How to create a restful home: 7 architects and interior designers offer tips

In our busy lives, a restful home provides much comfort – sometimes more than gilt finishes or expensive furniture. While one can identify with a restful space, it is harder to pinpoint what makes up that quality. Robert Cheng, founder of Brewin Design Office, helps with his definition. “Restful living for me is a state of being that is free from anxiety, stress and unease, brought about by an environment that is perfectly balanced. I feel this is achieved by an interplay of scale, proportion, space, the authentic use of interior elements like materials and details, and a fusion of the right natural and artificial light – all of which enhances the quality of space and ambience, and evokes emotion.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that nature is a vital source of calm, resulting in the rising popularity of biophilic design. Joseph Wong of JOW Architects agreed: “Embracing natural daylight and filtering exterior views ensure the home is not confined within the four walls; there is conversation with the outside.” This is something Robin Tan of Wallflower Architects also pursues in most of the houses he designs, be it through a flourishing garden if one has space, water features or bringing nature indoors with potted plants. Here are more tips offered by architects and designers on how to create a restful home.

“I strongly believe that a well-balanced space that achieves visual and sensory equilibrium without overwhelming or underwhelming, has the power to dictate a person’s mood and energy levels,” shared Brewin Design Office (BDO)’s founder Robert Cheng, whose composed works with a strong sense of craft include interiors of the Eden Residence show unit, many high-end homes and the upcoming Capella Kyoto.

One example is the interior design of a house designed by architect Ernesto Bedmar. Cheng extended the architectural materials into interior elements, down to the staircase details and furniture selection. “We found the right balance between the masculine and strong piece of architecture and a softer, understated and refined interior,” he said.  

A harmonious environment is also created when the design addresses the unique conditions of each side, as well as pays attention to the interior architecture and not just the selection of furniture and smaller details. This helps to “define a perfected envelope to which the interior design can then be layered upon,” remarked Cheng.   

An overlooked element to restful spaces is good lighting, he highlighted. “It is amazing how light can bring soul and feeling into an interior space. Place an emphasis on understanding on how natural light affects the space in question and weave in decorated lighting to build harmony between daylight and artificial light.”  

Lyndon Neri’s award-winning projects take him all over the world but he finds most rest in his Shanghai home with his family. “Beyond serving as containers and backdrops for life, our dwellings are expressions of our values, drawing from our most intimate planes of existence and personal attachments,” he expounded on why we find comfort in our homes.  

Another project that employs the courtyard strategy is a residence in Singapore called The House of Remembrance. “Some of the keywords given to us by the occupants to describe their ideal home were ‘sanctuary’, ‘peaceful’, ‘safe’ and ‘nostalgic’. Each of them also emphasised that landscape and connection to nature was very important,” said Neri, on the courtyard’s importance, where living elements serve as backdrops to daily routines.

“The garden path taken on writing breaks, the flower beds tended to and cultivated from seedling to plants, the visual and acoustics of tropical rain falling outside” attune the inhabitants with the calm that nature offers.