Wabi sabi interior design is a Japanese style that celebrates life’s imperfections. The term “wabi” (侘) refers to living with simplicity and oneness with nature. Meanwhile, “sabi”(寂) refers to accepting everything wherever it is in its life cycle, flaws and all.
Although the design philosophy is Japanese, it derives from Chinese Zen Buddhist philosophy. Wabi-sabi adopted the Zen Buddhist idea that nothing is ever perfect, complete, and permanent.
Applying wabi sabi interior design principles to your home can help you find joy in your everyday life despite flaws and imperfections. Wabi-sabi may seem completely different from your current style, but you can apply the Japanese design principles in small ways to turn your home into your sanctuary.
So, follow these wabi-sabi design studio tips to bring a bit of wabi-sabi into your home.
Jump to:
- Less is More
- Accept Imperfections
- Use Natural Materials
- Embrace Asymmetry
- Use a Palette of Earthy, Neutral Tones
- Rid Your Home of Excess
- Repurpose or Upcycle Pieces You Already Own
- Find Beauty in Broken Items
- Choose New Pieces with Intention
- Add Personal Touches
- Add Plants and Other Natural Elements to Your Home
- Make Your Home Look Cozy
- Stimulate Your Senses
Less is More
Wabi sabi interior design is all about simplicity. While stores ply us with unlimited home goods, marketed to make us feel that we need them, all these extra items can make our homes feel cluttered and chaotic rather than the peaceful homes we want.
How to achieve this look
Instead of filling a shelf with books, plants, trinkets, and knick-knacks, choose one or two statement pieces and leave space around them. As a result, the space around an item makes it a focal point. Moreover, having less clutter will help you feel more peaceful and relaxed in your home.
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Accept Imperfections
Our society has become obsessed with perfection. Scrolling through perfect Pinterest homes, we begin to believe that everything in our homes should be brand new, flawless, with nothing out of place.
Wabi sabi interior design rejects the idea that everything needs to be perfect. Instead, it celebrates the imperfections that give pieces character, such as the knots in a bit of wood, peeling paint, or tarnished metal.
How to achieve this look
Try a piece of wabi sabi furniture made of natural wood. An unfinished table or stool that shows the wood’s grain and knots, maybe even still has bark, contributes more warmth and personality to your home than a mass-produced piece of furniture with perfect, clean lines.
Use Natural Materials
Wabi sabi interior design celebrates natural materials that will age gracefully. Instead of manufactured materials, the principle favours raw materials like wood, stone, and leather. These natural materials are sturdy enough to last but will visibly age and wear, adding more dimension to your wabi-sabi style house.
How to achieve this look
Instead of a mass-produced cutting board, opt for a hand-carved wood slab. A piece like this will last for your lifetime and beyond, and the wood will wear, stain, and age, bringing more wabi-sabi style into your home.
Embrace Asymmetry
The Chinese Feng Shui design philosophy is all about finding perfect symmetry and balance. However, the wabi sabi interior design principles strive for asymmetry in the opposite direction. Besides, nothing is perfectly symmetrical in nature. So, a wabi-sabi room will contain asymmetrical pieces that celebrate the natural world.
How to achieve this look
Consider replacing your bowls with imperfect asymmetrical bowls. For example, hand-carved wooden or hand-thrown pottery bowls embrace the concepts of the Japanese design philosophy. Whether you use one as decor in your living room or fill it with your morning cereal, these asymmetric pieces will add to the peaceful feeling of your wabi-sabi home.
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Use a Palette of Earthy, Neutral Tones
While a pop of colour here and there can add some interest to your living space, wabi sabi interior design uses mainly neutral tones. This is because Japanese walls were traditionally made of earth or mud, and this design style imitates this earthy feeling with a neutral colour palette.
How to achieve this look
Choose browns, greys, and earthy greens colours for paint, furniture, and textiles in your home. These colours will invoke feelings of calm. While some splashes of colour are welcome in a wabi-sabi room, brighter colours should be limited to accents, so they are not overstimulating.
