How to zone your home and create some calm
A cosy snug with natural furnishings and ambient light can help improve our physical and mental health, says Anna Tyzack
It’s a scientifically proven fact: humans thrive in small, cosy spaces. This is not to say we aren’t drawn to awe-inspiring, open-plan rooms, explains Lily Bernheimer, an environmental psychology consultant, but that we also like to indulge our inner hermit in a comforting sanctuary. “We need quiet corners to retreat to and replenish energy,” she says, in her book, The Shaping of Us.
Cosy nooks and snugs, opening on to a bright expanse, featured in homes by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who was fascinated by the way cavemen lived within nature. And they are now a must-have addition to the modern home.
“Post-pandemic, people are more interested in small, intimate spaces to relax, read and recharge, away from the hustle of everyday life,” confirms interior designer Rachel Clark of Bazaar (bazaar-london.com). “We want a small room that is ambient, warm and not at all overwhelming.”
The word “snug” conjures up images of a small room in a low-ceilinged farmhouse with an open fireplace and a window seat. Indeed, in many period houses the snug was originally the smoking room, explains Jonathan Bramwell, of property finders the Buying Solution (thebuyingsolution.co.uk), with pelmet curtains, enormous sofas and a wide range of ashtrays.
The modern snug is every bit as cosy as its predecessor, yet more self-consciously zen – a place for wellness and chilling out, and it doesn’t have to be a whole room. “I create snugs in bedrooms – a comfy armchair to enjoy the view of the garden or read bedtime stories,” explains designer Lisa Burdus (lisaburdus.com). “I’ve also created a ‘man snug’ for the man of the house to play his guitar and watch television away from his wife and daughters.”
The designer, Simone Suss (studiosuss.com), meanwhile, recently created a snug next to one of the floor-to-ceiling glass walls in a penthouse with panoramic views of London. “The view was one of the best in London, but the space was cold and dark; we achieved warmth and comfort with deep reclining chairs, greenery, blankets and outdoor reading lamps,” she says.
There’s a science to creating a calming space, according to Bernheimer, whose book explores how everyday spaces affect our behaviour. The modern snug thus brings together decades of psychological and architectural research: curved forms, for example, are shown to make us feel calmer than angular ones, and plants can reduce blood pressure and increase attentiveness. There is also evidence to suggest that wood surfaces make us calmer, as does lighting that mimics the rhythms of the sun, while we thrive on the sensory stimulation of texture and pattern.
Smaller, cosier, outlying rooms are also a chance to express our individual taste, adds designer Rachel Chudley (rachelchudley.com), expanding the eccentricities of our homes rather than unifying the space. “People no longer want to knock down all the walls,” she says. Indeed, there are also studies to suggest that open-plan spaces can have a negative effect on our happiness.
If you’ve already taken down the walls in your living space, it’s not too late to create a snug: according to Bernheimer you can carve semi-enclosed calming spaces from an open-plan environment by using glass windows, room partitions or even a trellis or a plant. “Make the most of natural elements like light and views,” she says. “Paint walls in colours you love, build your own bookshelves and populate your space with personal touches and glowing lamps.”
As Winston Churchill once said: “We shape our homes, and then they shape us.”