Japanese Interior Design

A romanticised view of Japanese culture has long been an important cultural force in the West, as have the imported traits of Japanese architecture and design. But what exactly is Japanese interior design? How do we incorporate it in our homes? There are several key truths about Japanese design and to understand them, you must understand something of the history and philosophy of the Japanese.

What is recognised as the Japanese aesthetic comes from the ideals and tenets of Taoism, a way of thinking brought from China in ancient times. The culture of Japan is extremely varied and diverse, yet in the field of interior design, the aesthetic is consistently one of simplicity and minimalism.

Laozi, a Taoist philosopher, believed that the true beauty of a room came from the empty space within the roof and walls - the aesthetic ideal of emptiness. The Taoists suggested that the mood should be captured in the imagination, not by what is physically there. Elaboration, craftsmanship, beauty and delicacy was the basis for Japanese designs and is still valued today!

The use of natural materials is an important theme in Japan; their simplicty highlights the minimal and natural decoration, which in turn connects the room to nature.. It is common for materials like wood, bamboo, silk, rice straw mats, and paper shōji screens to be used. Similarly, natural colour schemes are common with neutral palettes of black, white, off-white, grey and brown. In using these materials, the designs are concious of using resources efficiently. Rooms are designed to be flexible in use and multi-funtional. The shōji screens allow rooms to be opened up or closed down.

The shōji screens are made of paper and then attached to quite thin wooden frames that roll away on a track when they are pushed. Shōji are also  meant to allow light through. This is an important aspect to Japanese design. Paper translucent walls allow light to be diffused through the space and create light shadows and patterns.

There are other common design features in the Japanese tradition:

Bamboo is frequently present in the Japanese home, being used both for decorative and functional purposes. Bamboo blinds, sudare, replace shoji in summer to prevent excess heat inside and also offer greater ventilation. Country dwellings and farmhouses often use it for ceilings and rafters. The natural properties of bamboo, its raw beauty with the knots and smooth surface, corrrspond to Japanese aesthetic ideals of imperfection, contrast and the natural.

The use of paper, or washi, in Japanese buildings is a main component in the beauty and atmosphere of the Japanese interior, the way variation of shadow combines to create a “mystery of shadows”. A range of papers are used for various purposes in the home.

Wood is generally used for the framework of the home, but its properties are valuable in the Japanese aesthetic, namely its warmth and irregularity.

A recessed space called tokonoma is often present in traditional as well as modern Japanese living rooms. This is the focus of the room and displays Japanese art, usually a painting or calligraphy.

We hope this article has been both helpful and informative! Japanese minimalism is an attractive design for your home, don't be afraid to try it!

Furnishings Direct sells designer wallpaper at reduced prices and other homewares.

Top Tips for Living Room Design

The most important room for expressing your personality to the world is the living room. Whilst your bedroom may be a more truthful representation of your intimate nature, the living room, being where guests visit and you spend a great deal of time, allows you to project whatever aspect of your personality you like.

Firstly you should browse (be it online, in our home decor section for example) for a single item that you adore. This could be absolutely anything: a fabric for a sofa or chair, a carpet or flooring, or it could be the curtains or drapes, or even an accessory – a cushion, a rug, a throw. It doesn't matter what the item is; the only rule is to make sure you love it because the entire colour scheme for the room will be based off it.

Next Up - colour scheme. Take a long, hard look at the decor you've just selected. Consider how you would like the room to look in relation to them. Do you want a smooth pallette of colours that blend and create a peaceful wash in your living room, or would you rather work with variations on a single strong colour? The safest and easiest method is probably to choose 2 or 3 main, complimentary colours. Creating a feature wall by papering just one wall with an interesting patterned wallpaper is very fashionable at the moment. If you take this route, ensure that the other walls have a smooth colour to them that goes well with your feature wall. The skirting board should either compliment or match the wall colours.

When choosing paper for a feature wall, bear in mind that the wallpaper can be louder and more outre (if you wish) than it could be if you were papering the entire room. Whether covering one wall or the whole room, remember that smaller patterns create space and larger patterns can make rooms seem smaller.

The Third Step is all about texture. Your choice of wallpaper may have already led to some texture being in the room, however it is important to realise that texture creates layers in a room and is an interesting way of keeping your colour pallette flowing throughout without making your living room look boring. Ideas for textures? Try: velvet, suede, sheer, fake fur, flocked cotton, silk and chenille/crewel.

