Home and Office Furniture

Japanese-inspired decorative style should take its cue from the culture’s influences honoring simplicity and natural order. The goal in designing any Japanese interior is to radiate a sense of calm and serenity by balancing clean open spaces with orderly presentation and harmonious arrangements of furniture and accents. Choosing a Calm Color Palette Japanese style focuses on subdued muted hues and shies away from colors that are bold, brassy or bright. Tranquil shades of grey, brown and green that are reflective of nature provide a soothing backdrop for wood tones that may range from light shades of bamboo to deeper lacquered pieces. For harmony’s sake, the color tone of furniture should be consistent throughout the room. Bolder strokes of color may be used reserved and used judiciously for accents; a bright Japanese fabric screening may be a featured wall art and its colors repeated in silk accent pillows upon the bed or a side chair.

Traditional Furnishings When arranging furniture, creating balance and harmony is key and spaces should be open and uncluttered. Choose Asian or modern style furniture that is low in height with simple horizontal lines and clean styling. Achieve balance with side tables on either side of the bed and a simple dresser on the opposite wall. A futon, which consists of a thick mattress lined with fabric, is a traditional Japanese bed. Typically, it is simply dressed with a comforter or blanket. You can choose a traditional futon or its modern version, the platform bed. A platform bed uses only a mattress set upon a simple framed or slatted platform for support so that a box spring is not required as a foundation under the mattress. Pure Light Lighting in a Japanese bedroom is simple and unpretentious. Let in whatever natural light is available through rice paper or bamboo shades. For more luxury, solid or minimally patterned silk fabric panels can be hung on either side of a window. Supplement natural light with floor lamps and hanging lanterns with wood bases and box or spherical paper shades in natural parchment.

Naturally Comfortable Fabric & Pattern Outfit your Japanese style bedroom with bedding and wall hangings made of natural textiles such as silk and cotton. Fabrics are typically used in natural tones or somber, restful shades such as deep blue, slate or deep green; steer clear of overly adorned fabrics embellished with mixes of color and pattern. Keep your Japanese style bedroom authentic all the way to the floor. A tatami mat is a traditional Japanese floor covering made of compressed rice straw; the edges of the mat are characteristically bordered in black linen or it may feature a colorful fabric border. You can use a traditional style mat against hardwood floor or use it to define the space at the foot of the bed on top of neutral carpeting. If you desire more color or pattern, stick to patterns that evoke nature, such as bed linens or pillows with a simple bamboo or grass designs and add restrained doses of color with luxurious silk pillows, comforter or duvet.

Accessorize with Restraint The Western tendency is to layer and display accessories with abandon, but in a Japanese styled bedroom you will need to edit your accessories carefully, even if they are Japanese in style and design. Choose quality pieces and arrange them carefully so that you create balance and harmony punctuated by clean space. A traditional Japanese accessory is a Shoji screen, a simple wood or bamboo frame stretched with rice paper. It can be used behind a chair or bed, or in a corner to create depth. Hide a light fixture behind the screen and set it on a timer to illuminate the screen with gentle radiance. You can also use a Shoji screen to divide a large room, to create an entry into the room, or to hide a closet area; or use a Shoji screen front of a window as a simply traditional Japanese window treatment. Finally bring an element of nature to the bedroom with a tray of bonsai, a gathering of bamboo reeds in a tall vase, or a small tabletop or windowsill fountain.