to introduce slow living style. Work on creating a haven where everything is calm and comforting, where natural colours and textures literally and metaphorically embrace you in softness and warmth. Keep the focus on natural fibres by choosing cotton or linen bedding, feather-filled cushions and pure wool rugs, and opt for oak bedroom furniture that helps you create a clean, minimal and uncluttered space to relax in.

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Bellaria Chair

Slow living is calm and tranquil

At the heart of the slow living trend is the recognition that living life at a more gentle pace brings inner peace. But there’s an art to relaxation, and creating the right ambience in your home plays a huge part.

Choosing the right colours is key and, perhaps surprisingly, calm and tranquil doesn’t have to mean pale and neutral. In fact, you may find that stronger, earthier colours that reflect pigments found in the natural world – dark greys, earthy greens and deep blues – can be more relaxing than off-white, cream or taupe shades. These beautiful heritage shades are just right for walls as well as being timeless and sophisticated choice for sofas, cuddle chairs and armchairs.

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Slow living takes you back to basics

If there’s one material that’s synonymous with slow living, it’s wood. With its beautiful grain, perfectly imperfect variations and timeless beauty, introducing real wood or oak furniture to your home is a wonderful way to connect with nature.

The industrial furniture trend fits perfectly with the principles of slow living thanks to its focus on natural rustic wood and weathered metal accents – along with a shared appreciation of organic shapes, time-honoured craftsmanship and unfussy finishes.

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Earth Dining

Slow living is effortlessly comfortable

As slow living is all about taking a moment to pause the frenetic pace of life and consider what’s truly important, make sure your home is filled with furniture that actually invites you to slow down and relax.

Comfort is key here, so choose pieces with generous proportions, unstructured lines and the kind of deep cushioning that you can’t help but sink into. Opt for cuddle chairs that offer more than enough room for you and a good book, and chaise end or corner sofas that let you really stretch out.

SHOP FABRIC CUDDLE CHAIRS

Bellaria Corner Sofa

Slow living is clean and uncluttered

Too much mental clutter? Simplifying your environment is key to slow living and can actually help you find that all important peace of mind. When furnishing a room, we recommend you stick to the basics – the pieces of furniture that you absolutely need – and adopt a less is more approach to accessorising. Pick beautifully simple finishing touches that you love to look at and that you find inherently relaxing, like a perfect piece of wall art, a single statement table lamp, or a beautiful glass vase. Be sure to choose accessories in colours that are in keeping with the slow living palette of natural greens, greys and blues.

If you’re struggling to bring clean minimalism into your home, select furniture that's designed to help you declutter in style like spacious sideboards and storage footstools.

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Accessories

Slow living means making life easy

For many people, slow living means abandoning technology, or at least restricting the steady stream of text messages, emails and phone calls as far as the demands of life and work allow. The trick is to make technology work for you, so that it enhances your life, makes everyday tasks easier, and freeing up time so you can focus on what really matters.

There are plenty of ways to harmoniously incorporate technology into your home. Beautiful wooden TV stands keep media equipment neatly hidden from view, while side tables and bedside tables with built-in device chargers seamlessly blend new technology with beautiful craftsmanship, all while eliminating unsightly cables and sockets.

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Bosco Bedroom

Slow living is timeless and classic

Slow living acknowledges the enduring beauty of something well-made and carefully chosen. This thoughtful approach to life and style has little patience with twenty-first century concepts like throwaway fashion and disposable furniture. Instead, it encourages us to choose high-quality well-crafted pieces that will last a lifetime – and which you’ll love having in your home for just as long.

In fact, some of our favourite brands like Duresta, G Plan and Ercol have been making exceptional furniture for decades now. In their own way they’ve been applying the principles of slow living – a focus on carefully sourced and sustainable materials, and a commitment to patiently creating something unique – well before this lifestyle approach even had a name.

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