The Japanese style of decorating a modern interior is gaining popularity. Many people take to the simplicity of the Japanese interior, its elegance and functionality, as well as the unusual solutions it offers for familiar tasks.
The inhabitants of modern megacities are drawn to Japan — an original, mysterious country whose centuries-old traditions coexist with the latest word of progress.
A house decorated according to the laws of the Japanese style testifies that its owner is immune to the fuss and chaos of the outside world, is able to see beauty in the everyday and to admire it. But such an interior style will not suit everyone. A person who cannot imagine himself without the noise and fuss of the modern world will not be able to live in a house where emptiness, air and light reign.
The Japanese style is a style with a restrained design, simple strict forms and noble materials. The Japanese interior style is determined by national traditions.
Japanese culture is guided by the principle that “everything superfluous is ugly”. The basis of the Japanese style is emptiness, emphasizing the inner grace of the few things that are in the house. Therefore, the fundamental feature of the Japanese style is minimalism. The house should contain only the most necessary items of furniture, household objects and decor. All things and household utensils are hidden in built-in cupboards.
A house with a traditional Japanese interior has no walls. The landscape is a natural continuation of the interior. Inside, the house is divided not into rooms but into “functional zones” with the help of screens and curtains, and by means of differences in floor level. All of this has been absorbed by the modern Japanese style. Screens make the space of the apartment light and transparent; by rearranging them, one can renew the interior every day.
The forms are laconic and businesslike-strict, the furniture is low and straight-lined, for ancient wisdoms say that life should be lived on tatami — floor mats. The colour scheme of the Japanese interior is predominantly light — white, beige, milky, cream. And the Japanese furniture is kept in light tones; the surfaces of both walls and furniture are smooth. The materials used in the decor are chosen from valuable wood species and noble fabrics, which are also mostly cream and white, of natural cotton and silk. Lacquered surfaces are widespread.
JAPANESE STYLE — the philosophy of simplicity
The principle on which the Japanese style is based is harmony with nature. Natural beauty is the essence of the philosophy of the Japanese dwelling. Warm, calm colours are preferred in the Japanese interior. Everything should be made of natural material: wood, bamboo, rice paper, uneven brick, straw. The atmosphere of a Japanese house promotes meditation, peace, and rest from the cares and troubles of the outside world.
Eastern culture in general and Japanese culture in particular attract us with their dissimilarity and mystery. Japanese philosophy is characterized by concentration on the inner world, immunity to the fuss of the outside world, the ability to see beauty in the simple. Hence the main principle in the interiors of Japanese dwellings: plenty of free space, minimalism and a minimum of things.
Eastern philosophy devotes great attention to simplicity and the reduction of chaos. To provide a simple background, neutral natural colours are chosen. Although colour is not as important as the structure of the interior as a whole. The most important task is to create a sense of geometric order.
Decisions in the Japanese interior are made on the basis of one strong colour or texture. Eastern colours are pure. Unlike the Western approach, where colours are mixed to make the overall image more refined, Eastern art is genuine. This means that the initial colour or brushstroke is the final result.
Black is often considered a “non-colour” in our society, yet it is very important in the Eastern interior. The use of black in an Eastern room emphasizes the essence and form. It is used, for example, with white rice paper and shoji screens.
JAPANESE STYLE — history
The elegant, lightweight sliding doors-partitions of paper and bamboo (shoji), the general principle of horizontality of interior spaces, the preference for wood over stone, the lightness and openness of structures — the Japanese owe this aesthetics not only to the humid, hot climate but also to the earthquakes that often strike the islands.
The use of metal in the Japanese interior is reduced to a minimum; it appears only as necessary small accessories. The reason is obvious: Japan is not rich in metal-containing minerals, and the humid climate would cause fairly rapid rust destruction of all metal structures. And instead of exalting this material as something rare and outstanding, the Japanese simply created an interior in which everything that Japan does not have in abundance would look inharmonious and affected. Cold artificial light cannot replace the glints of an akari lamp on polished black wood.
Fashion for everything Japanese is no longer a novelty, and today it is hard to find a person who could not imagine what the Japanese style in the interior is. But not everyone knows that Japan arrived at minimalism not only in pursuit of aesthetics. The striving for simplicity and functionality — the basic principles of the Japanese house — is by no means a tribute to fashion, but a consequence of the history and national characteristics of the Land of the Rising Sun.
JAPANESE STYLE — light
Lighting in Japanese-style interiors is also part of the composition. A Japanese dwelling cannot drown in darkness. Soft, diffused light should highlight the few interior items, emphasizing their uniqueness and significance.
The Japanese play fantastically subtly with light and space. The multi-panel fusuma screens and paper-covered sliding screens create a new geometry of the interior each time, allowing one to be alone while remaining in the room. For refined Japanese this is extremely important, especially if the house has a single storey of almost undivided space.
The Japanese interior implies plenty of light. Lampshades of simple shapes made of rice paper make the light soft and diffused. Such light visually expands the space. Hence a particularly scrupulous approach to daylight and light sources. What is now popular with Europeans and goes under the name “Japanese lamp” — a construction of paper and a metal frame — is actually a very important element of the interior: this lamp is called akari. It was created back in the 1950s, and in fact it serves not so much to illuminate as to emphasize the semi-darkness. And, of course, there could be no question of any metal in the original — bamboo and genuine washi rice paper, dim light and matte. The light should be soft. Semi-darkness calms and gives the room mystery. It is best to use paper lampshades.
