5 Small Japanese Design Lessons That Make All the Difference
If you have ever thought of a Japanese home as simplistic in not just aesthetics but also its efforts of curation, then I have to burst your deeply misinformed bubble. Each design decision, no matter how effortlessly executed has been painstakingly chosen to evoke an illusion of calming simplicity. But the good news is that there are some digestible design lessons that can quietly shift the way your home feels.
“The changes that make a home feel calmer are rarely the expensive ones,” says interior designer Yoko Kloeden. “Most of what I have learned from Japanese design is small, undramatic, and works on how a room feels rather than how it looks.”
Here are five tips of guidance that Yoko frequently returns to and how to translate them for your own home.
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1. Design for the Nose and Ears, Not Only the Eye
A home that appeals to all of the senses is one that will continue to appeal to you.
(Image credit: Earl of East)
“A Japanese home is experienced through more than sight. Timber is a good example. It smells, it sounds different underfoot, and dropping something on it is far gentler than on tile or stone,” says interior designer Yoko Kloeden.
“Choose one material you can actually smell, and one sound you want to hear — water moving, a door sliding softly, air through a window. Rooms designed only for the eye feel oddly flat once you are living in them.”
Designing sensory products into your home is a quick and effective way to make your home feel interestingly unique. Think a dreamy indoor pond, a noren dancing in the wind, or komorebi interiors.
Earl of East
Onsen Japanese Incense Sticks
An easy way to capture the essence of sensory storytelling immediately is through Japanese scents, like these warming incense sticks.
Yoko Kloeden Design is a London-based architecture and interior design studio, founded by Yoko Kloeden in 2016. Located in West London, the studio specializes in crafting mood-enhancing sanctuaries, seamlessly blending Japanese aesthetics with natural, serene elements. Each project aims to create spaces that feel both harmonious and deeply restorative, reflecting Yoko’s commitment to calm, balanced interiors. The studio provides a full range of architecture and interior design services for private and commercial clients, carefully crafting every space to bring balance, beauty, and well-being to those who inhabit it.
2. Decide What to Hide and What to Display, Then Commit
Making strict decisions about what your guests see will create a more disciplined home routine.
(Image credit: Dave Cronin. Design: Rodwin Architecture)
“This is not about decluttering. It is about choosing one place where a single thing is properly shown — a shelf, an alcove, a console — and putting everything else away,” says Yoko, speaking to Japanese spatial planning.
“A Japanese home gives a single ceramic or branch its own space and leaves the surrounding surfaces empty, because the emptiness is what lets you notice the object at all. Displaying five things well is harder than displaying one, and much less restful.”
If you know yourself to favor low-maintenance, then less is always more. And if you have the bandwidth to care for more intricate stylings, then it’s important to stay disciplined so your home shows out, even on a busy day.
Gallery Direct
Sofa Stool Cercola With Storage Space
One of my favorite storage ideas is thoughtfully designed furniture that plays a silent role in organizing your home. And this sofa stool is up there with the best.
3. Buy Fewer Things, and Older Ones
Enrich your home with storied objects that transform a flat room to a moving space.
(Image credit: Robin Utama. Design: CKA Studio. Builder: Samssons Projects)
“It is worth thrifting something unique rather than filling a room from the high street. Vintage pieces tend to be better made, carry their own history, and are a more sustainable choice,” Yoko advises.
“I find that the result of collecting antiques is a room that reads as gathered over time rather than bought in one afternoon. And this is a large part of why some homes feel settled, and others staged.”
At the same time, there are some things that are better bought fresh. So, knowing what to thrift for your living room and other spaces is crucial.
1stDibs
Modernist Japanese White Pyramid Ikebana Vase
This 20th century vase from 1stDibs is a lovely thrifting find to bring your ikebana stylings to life.
4. Choose Materials That Age
Watching furniture mould to your shape and noticing materials patina send a message that your home is more than just for show.
(Image credit: Cieran Murphy. Design: Alexandra Buchanan Architecture. Styling: Tory Waller)
“Most surfaces in a Japanese home improve rather than deteriorate. Timber darkens, clay plaster softens, stone wears smooth where hands and feet pass,” Yoko explains.
“Things that bear the traces of the work and care taken to make them help us reconnect to those who came before us, and feel a little more grounded. Choosing a material that will look better in ten years is a quiet way to make a home feel calm.”
I’d even go as far as to say materials that stay immaculate can sometimes make a home look cheap and characterless. The romance of a home lies in the wabi-sabi champagne pops and the patinaed pots.
ÉDITÉ
Saori Japandi Acacia Wood Side Table
5. Lower the Eyeline
Directing attention downwards can make a space feel grounded and inviting.
(Image credit: OWIU Design)
“Traditional Japanese rooms are composed to be seen from a seated position on the floor, which puts everything — table heights, window levels, the point where a wall meets your eye — lower than we are used to,” Yoko points out.
“You need not sit on the floor to borrow this. Dropping the height of one piece of furniture, or hanging art lower than feels correct, opens up the wall above it and makes a room feel taller and quieter. It is the cheapest change on this list and often the most noticeable.”
Ferm Living
Kona Low Table
It’s precisely why low and long furniture like this Kona table from Ferm Living immediately help your relax into a room.
Yoko continues to share her most authentic ideas to respectfully influence your space with these design lessons. And her latest feature on bedroom design rules tells us about the non-negotiables for an enveloping sleep ambiance.
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