Homes that Move with Us

A gentle invitation to move, stretch, and feel alive

I spend a lot of time on the floor.

I start most days climbing out of bed and onto my yoga mat.

I don’t do anything big. Just small things: child’s pose and a few cat-cows. I end my day more or less the same way, back on my mat.

Since starting this habit of little daily movements, I feel more connected to my body, I feel less stiff, and I sleep better.

We all know the benefits of movement and mobility. Yet, many of our interior spaces are designed primarily for stillness.

The stillness we live in

Most homes silently demand stillness. Fixed chairs, immovable sofas, rigid layouts.

Yet stillness hurts. With sitting now dubbed “the new smoking,” is it time we rethink how we design our homes?

Many of us spend hours sitting still. It’s no surprise our bodies are stiff, restless, and disconnected. I’ve seen this first hand in my own body and as a yoga teacher: tight hips, rounded shoulders, weak inner cores, and ‘tech-neck’, all incredibly common issues perpetuated by our prolonged stillness.

The spaces we live in rarely invite us to move freely or stretch comfortably. Instead, they tend to encourage a fixed way of being: sitting upright, facing screens, or retreating into isolated corners.

A new way of being

"Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior." - James Clear

What if our homes were designed differently? What if the very shape of our living rooms, the materials under our feet, and the furniture we touch nudged us toward more natural, fluid ways of living? Spaces that encourage movement, relaxation, and connection, not just passive consumption.

Through her research, Dr. Joan Vernikos, a former NASA scientist with a PhD in physiology, showed that astronauts in weightlessness, despite their high fitness levels, experience rapid muscle and bone deterioration similar to accelerated ageing.

Just as an astronaut's health declines outside of gravity's pull, our health dwindles the more we sit still.

Her recommendation?
In her book, Sitting Kills, Moving Heals, Dr. Vernikos recommends regular, gentle movements that work against gravity throughout the day to counteract the damage of sitting too much.

That’s where ‘active homes’ or, as I like to call it, ‘Rewilde’ home design comes in.

Rewilde home design

Rewilde home design: designing homes that quietly spark spontaneous, organic movement in daily life.

An invitation to see the home as a living landscape, not a static box. A space that supports small, instinctive movements that keep us grounded and alive.

This isn’t about discipline or reaction. It’s about curiosity, play, and remembering that our bodies were meant to move, as a quiet, daily celebration of being here.

‘Rewilde’ is a nod to Oscar Wilde, who famously said, “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” This philosophy embraces homes as places for truly living. Homes that bring us back to the sensation of our bodies and the sensation of being alive. Rather than simply existing.

If our homes are designed to fluid movement, they can help us live healthier, happier, and more vibrant lives.

The ideal home

The home of my Rewilde-st dreams:

• Encourages varied movement and postures

• Uses natural, tactile materials that invite touch

• Flexible and adaptable to daily rhythms

• Fosters wellbeing, creativity, and presence

When healthy movement is made effortless through thoughtful design, it becomes natural and sustainable, requiring less willpower and conscious effort.

Cultures that move

In many traditional homes around the world, interior design naturally supports movement, flexibility, and connection, keeping the body engaged rather than confined to static sitting.

In Japan, Tatami mats cover the floors, inviting people to sit directly on them or soft floor cushions (zabuton). Low tables (chabudai) serve multiple purposes: meals, work, and tea, while rooms easily transform by rolling up bedding or moving furniture aside.

Korean homes centre around the warmth and comfort of ondol, an underfloor heating system that makes sitting, lying, or stretching on padded mats and bedding natural and inviting. This flexible environment encourages a variety of postures throughout the day, blending relaxation with movement.

An opportunity for something beautiful

I would say this philosophy isn't so much about being reactionary to the “dangers of sitting” because sitting itself is not the problem. The main problem is the stillness, or more specifically, our drifting away from movement.

So this isn't a reaction; it's more about leaning towards opportunity. The opportunity to invite movement into the home whilst still creating spaces that are beautiful, soft, and nurturing.

It's not about taking a room and pulling all the chairs out. It's about reimagining spaces with our bodies at the centre of the mindmap.

We’ve designed our homes to hold us still, and in doing so, lost the gentle rhythm of shifting, stretching, and flowing through space.

Reimagining space:

• Designing rooms that invite you to perch, sprawl, rise, and settle again.

• Choosing textures and shapes that call you to reach out, touch, and breathe.

• Placing the living, feeling body, along with heart and soul, at the very centre of the design mind‑map.

I envision homes as flexible, tactile environments that invite the body to move freely, spaces that support wellbeing by honouring our natural shapes.

Back to reality

Modern life makes it challenging to move naturally throughout the day. I acknowledge this reality, which is why even small design choices that encourage spontaneous movement and varied postures can make a meaningful difference in our daily lives.

This isn’t about perfection or drastic changes. Even small, thoughtful tweaks, like creating corners for creative activities or spots that invite gentle stretching, can add up to big benefits over time.

Designing for movement and play isn’t about idealism; it’s about making real, manageable shifts that help us live healthier, more connected lives.

Because ultimately, our homes shape our habits.

What if design nudged us toward healthier, more connected ways of living, instead of keeping us still?