Japanese style
The Japanese style of modern interior design is gaining popularity. Many people like the simplicity of the Japanese interior, its elegance, functionality, as well as unusual solutions to common tasks.
Residents of modern megacities are attracted by Japan - an original, mysterious country, the centuries-old traditions of which are adjacent to the last word of progress.
A house decorated according to the laws of the Japanese style indicates that its owner is not subject to the hustle and bustle of the outside world, is able to see beauty in the ordinary and admire it. But this style of interior is not suitable for everyone. A person who cannot imagine himself without the hustle and bustle 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 discreet design, simple strict forms and noble materials. The Japanese interior style is due to national traditions.
Japanese culture is guided by the principle - "everything superfluous is ugly." The basis of the Japanese style is emptiness, emphasizing the inner elegance of the little that is in the house. Therefore, the fundamental feature of the Japanese style is minimalism. The house should have only the most necessary pieces of furniture, household items and decor. All things, household utensils are hidden in built-in wardrobes.
The house with a traditional Japanese interior has no walls. The landscape is a natural extension of the interior. From the inside, the house is divided not into rooms, but into “functional zones” with the help of screens, curtains, due to differences in floor level. All this has absorbed the modern Japanese style. Screens make the space of the apartment light and transparent; rearranging them, you can update the interior at least every day.
Laconic forms, strict in a businesslike way, the furniture is low and straightforward, as ancient wisdom says that life should take place on tatami - floor mats. The color scheme of the Japanese interior is predominantly light - white, beige, milky, cream. And Japanese furniture is designed in light colors, the surface of both walls and furniture is smooth. The materials used in the design are selected from precious woods and noble fabrics, which are also mostly cream and white from natural cotton and silk. Lacquered surfaces are common.
Japanese style - philosophy of simplicity
The principle on which the Japanese style is based is harmony with nature. Natural beauty is the essence of the Japanese home philosophy. In the Japanese interior, warm, calm colors are preferred. Everything should be made of natural materials: wood, bamboo, rice paper, uneven bricks, straw. The atmosphere of a Japanese home promotes meditation, peace, rest from the worries 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 focusing on the inner world, insusceptibility to the hustle and bustle of the outside world, the ability to see beauty in the simple. Hence the basic principle in the interior of Japanese dwellings is a lot of free space, minimalism and a minimum of things.
In Eastern philosophy, much attention is paid to simplicity and the reduction of chaos. To provide a simple background, opt for neutral natural colors. Although the color is not as important as the structure of the interior as a whole. The main task is to create a sense of geometric order.
Decisions in Japanese interior design are made based on one strong color or texture. Oriental colors are pure. Unlike the western approach, where colors are mixed and the overall image is made more elegant, oriental art is real. This means that the initial color or brushstroke is also the final result.
Black is often considered "not a color" in our society, although it is very important in oriental interiors. The use of black in the oriental room emphasizes the essence and form. It is used, for example, with white rice paper and shoji screens.
Japanese style - history
Graceful and light sliding doors-partitions made of paper and bamboo (shoji), the general principle of horizontal interior spaces, the preference for wood over stone, the lightness and openness of buildings - the Japanese owe this aesthetics not only to the humid and hot climate, but also to earthquakes that often occur on the islands.
The use of metal in the Japanese interior is kept to a minimum, it appears only in the form of necessary small accessories. The reason is obvious - Japan is not rich in metal-containing minerals, and a humid climate would cause a rather rapid destruction of all metal structures by rust. And instead of praising this material as something rare and outstanding, the Japanese simply created such an interior where everything that is not in abundance in Japan would look inharmonious and pretentious. Cold artificial light is no substitute for the reflections of an akari lamp on polished black wood.
The fashion for everything Japanese is no longer a novelty, and today it is difficult to find a person who would not imagine what the Japanese style is in the interior. But not everyone knows that Japan came to minimalism not only in pursuit of aesthetics. The desire for simplicity and functionality, the basic principles of Japanese home improvement, 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
Japanese-style interior lighting is also part of the composition. The Japanese dwelling cannot be buried in darkness. Soft and diffused light should highlight a few interior items, emphasize their uniqueness and significance.
The Japanese play fantastically subtly with light and space. Multi-leaf fusuma screens and sliding screens pasted over with paper create a new interior geometry every time, allow you to retire while remaining in the room. For sophisticated Japanese, this is extremely important, especially if the house has one floor with almost no divided space.
The Japanese interior implies a lot of light. Rice paper lampshades of simple shapes make the light soft and diffused. Such light visually expands the space. Hence the particularly scrupulous approach to daylight and light sources. What is now popular with Europeans and is called the "Japanese lamp" - a design made 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 50s of the last century and actually serves not so much for lighting, but to emphasize the twilight. And, of course, there was no question of any metal in the original - bamboo and real washi rice paper, weak light and haze. The light must be soft. Semi-darkness calms and gives the room a mystery. It is best to use paper lampshades.
