Slow Considered Design

I am happy to see a new trend in interiors.

Slow considered design

Homeowners and designers across New Zealand are turning away from fast, trend-driven decorating and moving toward something more considered — Homes built to be lived in, loved, and refined over time. Slow decorating is about intention: choosing what truly belongs in your home and allowing it to evolve over time.

I have always been a ‘slow’ designer, preferring things to last, be beautifully made and tell a story.

The homes that stand the test of time have one thing in common, they were never finished all at once. Slow decorating asks us to resist the urge to complete a room in a single shopping trip and instead embrace patience. Quality over quantity. Investment pieces over trend items. What is an investment piece? A sofa chosen for its craftsmanship and comfort that will outlast three budget alternatives, or a cashmere throw selected for its texture and warmth that will age beautifully. The goal is not a showroom, but a home that visually deepens with every year you spend in it.

Slow collection building is a favourite of mine.

A dear friend bought me a beautiful heart plate from one of my favourite stores, Tessuti, now each year I buy myself another heart plate, they come in lots of colours, and eventually I will have a set.

Years ago I started collecting Astier De Villatte - each maker presses the clay by hand into vintage plaster moulds, a traditional technique known as estampage. Each piece is then hand-finished in Paris, giving it its own subtle character over time. Softens and settles. True craftsmanship.  Each year I add another piece to my collection.

Considered collections.

If you walk through the aisles of chain stores you see them full of things that give instant style to your home but these things also get thrown away quite quickly, I think this is because they have no meaning, they aren’t considered purchases. I know there is a place and time for these things though but they can eventually get exchanged for the considered timeless pieces you collect over time.

I know it can be painfully slow, I started Astier De Villatte only three/four years ago and I only have three pieces, one more coming for this year yet, but hopefully I will have 20 pieces when I am 80!

Every beautifully loved home begins with a piece you have to have, the dining table around which your children will tell you about their days and then as adults they will tell you stories about their adventures and then your grandchildren will sit in wonder with the family tales that are told, the sofa that holds the shape of you, the bed that you sink into at the end of the day. These foundational items are built from honest materials, and classic forms.

They are the pieces that will tell the stories and give you the bones of your style.

Personality in a home comes from things chosen with genuine feeling.

I always tell clients to choose things you love and they will easily blend in and work with what you have because they will create their own theme and speak to you in their own ways.

I am very happy about this change in design, I hope you will be too.

Clare x