4 Easy Ways To Bring Japanese Minimalism Into Your Home
Spotlighting Japanese minimalism, we take a look at how you can incorporate these stylistic elements into your home
The minimalist design philosophy is inherent in Japanese culture as it is rooted in the Zen philosophy that, in turn, greatly influences Japanese design. The social hub of a traditional Japanese home is a flexible, multifunctional room called washits (literally translates to ‘the Japanese room’) or the tatami room, which is an empty room with tatami that can serve a number of purposes. This tradition of having a flexible room is especially relevant in our world today, where we do almost everything from home.
Our living spaces today can become a school or an office during business days. Make the transition easier by having multifunctional and portable furniture that sits low on the ground. You can also consider flexible room partitions like accordion or sliding doors, or curtains to merge and divide room according to your needs.
Taking a page from Marie Kondo’s playbook, everything in your home must have its own home. Consider hidden storage with flush joinery that looks neat and clean-cut that will take care of the clutter.
Japanese minimalism often features a neutral color palette. Think natural earth tones such as whites, beiges, greys, and light browns. These colors promote a sense of calmness and tranquility. Materials like wood, bamboo, and stone also add warmth and texture to your space while reflecting the connection with nature, a fundamental aspect of Japanese design.
Clean-cut and clutter-free don’t have to be boring. Build your material palette with natural materials that will gain patina as they age or feature visually interesting imperfections like stained timber, shou sugi ban wood and corten steel. Add white to the colour scheme with paper, which will retain its pristine quality for a long time.
Text: Asih Jenie/Home & Decor Additional text: Michelle Lee
This article was originally published on Oct 15, 2021 and updated on June 5, 2023.