Give Your Home a Japandi-style Makeover
One of the most exciting new trends in interior design is the medley of Japanese and Scandinavian styles, which has been termed Japandi by designers around the world. While the two may be pretty far apart geographically, they share a surprising number of similar characteristics!
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, read on to see how you can snag the look for your home:
1. Start with decluttering
The “Japan” part of Japandi emphasises minimalist zen, which is a philosophy of keeping only what you need – nothing more, nothing less. With the exception of maybe a tasteful decorative plant, your tabletops should be cleared, and your items either kept away or arranged in organisers, leaving you with simple and clean lines.
Beyond physical objects, this philosophy also extends to the design of the space: loud textures and eye-catching shapes are done away with to leave behind the bare essence of each material and object. For the base of the room, a minimalistic design goes well with this concept – try Ecoforesta or Sonosand for a uniquely unvarnished look of naked wood and stone.
2. Welcome nature indoors
One thing that Scandinavian and Japanese share is their love for nature. Indoor plants aside, you would find that most of their furnishings are also crafted from natural materials such as cotton, bamboo, stone, and wood. For this reason, biophilic design sensibilities blend in effortlessly with Japandi aesthetics.
If you love Japandi aesthetics, consider Portino’s PY6 for your flooring, which gives you all the visual beauty of natural wood without any of the headache of upkeep and maintenance.
Get a head start on your home makeover with the wood effect tiles PY6.
3. Go for neutral colours
Peace and relaxation are the key focuses of Japandi: a home that is less of an art piece and more of a sacred personal sanctuary, which is why its colour scheme tends to be largely neutral. There aren’t many things that pop out and grab your attention, but you can be sure you are going to be 100% comfortable here.
When mixing and matching pieces, you can’t go wrong with mimicking the colours of the outdoors: stone greys, oak browns, moss greens, and clay yellows are all shades that blend in effortlessly with each other, giving you a subdued, serene visual environment. Check out Touch Stone for tiles with hues that will bring you into harmony with nature.
4. Focus on comfort
At the heart of Scandinavian design is hygge, which is the homey, cosy feeling we all love to come home to at the end of a long day. After you’re through with all of the above, don’t forget to toss a blanket over the couch to keep yourself warm on chilly nights, and introduce some warm lighting to keep the mood cosy and intimate.
A simple and easy way to add comfort is to accessorise your space. Keeping with the zen minimalist philosophy, go for just one or two pieces that help put your mind at ease, such as a simple wall art or a scented candle.
5. Embrace imperfection
Custom-designed homes often fall into the trap of looking positively instagrammable, but fail to accommodate any actual living activity in them. The Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi challenges the picture-perfect ideal by emphasising the appreciation of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete in nature – asymmetrical pottery, furniture with grooved lines, and irregular surfaces are not the enemy, but your friend in achieving this minimalist yet comfortable style.
With these tips, you should be well on your way towards achieving that effortlessly calming and elegant Japandi look!
