Inspired Japanese Interior Design

Your home should be your sanctuary; a place that you can escape to when the real world gets a little too hectic. In cases like that, you want a place of escape that will bring peace; a place that has a calming aura about it.

Home design that is inspired by Japanese interior design has become more popular over the years. Japanese interior design is soothing, and focuses on simplicity in design. The less clutter in your home, and the more you will want to use it as a way to step back from the real world and refocus on you and your family.

Japanese interior design is very minimalistic, and has a feeling of Zen to it. The colours are always very neutral, and focus on natural materials. The lines of the furniture are usually very clean lines; the pieces of furniture are often lower and lie close to the floor.

For example, in Japanese interior design a table in the middle of the room would be lower than what Western design would usually be. To compliment this low table, try placing pillows on the floor that can be used as seating.

Traditional Japanese interior design uses Tatami mats on the floors – straw mats, with a cloth border along the outsides. The straw in these mats is soft green at first, but after a couple of months fades to a neutral beige colour when it dries out. If you decide to go with Tatami mats on your floor, make sure that you keep these mats dry. Humidity or dampness will result in mould growth; it is recommended to air the mats out 4 times a year in the sun to prevent this.

Screens are always a very useful thing to have in your room. You can find very simple ones, or ones with a bit more of an elaborate design. My favourite screens have cherry blossoms painted on the screens, as it brings even more of a Japanese flavour to the room. A screen can be used to separate two parts of the room, or to hide something that you don’t want to be plainly visible.

Screens can also be used as a window shade; it let’s light into the room but still provides privacy.

In the way of accents to your room, silk is a must, whether it’s used for a wall art or as an accent to a piece of furniture. As well, if you want to include a bit of greenery in your room, try a bonsai plant. It’s small and won’t clutter up your room, but will be a nice addition to add a little bit more life.

With these simple guidelines, you can quickly create a home, or a room in your home, that has distinctive influences Japanese interior design, and your home will soon become your sanctuary!

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