JAPANDI: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

What is Japandi?

The name “japandi” is a hybrid of the words Japan and Scandi. Such is this style itself: Scandinavian severity and practicality, harmoniously merged with Japanese minimalism and a penchant for simplicity and naturalness.

In our article you will find everything you need to understand this direction of design, starting with the history and ending with the design of different rooms in the house.

History of style

Japandi or, as it is less commonly called, Scandines is a completely new trend that appeared in 2019-2020, but the prerequisites for its appearance arose fifteen hundred years earlier, when Japan opened to the rest of the world and travelers from other countries, including Scandinavian ones, began to visit it. From this point on, the mutual influence of the Eastern and Northern styles of interior design grew. In the objects of Danish architecture of the late XIX – early XX centuries, as well as interior items of the same period, you can see Japanese notes.

Who is the style suitable for and where to use it

One of the reasons for the rapidly increasing popularity of japandi is the perfect combination of this style with an eco-friendly lifestyle and conscious consumption, to which more and more people, especially young people, are coming. Practicality, functionality, soft comfortable atmosphere and the absence of visual noise make this style appropriate in almost any room of a residential apartment or house. Thoughtful storage systems characteristic of japandi will be in demand in the kitchen, bathroom and other conditionally technical rooms, while the peace and comfort of natural materials will create the right mood in the bedroom or living room.

See Also: Interior in the style of Zen

Style features

Colours

In terms of color, japandi echoes the eco-style: no flashy colors, only natural colors of stone, various shades of wood and other natural materials. Unpainted linen, textured textiles and plaster, and sometimes just bare concrete – all these elements are close to the loft style. At the same time, the coldness of the stone is compensated by the abundance of wood, creating a warm, but not pretentious atmosphere.

Tiles and other finishing options

At first glance, the choice of finishing materials for japandi is obvious: it is stone, concrete and all kinds of wood. However, these materials have some technical drawbacks: for example, chips may appear on concrete. Here modern materials come to the rescue, capable of successfully imitating a natural look, but at the same time devoid of the shortcomings of natural materials. The variety of shades and textures of ceramic tiles allows you to reproduce both the type of wood and the stone surface, without creating unnecessary difficulties. And laminate will be an excellent alternative to not cheap wood coating.

Wall decoration

Creating an interior in the style of japandi, you should avoid wallpaper with a variegated pattern and bright colors. Actually, wallpaper in such interiors is practically not used at all, instead of them, painted walls in even calm colors, in a monochrome or ochre-brown palette resembling wood or terracotta, will be appropriate. If the budget allows, you can use panels made of natural wood – they will perfectly fit into the design. Plaster is no worse, and it can be deliberately rough. Finally, all these materials can be replaced with tiles in the appropriate colors. This will be especially appropriate in the bathroom and in the kitchen.

Ceiling

Here the simplest classic view will be appropriate: smooth painting or whitewashing. If your taste tends to the elements of the loft – the ceiling can be left without finishing at all: flat concrete will suit the style no worse than paint. And, of course, wood is the best option for japandi fans.

Floor

Depending on the room, you can choose wood-imitating laminate, massive boards, or smooth bare concrete or porcelain stoneware.

Windows and doors

Japandi loves a lot of light. Large windows, not cluttered with heavy (and, especially, bright) curtains, will create the desired effect of a heavily lit space. For the design of windows, blinds or translucent light curtains are suitable.

As for interior doors – it is better to give preference to sliding sliding doors-coupe. Wood as the main material, hidden platbands – a tribute to minimalism – and frosted glass, impermeable to the eye, but transmitting light. Of course, it can be replaced by rice paper, which is classic for Japan, but it is a very fragile material, so this solution is not suitable for everyone.

Finally, the front door must correspond, first of all, to its main function, that is, to be durable, reliable and not to let the cold pass, which is important for our latitudes. So the best choice would be a door made of metal. Nevertheless, metal can (and should, if you want to maintain style) decorate with a suitable shade of wood or its imitation.

Furniture to create a furnishing

From Japan, the japandi style received a craving for low furniture, a favorite in Asia; from the North – a love for massive and solid objects made of roughly processed wood. As in everything related to this style, any catchiness and pretentiousness will be inappropriate here: bent legs of chairs and intricate carvings are best avoided, as well as bright printed prints.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the storage systems. Both Japanese and Scandinavian styles imply the organization of order in the house, elevated to an absolute degree. To maintain a minimalistic look, systems without handles, push-to-open, are well suited.

