3 easy tips to emulate Japanese minimalism

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.

HOW TO GET THE JAPANESE MINIMALIST LOOK

1. PUT EMPHASIS ON FLEXIBILITY

Our living spaces today can become a school or an office during business days. Make transition easier by having multifunctional and portable furniture that sit 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.

2. STRIVE FOR CLEAN GEOMETRY

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.

3. LET THINGS AGE GRACEFULLY

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.

BRANDS TO CHECK OUT

Ariake, Karimoku New Style, Kimu Design, Maruni, Muji, Stellar Works, The Tatami Shop