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Rid Your Home of Excess
One of the easiest ways to work toward a more wabi sabi interior design is to get rid of some of the things you already have. While buying new home furnishings can be exciting, packing your house full of furniture and decor will not help you achieve the down-to-earth aesthetic.
As stated before, less is more in wabi-sabi style house. A significant component of the design philosophy is finding contentment with what we already have. So, find the pieces you already own that you truly love. Then, give the others away, preferably to loving homes. Moreover, creating more space will help the elements you love shine and give your home a more calming atmosphere.
How to achieve this look
To create a wabi sabi bedroom design without purchasing new furniture, look at what you have and think about what you need. Of course, you will need key pieces like a dresser and sleeping place.
What can you get rid of? You could replace a wall full of framed pictures with one piece of art. You could also clear the top of your dresser of trinkets and replace them with flowers or branches. Simplify your space.
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Repurpose or Upcycle Pieces You Already Own
Wabi sabi interior design encourages finding new uses for old items. At its core, the philosophy calls for going further with appreciating what we already have and accepting our things no matter where they are in their life cycle. Maybe an item does not serve its original purpose anymore, but perhaps it can be used for something else.
How to achieve this look
Look at what unused items are in your home. Perhaps you were going to get rid of some old jars, or maybe a stool that isn’t quite sturdy enough to sit on anymore has been sitting in your basement waiting to be repaired. Could the jars be used as vases? Could the stool become an end table or nightstand?
Before you look to buy something, think of if you already own something that could serve the same purpose.
Find Beauty in Broken Items
We are often inclined to throw things away as soon as it breaks. Wabi sabi interior design incorporates broken items, appreciating them just as they are.
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of glueing broken pottery back together using gold lacquer. The gold cracks where the piece was broken celebrate the flaw that makes it unique.
How to achieve this look
Resist the urge to throw something away as soon as it breaks. If the handle breaks off a pitcher, perhaps it can still be used as a decoration. Maybe you even want to try your hand at kintsugi, turning a broken bowl into a striking piece of art.
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Choose New Pieces with Intention
With all the products available at stores and online, it can be difficult not to impulse buy things that we like. Excessive buying leads to clutter in our homes which detracts from the feelings of peace and relaxation we strive for with wabi sabi interior design. Take time to consider how you will incorporate a new home furnishing and whether it will bring you joy.
How to achieve this look
Avoid buying something just because it is cute or attractive. Picture the item in your home and think about how it will contribute to your home and happiness.
Add Personal Touches
In wabi sabi interior design, homemade decor adds more warmth to a home than its store-bought counterparts. A child’s painting, a handmade macrame hanging on the wall, or a hand-thrown pottery vase contribute personal touches to your home.
How to achieve this look
Do you have a talent for painting, pottery, or another craft? Display your own art; it doesn’t need to be perfect! If you have friends or acquaintances who make wooden furniture or quilts, consider adding their pieces to your home instead of buying from a store.
Add Plants and Other Natural Elements to Your Home
The imperfections of nature inspire wabi sabi interior design philosophy, so there is no better way to achieve it than to bring pieces of nature into your home. Wabi sabi living celebrates the natural asymmetry and imperfection of plants, stones, and other natural elements.
How to achieve this look
Go outside and forage for a natural element to add to your home. A simple branch or two in a vase adds a striking focal point to any room.
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Make Your Home Look Cozy
A home with wabi sabi interior design should look lived in, not sterile. It should be inviting and make you want to relax. While you don’t want much clutter, functional pieces like throw blankets and pillows add welcoming warmth to your space.
How to achieve this look
Add a hand-woven blanket to your couch. The lived-in feel will make your living room more inviting for yourself and guests to relax.
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Stimulate Your Senses
Interior design focuses heavily on our sense of sight. Wabi sabi interior design principles seek to stimulate our other senses as well. Walking into a room filled with calming sounds, smells, and textures contributes to the relaxing atmosphere.
How to achieve this look
Here are some ideas on what to add to your home to stimulate your sense of hearing, sense of smell, and tactile sense:
- Sense of hearing: Add a water feature like a small trickling fountain. Play quiet ambient music.
- Sense of smell: Burn candles or incense.
- Tactile sense: Fill your room with different textures like wool and sheepskin.
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