Japanese Home Decor
Japanese home decor is a composition of texture, lines and use of light. The beauty of Japanese home decor comes from the effect of the shadows upon a room, employing light to delineate open spaces with artistic props. With Japanese home decor, the unseen, the unexpressed, the silent, speaks just as convincingly as the visible and the obvious. Japanese art work is also an important ingredient in Japanese decor, with its beautiful symmetry and artistic expressions.
In Japanese home decor, shoji and sudare (bamboo or reed blinds) create a soft, textural ambience. The strong light of the day is diffused and refined in a home inspired by Japanese decor. Additionally, the outside world takes on a surreal feeling when sifted through the beautiful Japanese art work frequently made from bamboo and paper. Ordinary rooms can magically be transformed by Japanese home decor, with its use of light, space and art work.
The Japanese also employ sliding doors in their decor known as fusuma. These sliding doors add flexibility to Japanese home decor and add space to the interior. In this way, four small rooms can instantly become one big room. The amazing use of shoji and fusuma in Japanese decor creates exciting possibilities for modern living, where space is often a premium. Walls made of paper are a foreign concept to Westerners, but are well-known and employed in Japanese home decor.
If you choose to decorate your home with Japanese inspired decor and Japanese art work, there are a few points to keep in mind to make your home into a fabulous masterpiece.
- The entrance of your home really sets the mood for the entire house. In Japanese home decor, a statement is often made by the entrance, using unusual paintings, a soft light or fresh flowers. Doorways can also be accented for an impressive look.
- The interaction of light and paper in Japanese decor can produce various moods, including alert and bright or restful and dim. The combination of Japanese art work, light and space are three essentials in creating the perfect ambience in your home.
- Take advantage of natural light coming in from windows to use it as a spotlight on your prized Japanese art work. For example, in Japanese home decor, light from a window can illuminate a sculpture or painting, giving it a rich, life-like look.
- Bright and loud colors are often discouraged in Japanese decor. The use of clean white walls and tatami mats on the floor are perfect for contrasting and complementing the earthy, natural colors of bamboo and wood often present in Japanese homes.
- For lighting, instead of fluorescent bulbs and bright lamps, try using Japanese lamps and lanterns to create a soft, decorative look. In Japanese home decor, a soft yet rich light is created through the use of certain materials in the shade, such as paper. One or two strategically placed Japanese lamps and lanterns in a room can serve to create the perfect light level and atmosphere in any setting.