Also, when choosing furniture, you should remember the main credo of japandi: functionality. For example, a screen in the Japanese style made of fabric or a wooden lattice will not only decorate the room, but also help to zone it.

What do they focus on in the situation?

In general, japandi avoids any accents, preferring smooth dim colors and simple surfaces. However, a certain amount of decor (necessarily functional!) is acceptable. The best color for it is black. In addition, there is an actively used game on contrasts of dark and light shades. For example, with light walls, it will be appropriate to use dark furniture and vice versa.

Illumination

The japandi-style interior requires a lot of light. Windows should be large and not curtained; if there are no windows in the room, it should be equipped with a large number of artificial lamps. In this aspect, the influence of Japan prevails: round lampshades made of paper or frosted glass dim the sharp light of lamps and create comfort.

Accessories & Décor

The main rule when choosing a decor in japandi is restraint and functionality. Trinkets, especially in large numbers, are not welcome in this style. Useful, not only beautiful accessories, preferably in ethnic style or handmade, will be appropriate.

If you like paintings on the walls – let them be few, one or two, and preferably black and white or, at least, discreet. If you like live plants – they will be quite appropriate, but, again, remember about restraint. Dried flowers will also do.

Read also: 10 Hygge decorations for cozy evening

In general, japandi is partly based on the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, which states that true beauty should contain a certain amount of imperfection. Hence the tendency to untreated or roughly treated surfaces, deliberately careless finishes, the absence of glossy surfaces.

In addition, as in the Scandinavian style of hygge, japandi abundantly uses textiles of natural colors – mostly monophonic, but can also be with a geometric pattern. Linen, cotton, jute and burlap – all of them will add warmth and comfort to the room.

How to decorate rooms in the style of japandi

Living room

As part of the japandi style, the living room can be decorated in many different ways – from cement walls with heavy furniture made of roughly processed wood to light panels of light wood with leather sofas. The main rule is not to overload the interior with decor and avoid bright spots.

Bedroom

The bedroom is a place of relaxation and rest, so here it is worth giving preference not only to natural, but also to warm tones that create comfort. Low bed, ochre and terracotta colors, more textiles and fewer trinkets.

Nursery

The organization of space in the nursery directly depends on the gender, age and interests of the child, so there are a lot of design options. A universal feature of the japandi style in the nursery will be a well-thought-out storage system for things – closed shelves, lockers and organizers, thanks to which there will be more order in the room.

Antechamber

Hallways, as a rule, are small, so you definitely should not get carried away with the decor, so as not to create visual noise, which the japandi does not accept. Monochromatic walls – painted or plastered, practical and discreet furniture made of wood and a maximum of one decorative element – for example, a large ceramic vase in the corner.

Kitchen

In the kitchen, storage systems will be in demand, where you can conveniently place numerous kitchen utensils. To place beautiful ceramic dishes and similar items that can serve not only for their intended purpose, but also as a decor, the storage system can be open. In the kitchen furnishings, you can use rattan furniture – another favorite material in japandi.

Bathroom and toilet

Here again, closed shelves and organizers will come in handy, so as not to flaunt numerous bottles, jars and other items that inevitably accumulate in the bathroom. As for the decoration – in the bathroom, as in other rooms, preference should be given to wood and stone. However, high humidity for natural wood is harmful, so it can be replaced with appropriate-looking tiles. On the floor will look great gray or terracotta matte tiles with a rough surface. In addition, it is non-slip, which is very valuable in the bathroom.

7 top tips for those who want to decorate their interior in the style of japandi

Summing up, we will formulate 7 main points that you need to remember if you want to make an interior in the style of japandi:

Practicality and functionality in everything – even the decor should be useful, not just beautiful;
Calm and natural colors associated with nature, plus neat accents in black;
A lot of wood – floor, ceiling, walls – nowhere will it be superfluous;
A lot of textiles, especially textured – it will give the room coziness and warmth;
Avoid pretentious forms. Rectangles and roundness will suit this style much better than complex shapes;
No need for bright accents – nothing should draw too much attention to itself;
Slight carelessness is welcome – unevenly applied plaster, not fully painted walls or furniture made of roughly hewn wood perfectly correspond to the ideas of japandi.

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