Ideas to help you design with a slow interiors mindset

Many people choose to make the leap to The Cotswolds to live a more considered, quality way of life. The Cotswolds is the perfect retreat where, although time moves a little more slowly, people don’t necessarily have to compromise on access to work and the thrills of city life.

We think that the choice to move to The Cotswolds mixes perfectly with the ideas of slow living and slow interiors. Slow interiors is a way of taking a more considered and thoughtful approach to how we decorate. A slow living mindset can help you achieve a home that is both more environmentally friendly and a better reflection of your own true style and needs.

To help you get started, we’re sharing a few ideas to help you make thoughtful decorating choices to help create a slow living home.

Avoid temporary trends and design your home for you

If you’re an interiors lover who keeps on top of all of the latest trends, it’s easy to want to change up your home or design frequently when you get that hit of inspiration. But often that satisfaction from keeping on top of trends is temporary, leading into wanting to move onto the next trend. Slow living and slow interiors is a shift in mindset which focuses on designing your home so it better reflects your true style and needs.

This doesn’t mean that by following the ideas of slow living that your home has to be static in design, you can ebb and flow your decor with accessories to fit with the seasons or mood. The idea is that you establish the look and feel of your home first and really nail that so it’s the space you feel most relaxed and comfortable in, almost as an extension of yourself.

If possible, we’d recommend working with interior designers who can help you identify your ideal aesthetic and needs from a particular space and bring it to life. We have a great directory of interior designers to work with here and we also wrote a journal post recently sharing our favourite kitchen designers.

Prioritise a space that is your retreat to unwind

It’s difficult to know where to start with slow living interiors. We’d recommend starting with your place of sanctuary. Often people focus on bringing relaxation to the lounge or bedroom but your spot to unwind could be different. Is it a reading nook in the corner of a bedroom? Do you relax by cooking?

Using these examples, it could be a matter of finding that ideal storage solution for your books and the most comfortable chair you can spend hours reading in. In a kitchen, it could be finding the right products that make cooking as seamless as possible and designing the right workspaces to get creative.

When possible, buy less and invest in quality

When we mention investing, it’s not necessarily about spending a lot of money. You can invest time and research into finding pieces you truly love, discovering independent furniture companies or makers whose style you love and then incorporating those pieces into your home gradually.

You don’t need to replace or introduce new items into your home all at once (unless you want to)! Prioritise based on practicality, how long an existing item may last and take it from there.

A really great way to start focussing on investment homewares is by looking for quality and design-led swaps for practical items you always need, such as storage solutions, cleaning items such as dustpans and brushes etc. For this, we love Garden Trading, whose ethos is entirely around creating purposeful homewares that look good and last well.

Also, with this buying less mindset, use this as an opportunity to declutter. It’s difficult to feel relaxed amidst clutter and mess. Donate or sell items that you don’t feel serve a purpose in your home.

Choose brands that prioritise sustainability

A big part of creating a considered home is designing with an eco-conscious mind and ensuring your home benefits not just you but the planet too. There are lots of great brands out there that make efforts towards being more environmentally and socially responsible and the ability to support sustainable brands is only becoming more and more accessible.

We love Little Greene paint company for their commitment to creating high-quality paint with socially and environmentally responsible production. Plus they are always inspiring and breathing new life into colours and patterns.

Another great homewares and lifestyle brand is Nkuku whose values are: ethical, eco-friendly and handmade. Their products always feel unique and knowing they’ve been made by artisans that create with a particular vision or story in mind, makes each piece you have in the home a bit more special.