Colin and Justin: Quiet please
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Fall is the perfect time to turn down the volume and amp up the relaxation factor at the cabin
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The emerging cottage aesthetic for fall 2024 whispers, rather than screams, high style, courtesy of calm, considered elements that import their own sense of gentle relaxation.
And so, without further ado, welcome to the ‘quiet’ home, an effortless and elegant oeuvre, one that serves an opportunity to turn down ‘volume’ – and turn up the tranquility factor – so your cabin becomes a sanctuary of quiet contemplation and you time. It’s little short of bliss…
Tangible order
Pursue a strict sense of order (even behind closed doors) by establishing a well-planned environment where everything fits perfectly into place.
Colour code linens, flat wares and dinner crockery, for example, and create clean, easy to find storage that makes it a breeze to lay hands, in that exact moment, upon that which you require.
This will help create a sense of harmony and make your cabin function beautifully. Porcelain plates by Vincent Van Duysen for Zara Home – www.zara.com
Consider concrete
No longer simply building blocks of brutalist architecture, concrete has found a new army of fans, a style collective who appreciate it as a multipurpose, uniform and surprisingly tranquil design component.
Yes indeed, the concrete cabin is now a rewarding space where smooth walls feel womblike and comforting. Similarly, employed as a dependable and hardwearing surface in kitchens and bathrooms, the resultant aesthetic is strong and clean.
But worry not, you needn’t look to rebuild your home using poured concrete or cement blocks: ensnare the look with accessories such as those shown here, all of which are available at H&M, www2.hm.com
Well worn and loved
Antique stone and clay pots, rustic benches and worn timber accessories are home accessories that add a sense of calmly curated peace on the domestic front. T
he use of natural materials is an essential element of quiet design, with the whispering style serving to emphasize the uncomplicated beauty of nature. Check out an exciting product collection, and find stockist information, at Hauer Market – www.hauermarket.com
Hush tones
Painting your cabin in a roster of gentle tones will help create a sense of calm. Wherever possible, keep backdrop colours light to open up and freshen proceedings, and add warm or cool tones – via accessories and textiles – to deliver personality.
Painting trim in the same colour as your walls is another way to visually ‘de clutter’, thus enhancing the sense of calm balance. White, soft greens, taupes, greys and light blue make cosseting backdrops: check out Benjamin Moore’s Quiet Moments 1563 – a compendium of tones that import a feeling of unbridled silence. For more, explore www.benjaminmoore.com
Quiet comfort
Quiet time, lost in a cosseting sea of yielding cottons and linens, can be thoroughly restorative. To this end, appropriate bedding is a total game changer.
Japanese dream chasers Aizome manufacture sheets and linens using tried and tested natural Japanese techniques that avoid harsh chemicals and use only natural ingredients. A
izome products don’t only help keep cool sleepers warm and hot sleepers cool, they also feel and look fantastic, especially in the brand’s original indigo blue, or in their recently added grey colour way. For more visit https://aizome-textiles.com
Simply lighting
Specifying items that are strong and simple creates a clean look where schematic lines are considered and celebrated, and where space is as important as the items contained within.
Combining this thinking with well-planned lighting marries form and function, which in turn creates a balanced design where resultant atmosphere is everything. Get switched on to the modern lines of the Vibia lighting range at https://vibia.com
Texture is colour
The quiet home swaps bold pattern for tonal textures as a way of creating visual interest without overpowering contrast. Adopting a tonal approach to colour, and setting a combination of inviting layers, will subtly amplify visual and tactile interest and indulgent reward.
With ‘quiet home’ a feast for the finger, let texture be your guiding light – in environments such as these you can comfortably mix rough with smooth. It’s all, as we oft’ opine, in the mix.
Check out the Jute Geo Pillow Cover in alabaster or natural from West Elm, www.westelm.ca
Natural elements
A quiet home needn’t be minimalist or in any way spare, in fact au contraire: in environments such as these, learn to add pattern and accessories, especially if these elements have a tendency towards natural or non-machine made.
‘Scandi Leaf’ wallpaper from www.aboutmurals.ca in Ontario (for delivery nationwide) would make a perfect bedroom focal point, resembling as it does a tranquil Zen garden with a low-key pattern that resembles a sand garden.
To add schematic texture and a further layer of interesting detail, dress up timber candlesticks or vases with hand crafted wooden ‘blessing beads’ from Huntsville’s The Cutters Edge https://thecuttersedge.com
In whichever way you choose to solidify your scheme with relaxing layers, remain mindful that the most successful aesthetics are those that don’t look in any way forced.
A quiet home shouldn’t look rushed or overly shop bought: it should always look as if it came together over time, the result of travels, adventure and the quest for whispered, domestic bliss…
Watch for Colin and Justin on Citytv’s Breakfast Television. Find the Colin
and Justin Collection in stores across Canada. Visit www.colinandjustin.tv
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