Page 17 - Decor and Lifestyle Issue 2 2025

Designing the pause
Stillness can be built — literally.

It lives in:
• Light that softens. Lamps with dimmers, indirect glow,
the deliberate use of shadow.
• Sound that settles. Fabrics, rugs, and textured walls
that absorb rather than echo.
• Colour that calms. Muted earth tones, deep greens,
gentle neutrals — colours that quieten the pulse.
• Space that holds. Fewer objects, more air between
them. Simple circulation paths. Corners that invite
sitting, not scrolling.

A still home doesn’t perform for guests; it supports the
people who live there.

The psychology of rest
Rest is not laziness; it’s repair.
Studies from the Journal of Environmental Psychology
show that low-stimulation environments reduce cortisol
and heart rate within minutes. Just being in a calm
space restores focus and mood.

But stillness isn’t identical for everyone.
For some, it’s a sunlit chair with a view of trees.
For others, it’s soundproof curtains and low light.
The point is choice — the ability to control sensory
input. Design that supports rest gives permission to
retreat without isolation.

That’s the difference between silence and peace.

The new luxury
In design circles, “quiet luxury” has dominated the
aesthetic conversation. But stillness goes further.
It’s less about what a space looks like and more about
what it does to you.

A still space feels like exhalation: linen that whispers,
walls that hold light softly, the slow pulse of a house
that’s at ease with itself. It’s design as nervous-system
regulation — beauty that doesn’t demand to be noticed,
only lived with.
The art of stillness is not about minimalism or restraint.
It’s about care. And that, in the end, may be the highest
form of design we have left.