Space Designed for Wellness
Recess believes that staying active should be an intuitive, enjoyable experience, not something you set aside time for. Recess homes are engineered to naturally integrate healthy eating habits, physical activity and quality sleep into each day.
Adaptive Architecture: Instead of rigid, static structures, our homes feature walls designed for climbing, exposed beams for hanging, and creative obstacles in doorways. These aren't just aesthetic choices; they're invitations to move, explore, and engage your body in new ways. Imagine casually scaling a wall in your living room, or swinging gently from a suspended chair.
Dynamic Floorscapes: Our spaces incorporate playful and challenging elements like ramps, slides, cargo nets, trampolines, and even fireman's poles. These features transform transitions between rooms into opportunities for balance, strength, and fun, turning mundane movements into mini-adventures.
Designed for Natural Movement: Our goal is to promote climbing, crawling, and balancing throughout your day. This continuous, varied movement helps build strength, flexibility, and coordination without the need for traditional, often repetitive, fitness equipment. It's about making fitness an inherent part of your comfortable, stimulating environment.
Nurturing Mind, Body, and Soul
Beyond physical activity, we understand the profound impact of environment on well-being. Our designs also prioritize a holistic approach, fostering recovery, relaxation, and a deep connection to nature.
Biophilic Harmony: We bring the calming essence of the outdoors inside. Lush live plants, soothing water features, abundant natural light, and optimized fresh air circulation create a vibrant, tranquil atmosphere. This biophilic design reduces stress, improves mood, and enhances overall mental clarity.
Sensory Engagement: Every detail is crafted to engage your senses. From the natural experience of swinging in a cotton hammock, to the gentle sound of flowing water, the refreshing scent of fresh air and plants, and the captivating play of natural light, your space becomes a rich tapestry of sensory delight.
Clutter-Free Clarity: We emphasize open, uncluttered spaces that promote mental spaciousness and ease of movement. This minimalist approach allows the unique architectural features and natural elements to truly shine, contributing to a sense of calm and expansive freedom.
Recovery & Relaxation Zones: While movement is encouraged, we also integrate dedicated areas for rest and rejuvenation. Think serene nooks for meditation, comfortable spaces for stretching, or even hammocks designed for deep relaxation. Low stress is a cornerstone of this design philosophy.
Discovery & Delight
Your home should inspire joy and a sense of playful discovery. We've infused our designs with elements that surprise and delight, making every day a mental & physical adventure.
Creative Surprises: We believe in the power of wonder. Imagine discovering a hidden room behind a climbing wall, or an unexpected pathway leading to a cozy retreat. These creative surprises are woven into the fabric of the design to spark curiosity, encourage exploration, and bring a smile to your face.
Personalized Adventure: This isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. While the core principles are consistent, each "Active Living Sanctuary" is tailored to the individual, ensuring the elements of surprise and active engagement resonate deeply with your preferences and lifestyle.
More Than Space, It's an Experience: This isn't just about four walls and a roof. It's about crafting a living environment that is dynamic, engaging, and genuinely fun. It's about transforming your perception of "home" into a place of continuous growth, well-being, and delightful discovery.
Games
There are 3 general planes of motion that people move through: front and back (sagittal), side to side (frontal) and rotational (transverse). There are three main actions that use these planes of motion: climbing, crawling and balancing. Items to climb over go up and down in a vertical position and involve furniture like swings, suspension straps, monkey bars, firman poles, rock climbing wall, cargo net and stall bars that all have multiple uses. Items to crawl under go side to side in a horizontal position and include hammocks, suspension straps, stall bars, doorways, sturdy storage chests, hollow couches and other creative objects. Items to balance on can be stationary or move in any direction and incorporate swings, trampolines, beams, cobble stones, sand, balls, slacklines and unstable surfaces like a mattress under a carpet. Click here to challenge and motivate yourself with fun Recess Games.
Recess Bedroom Design
Starting with what is NOT in the bedroom is electronics (TV, computer, even AC units should be far away from the bed) to minimize screen time and their electronic fields (EMF) that interrupt our own human current (biofield). Eight hours per day, everyday is a huge part of our life. Prioritize this space of recovery.
Multiple sleeping arrangements are important. A breathable mattress or pad on the floor is the foundation with lots of natural cotton pillows to help with posture. Being on the floor encourages more range of motion to get up and down. A second area for sleep would be a natural cotton hammock. Climbing into and out of it takes strength, flexibility and balance as the swaying motion mimics nature. The hammock can also double for range of motion (ROM) exercises in the morning. Very high end beds are available that adjust height, firmness and angles which all help maximize health.
Be aware of time of year and lighting in the bedroom. We want 6-8 full hours of darkness while we sleep to maintain a natural circadian rhythm. Blackout blinds or natural cotton curtains assist in this matter. Natural and calming art on the walls promote relaxation as well as motivation. Storing our clothes is another important part of bedrooms. Some ADD brains prefer being able to see everything like in a closet setting or open shelving. If you do use closed dressers, opt for the lower type that can double as a stretching or climbing platform.
Knowing how long we sleep (indoors), air quality is super important as well. If your HVAC system does not have top of the line filtration, consider a portable air filtration system for the bedroom.
Rules for Certified Active Environments
1. Open Areas
Make Ground Play available
Use low and high Levels like lofts, ramps/slides, ladders and stairs
Offer Outdoor elements Fresh (clean) air, natural light, sounds of nature
2. Functional Furniture
Climb over Swings, hammocks, Monkey Bars, fireman pole, rope/wall, suspension straps, Cargo net
Crawl under Doorways with objects to push, pull, stall bars, or shelves
Balance on Cobblestone mats, balance beam, sand pit, trampoline, mats
3. Create Surprises
Kinetic Kingdoms offer Sports ball wall, DeStress bag, Fidget Boards
Nourishment Nook have Live growing wall for fresh food, Filtered Water
Recovery rooms supply ice bath and sauna, Sleep area, Massage source
*Clicking an underlined item redirects you to purchase that item from Amazon. Real Recess earns a commission on those sales.
Stall Bars on Amazon
Moving Punching Bag on Amazon
Air Purifier on Amazon
Steam Sauna and Ice Bath on Amazon
Pull Up Bar on Amazon
Adjustable Massage Bed on Amazon
Ankle and Foot Mobility on Amazon
Water Purifier on Amazon
Cotton Hammock on Amazon
Living Space Examples:
Samples of what Real Recess has designed in the past.
Rob Dyrdek built his own movement space at work. His passion is skateboarding and it keeps him moving. What would you build?
Jessie Graff is a famous stunt woman and Ninja Warrior star. This is her living room complete with foam floor and favorite pet.
Mark Rober created this hidden office with fun stations to challenge anyone. Everything ends with a smile. What’s your favorite part?
A couple of people formed this idea and 300 artists collaborated to bring it to life. Which aspect would keep you most active?
Certify Your Space
Certified Active Environment are for those who seek more than just a place to live or work. It's for people who desire space that champions their health, ignites their imagination, and provides a continuous source of joy and vitality, simply by moving through it.
