There has been a lot of talk lately about reset buttons. Secretary Clinton gave one to Russia. Most of the financial world is begging for a do over. Even on a recent cover of Time Magazine there it was – a red button with the word RESET. It’s akin to a big spring cleaning – the idea of “out with the old and in with the new.” Feels so optimistic doesn’t it? Now more than ever it seems necessary, even mandatory, to hit the reset button on a lot of issues. It’s a great time to consider where we are in the design world too. Isn’t it time for a design reset?

OK, lets start with WHY.

I know how this might look. There is a recession, hardly anyone has any money and the people who do have money have far less of it – it’s all rather bleak. So why do we need to take a look at the way we design our homes now? Now is the best time to evaluate the way we want to live because the way we lived isn’t working any more. It’s the perfect time to make sure that when we do buy something for our home, it is of real value and quality. To me value and quality doesn’t mean name brand or expensive but being well made and well designed.

Much like the slow food movement that promotes using sustainable organic foods that are in season, we need to commit to a “slow home” ideal. To me much of the same philosophies in slow food apply to slow home too – buy sustainable, efficient products that make as small of an impact on the environment as possible. Like the slow food movement, a slow home can seem expensive and time consuming. But just start small and don’t cave to the idea that you have to live off the grid to make a difference. When we buy slower we buy better. Since no one is rushing to spend money on all new furniture or replace their entire kitchen these days lets use this time to get to know where the things we own come from. How about considering something vintage rather than a new piece of furniture from a chain store that uses dubious materials, unknown labor practices and probably large amounts of fuel shipping everything from overseas. Ask yourself, is there a local craftsperson that makes furniture, throws pottery or knits blankets? The best thing you can do is support your community and spend your money where you live. You can even search online sites like Etsy by location. Just look around. It is easier than you think to find local talent. And the story of what you buy is much better when it comes from a source you feel good about.

If you want to know more about the idea of slow home there is an interesting website devoted to it at http://theslowhome.com/. One of my design bibles is a book that I found in 1998 (it predates the term slow home by years) called Sensual Home by Isle Crawford. Crawford is now famous for her work with the Soho Houses, Swarovski Crystal and other high profile design projects. When she wrote the book she was the founding editor at the Elle Decoration UK. It’s a brilliant and sometimes kooky guidebook to becoming more connected to your home. I refer to it almost without fail in all of my design projects. I highly recommend it as well as Crawford’s second book called Home is Where the Heart is?

OK, so practical applications – A good way to be “slow” is to consider vintage the next time you look for furniture. Whether it is museum quality or second hand, from an auction house or from Craigslist, vintage is about the greenest choice because it already exists, you can find it locally and there is the added bonus of instant gratification. With a little time and patience you can go vintage rather than chain store. Don’t forget there is always the option of taking another look at what you already own and figuring out a way to change it up. There are countless examples on Design*Sponge alone of this – from a total redesign to simple switching out flimsy hardware for some cool vintage pieces

Take the time to think about the quality, the level of design and the function of the item. Whether it is a sofa or a spoon there should be an honesty to its design. Anything you use on a daily bases should function well and feel good. I always think that the things you touch should be the best quality possible. Don’t take this to mean that everything has to be expensive. It’s important to know where you need to spend money and where you don’t. My own dishes are from the company Heath. Some of their prices can be pretty steep but my partner Jon and I have collected our pieces over the last few years rather than buying everything at once. However, we also recently bought glassware from the 99 Cent store (they are the clear cylinder-shaped glasses pictured below – we got 50 of them so we would never have to use plastic for parties again). For those of you who don’t know Heath Ceramics it is the embodiment of a Slow Home. Manufacturing their wares in Sausalito, Ca for the past 50 years, they base everything on the principle of “simple, good things for good people.” Alice Waters uses their stuff – you can’t get more “slow home” than that.

For more info on Heath, click here.

To learn more about the Slow Food movement I suggest this video of a recent 60minutes interview with the American leader of the movement, Alice Waters:

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