Slowness in the Home: Designing for Sunday Mornings

Some parts of the week are made for pace. For emails and errands and conversations you forgot to schedule. But Sunday mornings? Sunday mornings are sacred.

They’re for stillness. For recharging your headspace. For being horizontal for longer than is usually socially acceptable. And, crucially, for being at home in a way that feels entirely unperformed.

We think every home should have a Sunday morning mode - a design rhythm that supports slowness, softness, and semi-conscious pottering. Here’s what we would do to curate that mood, whether you live in a lovely townhouse or an efficiently "compact" flat with excellent light.

1. Design for Drift, Not Destination

Sunday spaces aren’t about efficiency. They’re not “task-based zones.” They’re wandering spaces. Loafing spaces. Spaces where it’s perfectly acceptable to move from bed to chair to floor without ever achieving anything beyond locating a warm spot of sun whilst in your cosies.

Soften your layouts. Make transitions gentle. Chairs angled, not lined up. Blankets left out. Floor cushions thrown around. Design at least one corner of your home where nothing productive ever happens.

2. Texture Over Technology

Sunday morning is not the time for screens or smart home gimmickry. It’s a tactile time. You want wool, linen, ceramics, coffee cups, burnt incense, an old record player. Things that feel lived in.

Let there be:

• An old vase with a chip in it

• A stack of books you’re halfway through

• That crinkled linen tablecloth you never iron

3. Lighting That Hugs, Not Scolds

If the light in your home says “meeting in five,” it’s time to recalibrate. Sunday lighting should come in softly - ideally through a sheer curtain or the warm glow of a low lamp you forgot to switch off the night before.

Avoid anything with a blue hue or visible wiring. This is a day for you and your headspace. That means emotional circadian light, not functional down-light beams.

4. Objects That Hold You

This isn’t a day for sharp lines or chairs that force good posture. It’s for armchairs you can curl into, duvets that migrate to the sofa, and tables that hold not just your coffee mugs, but also your existential questions. If in a house, keep a spare duvet stored somewhere downstairs. It sounds extreme, but removing that barrier of "I can't be bothered to grab it from upstairs" in these times of rest is a gamechanger.

Create “emotional anchors”:

• A stool that always catches the item you put down because you forgot why you're holding it

• A perch by the window where time seems to slip

• A worn throw that smells faintly like the person or animal you love

5. Make Room for the Ritual

Whether it’s coffee made just so, journaling, or staring blankly into the middle distance with low-fi playlists on in the background, Sunday mornings are built on ritual.

Design with these in mind. A small tray for your morning bits. A hook for that robe. A chair with no function other than holding bits and bobs.

Sunday design isn’t about productivity. It’s about presence.

Final Thoughts

We design our homes to hold us through all of life’s rhythms. The rush, the routine - but also the rest. Remove the anxiety of "lack of productivity", especially if pushed upon you by others. Your space should hold you on a Sunday morning.

Carve out a space for slowness. Give yourself corners that expect nothing. Let the light fall in quietly. And trust that beauty lives not in what you 'achieve' in these times, but how you feel in the moments you let yourself simply be.

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