Back to the basics

An interi­or design trend from Japan has found its way into Ger­man liv­ing rooms: wabi-sabi.  Its mes­sage: Clear out your clut­ter and focus on the essen­tials! This will bring more har­mony and clar­ity into your home. The philo­sophy behind wabi-sabi is deeply rooted in Zen Buddhism, pla­cing great value on authen­ti­city, nat­ur­al­ness and sus­tain­ab­il­ity. Light wood, wool and felt are the mater­i­als typ­ic­al of this Far East­ern liv­ing style. Fur­niture and oth­er every­day utensils are allowed to age and show small flaws or signs of use. This is why a nat­ur­al wood floor, com­plete with knotholes or a vibrant grain, goes per­fectly with the wabi-sabi concept. Also the build­ing mater­i­als used for install­a­tion should be sus­tain­able and healthy for the res­id­ents. They can be eas­ily recog­nized by the EMICODE® qual­ity seal.

Wabi-sabi is a cen­tur­ies-old Japan­ese concept of aes­thet­ics, closely asso­ci­ated with Zen Buddhism. At the heart of it is the appre­ci­ation of beauty found in imper­fect, tran­si­ent and incom­plete things. There is no place for extra­vag­ance and play­ful dec­or­at­ive items. Fol­low­ers of wabi-sabi lim­it their home fur­nish­ings to things that are really close to their hearts: unique items made of organ­ic or nat­ur­al mater­i­als, prefer­ably hand­made. This can be a piece of fur­niture handed down from your grand­par­ents or your own pot­tery vase.

In its sim­pli­city and straight­for­ward­ness, the new trend from the Far East is very sim­il­ar to our pur­ism and min­im­al­ism. But wabi-sabi style does­n’t have to be cold and uncom­fort­able. Thanks to nat­ur­al and subtle col­ors, it also brings a cer­tain warmth and com­fort into our homes. The pre­ferred col­ors are cream, beige, grey, as well as muted shades of green, blue and pas­tel col­ors. Large win­dows and glass doors allow plenty of light to stream into the rooms. Nat­ur­al mater­i­als such as wood, wool, lin­en and bam­boo are also import­ant ingredi­ents of wabi-sabi style liv­ing.

Nev­er­the­less, the interi­or design does­n’t need to be per­fect. Fur­niture is allowed to have a cer­tain pat­ina, your favor­ite cup may be a little chipped, and the wear marks on the leath­er sofa simply belong. In oth­er words: It’s not appear­ance that counts accord­ing to the prin­ciples of wabi-sabi, but authen­ti­city. In addi­tion, the objects used inside our homes should be as dur­able as pos­sible. The philo­sophy from the Land of the Rising Sun thus stands for the exact oppos­ite of our soul­less con­sumer­ist and throwaway soci­ety.