What is Slow Living? Discovering the Beauty of the Slow Movement
Slow
Down.
Go with the Slow
Conscious, mindful and intentional living.
Finding moments to go slow and embrace a lighter more sustainable life is essential in the busy modern world of today. We take a closer look at what exactly the slow living movement means and ways you can incorporate slow living into your daily life for increased happiness and fulfilment.
What is the Slow Living Movement?
Slow living is an attitude to creating a more meaningful and conscious lifestyle that’s in line with what you value and love most.
The movement is all about taking a slower approach, consuming less and valuing the little aspects of life. Often misunderstood, slow doesn’t equal lazy or uninspired, it is a way to reconnect with the most meaningful parts of life.
Inspired by the Slow Food movement, an initiative founded by Carlo Petrini in 1989 to promote locally sourced ingredients and cooking. Following the opening of a Mcdonald’s in the heart of Rome, Petrini noticed the loss of connection between consumers and quality food. He was motivated to inspire others to choose good, clean and fair food choices for increased happiness and better health.
Living slowly is about creating and harnessing a life where you can delight in your everyday routine, being present at the moment and celebrating quality over quantity.
How to Harness Slow Living
The great benefit of slowing down is reclaiming the time and tranquillity to make meaningful connections, with people, culture, work, nature, with our own bodies and minds.
– Carl Honoré in his 2004 book, In Praise of Slowness
Small ways to incorporate slow living into your daily life:
– Take up a meaningful hobby
– Turn off your phone and embrace the quiet
– Practise mindfulness
– Connect with your community
By integrating principles of slow living within your day-to-day life you can embrace more time, be more present, build stronger relationships, find purpose and build strong connections with the natural environment.
Slow Architecture
Slow Architecture promotes mindful living by intentionally crafting spaces with conscious choices and sustainable materials.
It takes careful consideration of the needs of the clients, occupants and the natural landscape during the design process. This encourages long-term thinking to produce dwellings that are meaningful and have a positive environmental impact.
It can be harnessed through the following principles:
Curating spaces that encourage slow living – homes that create connections and harness interactions, encourage calm and contemplation.
Focusing on function and then form – focusing not only on creating a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing design but also on understanding how spaces can be tailored to be happier and healthier.
Coexisting with nature – Integrating nature into the built form can help reduce stress, enhance creativity and improve overall well-being.
Using natural, eco-conscious materials – prioritising locally sourced, sustainable materials not only helps to create healthy homes but also supports the local community and economy.
These slow design principles are a means to inspire and encourage a holistic, collaborative approach to design to slow resource consumption, consider the short and long-term effects of a home or space and reflect on ethical and social factors.
Bonnie Doon House – A home designed to Maximise Slow Living
A home that encourages and creates moments to pause, reflect and engage.
Tailored to the lives of a multigenerational family, the Bonnie Doon House respects the natural surroundings whilst being mindful of its environmental impact. Sitting high atop the land, the home overlooks a private dam with panoramic views looking out onto the vast rural landscape.
The home uses sustainably sourced Silver top Ash and Tasmanian Oak to complement the tones seen within the natural land. An open-plan kitchen, dining and living space provides ample spots for the whole family to spend time together, enjoying the bushland setting, stargazing and sitting beside the fireplace.
Promoting good quality buildings, made with clean healthy materials and built with fair labour. Sustainable features of this home include a large 4000L water tank for rainwater reuse, double-glazed windows, window shading, low VOC paints, high-grade insulation to walls, floor and ceiling, efficient water fixtures, and ceiling fans.
Learn more about the Bonnie Doon House.
