The wabi-sabi design will be a big trend also for 2022, and we predicted this exactly four years ago
There have been a lot of philosophy trends on the radar that incorporate a way of living as well as design and aesthetic for your home. Wabi Sabi is one of these – a Japanese way of living that practices a mindful and slowing down of life, embracing the beauty of imperfection.
We were predicting this already at the beginning of 2018, with and article and a moodboard explaining how to decorate in Wabi Sabi style. Happy that almost 4 years later this interior trend is more relevant than ever, today we are sharing again some more informations and inspirations related to the Wabi-Wabi design and philosophy.
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Wabi-Sabi Philosophy
Wabi-Sabi is a concept that derives from simplicity and authenticity. The Japanese philosophy offers an escape from the reality’s modern obsession with perfectionism, instead embracing imperfections in a more meaningful way.
The Wabi-Sabi philosophy centres around the appreciation of the beauty of natural imperfection. It is about the aesthetic of things in existence that are “imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.”
The philosophy has deep roots in the Chinese Zen Buddhism, “a concept derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印, sanbōin), specifically impermanence (無常, mujō), suffering (苦, ku) and emptiness or absence of self-nature (空, kū).” ( Wikipedia). – It can also be traced back to a 16th-century fascinating g Japanese legend that you can read here.
Wabi-sabi can be described as “the most conspicuous and characteristic feature of what we think of as traditional Japanese beauty” Leonard Koren
|| Be inspired: How to decorate your home in a zen style
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Wabi-Sabi Design
How to translate the Wabi-Sabi concept into interiors and design?
Of course, we are oversimplify things at this point, as the Wabi-Sabi is much more than just a trend to make beautiful interiors – as mentioned above, it’s an aesthetics deeply rooted in Japanese history, that we cannot simply “reproduce” in our culture. But, anyways, there are some significants features that can be an inspiration for our homes and projects, to add a kind of “different” touch and mood from the ones we are used to.
“Wabi” can be referred to the kind of beauty in asymmetrical or unbalanced things – very different from our Occidental concept, rooted in the Greek culture, of symmetry and balance.
” Sabi” can be referred to the beauty of aged things – translating into tangible objects the concept of the impermanence of life, through the passage of time.
|| Be inspired by Japanese design and style:
- 5 words you should know about Japanese design
- How to decorate with Japanese paper lamps
- A perfect Japanese-style interior inspired by Indigo blue
Ogata shop&restaurant in Paris, ph ITALIANBARK
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Wabi-Sabi Interiors
Bringing a little Wabi-Sabi into homes can warm them up, making everything more “real” and natural.
For this reason, earthy and muted colours are the main colour palette for Wabi-Sabi interior – none artificial colors here. The reason is, also, as originally the walls of a Japanese home were made for earth and mud – hence these reference color palettes. An harmonious balance of browns, greys, beiges, with some natural green, is what makes the palette of a Wabi-Sabi inspired space. A palette that can create interiors that are serene and harmonious, where natural light and the interplay of muted colours – conveying a sense of enveloping luxury and comfort.
Together with these colors then, a set of natural materials and un-dyed fabrics are key things to use – such as jute, linen, reclaimed wood and timber. Few crafted and handmade pieces including natural rugs, textiles and ceramics, should be the key decorating elements, choose carefully for their meaning and history. For example, the Kintsugi pottery is a perfect sample of an object in-line with the Wabi-Sabi philosophy: broken pottery is glued back together with gold lacquer, giving the pottery a new lease of life while highlighting the fact that it was once broken.
Be inspired by our gallery of selected projects inspired by the Wabi-Sabi aesthetics.
Imperfection is Beautiful: the Wabi Sabi Apartment by Sergey Makhno Kiev, Ukraine via.
Shou Sugi Ban House, via
Ogata shop&restaurant in Paris, ph ITALIANBARK
