diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/RoomCard.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/RoomCard.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c8e2bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/RoomCard.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+<script>
+  // A single hub "room" card. Presentational — the page passes any live preview data in.
+  let { room, artImg = null, newsHeadline = '' } = $props();
+</script>
+
+<a class="card card--{room.size}" class:live={room.preview !== 'static'} href={room.href}>
+  {#if room.preview === 'art' && artImg}
+    <div class="thumb" style="background-image:url({artImg})"></div>
+  {/if}
+
+  <div class="body">
+    <div class="eyebrow"><span class="ic">{room.icon}</span>{room.title}</div>
+
+    {#if room.preview === 'news' && newsHeadline}
+      <p class="headline">“{newsHeadline}”</p>
+    {:else}
+      <p class="blurb">{room.blurb}</p>
+    {/if}
+
+    <span class="cta">{room.cta} <span class="arr">→</span></span>
+  </div>
+</a>
+
+<style>
+  .card {
+    position: relative; display: flex; flex-direction: column; justify-content: flex-end;
+    overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none; color: var(--ink);
+    background: var(--surface); border: 1px solid var(--line); border-radius: 18px;
+    padding: clamp(18px, 2.2vw, 26px); min-height: 160px;
+    box-shadow: 0 10px 30px rgba(20, 30, 45, 0.06);
+    transition: transform 0.18s ease, box-shadow 0.18s ease, border-color 0.18s ease;
+  }
+  .card:hover { transform: translateY(-4px); box-shadow: 0 20px 46px rgba(20, 30, 45, 0.12); border-color: #ddd4c4; }
+
+  /* size variants (grid spans set by the page) */
+  .card--large { min-height: 340px; }
+  .card--wide { min-height: 200px; }
+  .card--tall { min-height: 340px; }
+  .card--small { min-height: 160px; }
+
+  /* live art preview fills behind the body */
+  .thumb {
+    position: absolute; inset: 0; background-size: cover; background-position: center;
+  }
+  .thumb::after {
+    content: ""; position: absolute; inset: 0;
+    background: linear-gradient(to top, rgba(20, 24, 30, 0.78) 6%, rgba(20, 24, 30, 0.20) 46%, rgba(20, 24, 30, 0) 70%);
+  }
+
+  .body { position: relative; z-index: 1; }
+  .card.live:has(.thumb) .body { color: #fff; }
+
+  .eyebrow {
+    display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 9px;
+    font-family: Georgia, "Iowan Old Style", "Times New Roman", serif;
+    font-size: clamp(1.15rem, 2vw, 1.6rem); font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: -0.01em;
+  }
+  .ic { font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1; }
+  .card--large .eyebrow { font-size: clamp(1.5rem, 3vw, 2.1rem); }
+
+  .blurb { margin: 10px 0 16px; color: var(--muted); font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.45; max-width: 42ch; }
+  .headline {
+    margin: 12px 0 16px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: italic;
+    font-size: clamp(1.05rem, 1.8vw, 1.35rem); line-height: 1.35; max-width: 40ch;
+  }
+  .card.live:has(.thumb) .blurb { color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.86); }
+
+  .cta { display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 6px; font-weight: 700; color: var(--accent); font-size: 0.98rem; }
+  .card.live:has(.thumb) .cta { color: #fff; }
+  .arr { transition: transform 0.18s ease; }
+  .card:hover .arr { transform: translateX(4px); }
+</style>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/rooms.js b/frontend/src/lib/rooms.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..18f8d6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/rooms.js
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+// The homepage hub as data. Each "room" is one entry — add, reorder, or resize by
+// editing this list. `size` drives the grid footprint (large | wide | tall | small);
+// `preview` picks how the card shows itself (news/art = live snippet, static = blurb).
+// Copy here is placeholder — owner-written final wording lands later.
+export const ROOMS = [
+  {
+    id: 'news',
+    title: 'Good News',
+    blurb: "The world's quiet good, gathered each morning.",
+    href: '/',                 // becomes /news once the Brief is split out
+    cta: 'Read the Brief',
+    size: 'large',
+    preview: 'news',
+    icon: '📰',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'art',
+    title: 'Daily Art',
+    blurb: 'A masterwork a day, beautifully framed.',
+    href: '/art',
+    cta: 'View today',
+    size: 'wide',
+    preview: 'art',
+    icon: '🖼️',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'play',
+    title: 'Play',
+    blurb: 'Daily Word, Word Search, Bloom, Memory Match.',
+    href: '/play',
+    cta: 'Enter',
+    size: 'small',
+    preview: 'static',
+    icon: '🎲',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'moment',
+    title: 'Daily Moment',
+    blurb: 'A small calm to carry with you.',
+    href: '#',
+    cta: 'Soon',
+    size: 'small',
+    preview: 'static',
+    icon: '🌿',
+  },
+];
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/home2/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/home2/+page.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d9f413
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/home2/+page.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+<script>
+  import { onMount } from 'svelte';
+  import { getJSON } from '$lib/api.js';
+  import { ROOMS } from '$lib/rooms.js';
+  import RoomCard from '$lib/components/RoomCard.svelte';
+
+  // Hidden prototype of the new homepage hub (/home2). Iterate the look here, then
+  // promote to / and remove this clone — same approach we used for /art.