JAPANESE STYLE — accessories
In the Japanese style, great importance is attached to accessories and the elaboration of details — such as cute porcelain plates resembling flower petals, elegant paintings done in the style of the Japanese art school, or a metal candlestick equipped with special glass that magnifies the candle flame. The Japanese sincerely believe that contemplating flowing water brings harmony into life, so you can place on the table a miniature waterfall made of natural stone. Wooden clocks finished with burlap and made in the shape of a pagoda, aromatic lamps of snow-white porcelain decorated with a relief pattern and with candles inside, will fit perfectly into the Japanese interior. The Japanese are tenderly disposed towards nature; the arts of bonsai and ikebana, widely known throughout the world, will wonderfully complement the Japanese style of your apartment.
Caskets, netsuke miniatures, wooden dolls, bronze statuettes, scrolls with hieroglyphs (kakemono), bamboo or straw mats — all this will give a finished look to the Japanese interior. Indispensable attributes are dwarf trees (bonsai), ikebana arrangements, vases, lamps and exquisite porcelain.
Objects should be not only practical but also beautiful. And only that which has an inimitable face is beautiful. Every thing in the Japanese interior is unique. Moreover, the beauty of a thing may be understood only by its owners.
If you wish, you can arrange a niche in the room with statuettes and netsuke figurines. It is believed that statuettes of pagan gods bring luck and prosperity to the house. An inevitable detail of rooms decorated in the Japanese style is hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs can adorn bedspreads, curtains, pastel linen and rugs.
You can also decorate the room with Japanese fans, kimono dolls and other elements of Japanese culture.
JAPANESE STYLE — furniture
In the Japanese style nothing overloads the attention; space is highly valued, so a minimal amount of furniture is used. The furniture should be of simple geometric form and of small size. The materials are natural. The place for rest is arranged in the centre of the room. Typical details of the Japanese style are bamboo furniture and sliding partitions. Every thing is exquisite.
Japanese furniture attracts with its simplicity, lightness and elegance, and also — which is no small matter — mobility. One of the main objects is the tatami, a straw mat. It is not so very small — its traditional size is 2 sq m, and it is usually replaced once every 2 years. And if you put a futon on the mat, you get a comfortable and light bed that can be easily put away at any moment.
A traditional Japanese house always had a hearth, cushions for sitting and a low table. Dishes and things were stored in cupboards that could be built into the walls and even into the floor, as well as in special wall niches. Travel chests and wheeled commodes, step cabinets, and sideboards are very widespread — all of this is the traditional tansu furniture. These furnishings were quite expensive and were decorated with wrought iron, lacquer, and made of valuable wood species. The finish could indicate the social position of the owner, and originally only the nobility could have such furniture.
As for materials, the favourite wood species were hinoki and sugi, as well as durable reed species, while chests of drawers were made of kiri wood, since it absorbs moisture well.
Nowadays furniture made of antique wood, teak, is especially popular — since it possesses an excellent reserve of strength. Tables, frames, benches and screens are made of it, and it is also used in the decor of bedside tables, beds, chests of drawers, lamps, cabinets, and ceilings for the Japanese interior.
Design solutions and comfortable things will help create cosiness and comfort in the bedroom. Such as a soft bed with a comfortable mattress, paintings and antique chests of drawers.
The Japanese believe that for positive energy to move freely, empty space is necessary. Therefore, when creating an interior in the Japanese style, first of all take care of the space. Nothing superfluous, no decorations and trinkets; all things should be of a utilitarian character.
JAPANESE STYLE — texture and contrast
The most common Japanese textures and materials: cedar, rice paper, maple, bamboo, stone and woven vines, as well as painted silk, tatami mats on the floor, and carefully embroidered kimono and obi.
Japanese culture seeks a way to balance opposites in all aspects of life (yin and yang), and Japanese interiors are no exception. A finished interior can be very contrasting, but nevertheless a balance will be achieved in it. Examples are a heavily polished floor with heavy mats, a lacquered box placed on top of a rough wooden table, or white pebbles on black granite around the bath.
Walls can be decorated with light wood species and with fabric (cotton and silk) in cream and white shades. Natural flooring. Sliding partitions or screens instead of doors. Cosy lacquer tables are used as dining tables while also being decorative. Transformer tables on small castors quite correspond to the Japanese style: they are easily raised and lowered to the required height and are also easily moved.
JAPANESE STYLE in a modern house
In general, the Japanese style can be called minimalist-decorative. Emptiness and beauty are harmoniously combined in it. For a person living in a “Japanese house”, the main things are harmony and oneness with nature.
To create a Japanese interior, one needs an understanding of the culture of the mysterious Eastern country, a special perception of the world, which is also reflected in the arrangement of the interior. Japan is characterized by introversion, concentration on the inner world and feelings. And therefore such an interior is practically always minimalist, and therein often lies a deep philosophical meaning. In other words, the spiritual principle prevails over the material, but is expressed through it. Only a few furnishings and plenty of free space — this is the classic Japanese interior, where every thing has its purpose: to create and preserve harmony in the house.