Japanese style - accessories
In the Japanese style, great importance is attached to accessories and playing with details, such as cute porcelain plates resembling flower petals, elegant paintings made in the style of the Japanese art school, a metal candlestick equipped with a special glass that increases the flame of a candle. The Japanese sincerely believe that the contemplation of flowing water brings harmony to life, so you can put a mini-waterfall made of natural stone on the table. A pagoda-shaped wooden clock with matting trim, aromatic lamps made of snow-white porcelain, decorated with a relief pattern and candles inside will perfectly fit into the Japanese interior. The Japanese are fond of nature, the art of bonsai and ikebana is widely known all over the world, they will perfectly complement the Japanese style of your apartment.
Caskets, netsuke miniatures, wooden dolls, bronze figurines, scrolls with hieroglyphs (kakemono), bamboo or straw rugs - all this will give a finished look to the Japanese interior. An indispensable attribute is dwarf trees (bonsai), flower arrangements, vases, lamps and fine porcelain.
Items should be not only practical, but also beautiful. And only that which has a unique face is beautiful. Every thing in the Japanese interior is unique. At the same time, the beauty of a thing can only be understood by its owners.
If desired, you can arrange a niche in the room with figurines, netsuke figurines. It is believed that figurines of pagan gods bring good luck and prosperity to the house. An inevitable detail of Japanese-style interior design is hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs can be decorated with bedspreads, curtains, bed linen, 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 the minimum amount of furniture is used. Furniture should be of a simple geometric shape, besides small sizes. Materials are natural. The seating area is located in the center of the room. Typical Japanese style details are bamboo furniture and a sliding wall. Every item is exquisite.
Japanese furniture attracts with its simplicity, lightness and elegance, as well as, importantly, mobility. One of the main items is tatami, a straw mat. It is not so small - its traditional size is 2 sq.m, and they are usually changed once every 2 years. Well, if you put a futon on the mat, you get a comfortable and light bed that can be easily removed at any time.
In a traditional Japanese home, there was always a hearth, seating cushions, and a low table. Dishes and things were stored in cabinets that could be built into the walls, and even into the floor, as well as in special wall niches. Travel chests and mobile chests of drawers, on wheels, wardrobes, ladders, sideboards are very common - all this is traditional Tansu furniture. These furnishings were quite expensive and were decorated with forging, lacquering and were made of precious woods. By finishing it was possible to determine the social status of the owner, and initially only the nobility could have such furniture.
In terms of materials, hinoki and sugi, as well as durable reeds, were favorite woods, while kiri wood was used for drawers and chests of drawers because it absorbs moisture well.
Now furniture made of antique wood, teak, is especially popular - because it has an excellent margin of safety. Tables, frames, benches, screens are made from it, and they are also used in the decoration of tables, beds, chests of drawers, lamps, cabinets and ceiling for the Japanese interior.
The cosiness and comfort of the bedroom will help create design solutions and comfortable things. Such as a soft bed with a comfortable mattress, which is not difficult to buy on the Internet “all mattresses on one site”, paintings and antique chests of drawers.
The Japanese believe that in order for positive energy to move freely, empty space is necessary. Therefore, when creating a Japanese-style interior, first of all, take care of the space. Nothing superfluous, no decorations and trinkets, all things should be utilitarian in nature.
Japanese style - texture and contrast
The most common Japanese textures and materials are cedar, rice paper, maple, bamboo, stone and wicker, as well as painted silk, tatami mats on the floor, and carefully embroidered kimonos and obi.
Japanese culture is looking for a way to balance opposites in all aspects of life (yin and yang), and Japanese interiors are no exception. The finished interior can be very contrasting, but, nevertheless, a balance will be achieved in it. Examples are a heavily polished floor with heavy matting, a lacquered box placed on top of a rough wooden table, or white pebbles on black granite around a bathroom.
Walls can be decorated with light woods, fabrics (cotton and silk) in cream and white shades. Natural floor covering. Instead of doors, sliding partitions or screens. Cozy lacquer tables are used as dining tables and are decorative at the same time. The Japanese style is quite consistent with minimalist transforming tables on small wheels, they easily rise and fall to the required height, and are also easy to move.
Japanese style in a modern home
In general, the Japanese style can be called minimalist-decorative. It harmoniously combines emptiness and beauty. For a person living in a "Japanese house", the main thing is harmony and unity with nature.
To create a Japanese interior, you need an understanding of the culture of a mysterious eastern country, a special perception of the world, which is also reflected in the interior design. Japan is characterized by introversion, focusing on the inner world and sensations. And therefore, such an interior is almost always minimalistic, and this, often, has a deep philosophical meaning. In other words, the spiritual principle prevails over the material, but is expressed through it. Only a few pieces of furniture and a lot of free space - such is the classic Japanese interior, where every thing has its purpose - to create and maintain harmony in the house.