+  let artImg = $state(null);
+  let newsHeadline = $state('');
+
+  onMount(async () => {
+    try { artImg = (await getJSON('/api/art/today'))?.image_url ?? null; } catch { /* card falls back to blurb */ }
+    try {
+      const b = await getJSON('/api/brief?limit=1');
+      newsHeadline = b?.items?.[0]?.title ?? '';
+    } catch { /* card falls back to blurb */ }
+  });
+</script>
+
+<svelte:head>
+  <title>upbeatBytes — a calmer corner of the internet</title>
+  <meta name="robots" content="noindex" />
+  <meta name="description" content="A calmer corner of the internet: good news, daily art, small games, and little resets." />
+</svelte:head>
+
+<div class="room">
+  <header class="bar">
+    <a class="brand" href="/home2" aria-label="upbeatBytes home">
+      <img src="/logo.svg" alt="upbeatBytes" width="586" height="196" />
+    </a>
+    <nav class="nav">
+      <a href="/">News</a>
+      <a href="/play">Games</a>
+      <a href="/art">Art</a>
+      <a class="acct" href="/account" aria-label="Your account">
+        <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor"
+             stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true">
+          <circle cx="12" cy="8" r="3.3" />
+          <path d="M5.5 19.2a6.5 6.5 0 0 1 13 0" />
+        </svg>
+      </a>
+    </nav>
+  </header>
+
+  <main class="hub">
+    <div class="intro">
+      <h1>A calmer corner of the internet.</h1>
+      <p>Good news, daily art, small games, and little resets.</p>
+    </div>
+
+    <div class="grid">
+      {#each ROOMS as r (r.id)}
+        <RoomCard room={r} {artImg} {newsHeadline} />
+      {/each}
+    </div>
+  </main>
+
+  <footer class="foot">upbeatBytes — no ads, no paywalls, no doomscrolling.</footer>
+</div>
+
+<style>
+  .room {
+    --canvas: #faf6ee; --surface: #ffffff; --ink: #232a31; --muted: #707b86;
+    --line: #ece5d8; --accent: #0a93c0; --accent-deep: #066c8e;
+    min-height: 100vh; background: var(--canvas); color: var(--ink);
+    font-family: ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, sans-serif;
+    display: flex; flex-direction: column;
+  }
+
+  /* Bigger, more present top bar — logo + nav labels scaled up. */
+  .bar {
+    display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: space-between;
+    padding: 20px clamp(18px, 5vw, 64px);
+    max-width: 1180px; width: 100%; margin: 0 auto; box-sizing: border-box;
+  }
+  .brand { display: block; line-height: 0; }
+  .brand img { height: 50px; width: auto; display: block; }
+  .nav { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: clamp(18px, 3vw, 38px); }
+  .nav a { color: var(--ink); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 600; font-size: 1.12rem; }
+  .nav a:hover { color: var(--accent); }
+  .acct {
+    display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
+    width: 44px; height: 44px; border-radius: 50%; color: var(--muted);
+  }
+  .acct:hover { color: var(--accent); background: #eef6f9; }
+
+  .hub {
+    flex: 1; width: 100%; max-width: 1180px; margin: 0 auto; box-sizing: border-box;
+    padding: clamp(16px, 3vw, 40px) clamp(18px, 5vw, 64px) clamp(40px, 6vw, 72px);
+  }
+  .intro { text-align: center; margin: clamp(8px, 2vw, 22px) 0 clamp(28px, 4vw, 44px); }
+  .intro h1 {
+    font-family: Georgia, "Iowan Old Style", "Times New Roman", serif;
+    font-size: clamp(1.9rem, 4.5vw, 3rem); margin: 0; letter-spacing: -0.015em; line-height: 1.08;
+  }
+  .intro p { color: var(--muted); margin: 12px 0 0; font-size: clamp(1rem, 2vw, 1.2rem); }
+
+  .grid {
+    display: grid; gap: clamp(14px, 1.8vw, 22px);
+    grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr); grid-auto-flow: dense;
+  }
+  /* size variants → grid spans (RoomCard owns min-heights) */
+  :global(.grid .card--large) { grid-column: span 2; grid-row: span 2; }
+  :global(.grid .card--wide) { grid-column: span 2; }
+  :global(.grid .card--tall) { grid-row: span 2; }
+
+  @media (max-width: 860px) {
+    .grid { grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr); }
+    :global(.grid .card--large), :global(.grid .card--wide) { grid-column: span 2; }
+    :global(.grid .card--large), :global(.grid .card--tall) { grid-row: auto; }
+  }
+  @media (max-width: 540px) {
+    .grid { grid-template-columns: 1fr; }
+    :global(.grid .card--large), :global(.grid .card--wide), :global(.grid .card--tall) { grid-column: span 1; }
+  }
+
+  .foot {
+    text-align: center; color: var(--muted); font-size: 0.86rem;
+    padding: 28px 16px 40px; border-top: 1px solid var(--line); margin-top: auto;
+  }
+</style>