How to Bring Wabi-Sabi Home
More than a decor style, wabi-sabi is a philosophy that celebrates transience and finding beauty in imperfection. In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wasi-sabi is described as “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”. While it can be applied to every aspect of your life, using it guide your decor decisions can help you simplify your space and edit it down to the essentials!
Wabi-sabi is easy to put in practice as it doesn’t require a huge investment of your money or your time; it’s a less-is-more approach that appreciates asymmetry, authencity, and intimacy. Beyond rumpled linen sheets and mix-and-match crockery, here’s how to wave bye bye to the pressures of perfection and bring wabi-sabi home.
Natural Materials
What better way to embrace imperfection than with Mother Nature?! Much of wabi-sabi has to do with connecting with the earth and decorating with raw, organic materials such as wood, stone, metal, concrete, ceramics, marble, and so on. Go further and mix and match these finishes for a more modern (and more wabi-sabi!) look.
Earth-Inspired Tones
Wabi-sabi draws its serenity from hues of the earth. Peaceful neutral shades of grays, blues, greens, and taupes that are drawn from the natural world bring a sense of intimacy and calmness.
Artisanal Artefacts
In favor of imperfection, wabi-sabi values the raw, rough, and crooked. Because no two items should be alike, artisanal furnishings and accessories like wooden tables, ceramic tableware, and hand-woven rugs bring character in a way that transcends mass-produced pieces - any natural imperfections only serve to highlight their beauty!
The Art of Aging
Sabi equates to the beauty of age and wear from the underlying belief that nothing is finished or lasting. In the spirit of this, sustainability is at the heart of this philosophy that embraces letting things age gracefully and using them to the end of their lifecycle. When an object does finally give out, repurposing it celebrates its age, fragility, and utility.
Mix and Match
The key to wabi-sabi is that decor choices don’t have to follow any trends or ascribe to particular styles. Instead, everything should be a reflection of love and spark joy. Whether pieces match or not, there is a freedom to this sensibility that champions authenticity over coordination.