Step four: At this point in your living room designs, you should step back and make sure that the room isn’t going to seem overcrowded. A busy room is completely different to a loud room. Loud rooms can still be calming, but busy rooms just look messy and the design is flawed and unpleasant. Too much of a good thing can kill your design. The trick, we find, is to blend well. This blending can be achieved through offsetting small patterns next to large ones, placing stripes next to checks, and using neutral colours to break up louder tones. Equally, ensure that textures do blend and don’t over-do them. Less is more.

Our Tips

• Keep large items (sofas etc.) in plainer fabrics, especially in smaller rooms, to lower the risk of looking ‘busy’
• Consider where your windows are when curtains are bought. Don’t place a line of heavily patterned curtains next to one another. For long lines of windows, use calmer curtains.
• Create a mood board from things you tear out of magazines, or print off online.
• Use borders to pick up the colours of key focal points in the room.
• Place lighting at different heights in the room.
• Swap and change your lamps often, to avoid your room looking stale and boring.
• Custom made curtains, if you have the budget, allow you to pick all the fabrics and there is a noticable difference in effect.

Our Don'ts of Living Room Design

• This is your main entertaining room. Guests are meant to feel welcome, thus position seating in groups and use sofas. Don’t have chairs on their own.
• Hoard old cushions and rugs if repairable or coverable by new material. Otherwise bin them to prevent your room from looking tired.
• Don’t worry what others will think, design for yourself.
• Don’t be afraid of colours or patterns. Experiment and have fun.

Home Crafts: Traditional Christmas Cake

Traditional Christmas Cakes are a great festive treat! There are many variations on the recipe (ours is adapted from a tried and tested and delicious BBC one) and you might have your own methods. However, if you're new to christmas baking, or simply looking for an alternative then try out this recipe.

Ingredients

225g/8oz plain flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
200g/7oz butter
200g/7oz dark brown sugar
2 tbsp black treacle
1 tbsp marmalade
¼ tsp vanilla essence
4 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
800g/1¾lb mixed dried fruits
100g/3½oz chopped mixed peel
150g/5oz glacé cherries, halved
100g/3½oz blanched almonds, chopped
brandy

To decorate

200g/7oz Marzipan

1-2 tbsp warmed apricot jam

Royal Icing

3 free-range egg whites

600g/11lb/5oz sieved icing sugar

1 1/2 tsp liquid glycerine

1 tbsp lemon juice 

Preparation

Firstly, preheat your oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Grease all around an 8inch round tin or a 7inch square one and the line both the base and sides with greaseproof paper. Next sieve the flour, the salt, the cinnamon and the mixed spices into a bowl. In a separate bowl, Cream the butter and the sugar and then mix them with the treacle, marmalade and vanilla essence until they are light and fluffy. Crack your eggs and mix them in a bit at a time adding a tablespoon of the flour mixture (first bowl) with the last of the eggs. Following this, fold in the remaining flour mixture until they are well mixed and then add the dried fruit, mixed peel, glace cherries and almonds. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and make a slight hollow in the centre.

Baking

You must now bake your cake in the oven for 3 hours, testing it with a skewer. If it is not ready bake it for up to another hour, testing it every 20 minutes until the skewer comes out clean. Take the cake from the oven, leaving it to cool in the tin for 15 minutes. After this, turn it out on to a wire rack. Once the cake has fully cooled you should poke a few holes into the cake with a skewer and pour 3 or 4 tablespoons of brandy over the cake, letting it soak in.

The cake is then ready to be wrapped in foil and placed in an airtight tin or plastic container, holes side up. If you want the cake to be rich and moist then spoon on a few tablespoons of brandy every week until you are ready to ice and decorate the cake.

Decorating

In order to decorate the cake, put it on a foil board or plate. Dust your hands and then work the surface with a little icing sugar, kneading the marzipan until it is soft. Roll out half of the marzipan, fitting the top of the cake. The other half should be rolled out in strips to fit around the sides of the cake. Warm the apricot jam, brushing it all over the cake and using it as a glue for the marzipan. Cover your cake with a clean tea towl, leaving it in a cool place for at least a day. In order to make the icing, lightly whisk the egg whites, occasioanlly adding the sugar at intervals. Beat it well until the icing reaches soft peaks, adding the glycerine and lemon juice. Spread the icing all over the cake using a clean ruler or by forming soft peaks. Decorate with Christmas ornaments.

Furnishings Direct sells designer wallpaper at reduced prices and other homewares.