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You may not know the term, but you’ve seen the rooms all over Instagram and in Architectural Digest: muted and sparse, yet somehow soft; filled with straight-lined furniture and tactile materials. Somewhere (usually atop a wooden table) is an earthy vase filled with branches or other assorted greenery. Everything is orderly, but in a way that feels serene rather than strict. You know it’s vaguely Scandinavian, but not solely of the Western world—yet it’s not entirely Eastern either. Instead, it’s an aesthetic amalgam of both, known as “Japandi.”
“Japandi,” a portmanteau of “Japanese” and “Scandi” (informal slang for “Scandinavian”), is currently an au courant interior design style: according to Google Trends, it’s experiencing a record high search volume in the U.S that continues to climb. What’s the exact definition? Most agree it’s a merging of two historic “less-is-more” cultures. “It’s a natural hybrid between two cultures that privilege minimalism and tranquility,” explains the acclaimed interiors stylist Colin King, an avid practitioner of Japandi. “It celebrates everyday beauty and a connection with nature and shares a simplified aesthetic: geometric shapes, sophisticated colors, and an appreciation of materials.”
“I see Japandi as two very distinct minimalist styles that are married harmoniously,” AD100 designer Brigette Romanek adds.
Japandi’s central characteristics, according to interior designer Jeremiah Brent, are the following: “craftsmanship, texture, balance, and serenity.” Think natural woods, earthy materials, neutral color palettes, as well as uncluttered spaces accented with functional objects like vases and mugs over decorative ones. Natural light, too, is prioritized, often employed in an artistic, almost Vermeer-like way. “Furnishings and objects are kept to a minimum,” King says. “A certain thing was made for a certain job, there is a strong sense of appropriateness, of order, and of place. Japandi designs come from a close relationship with nature and were decided by the combining of materials, techniques, and usage.” A Japandi room looks, and feels, honest.
Some notable Japandi spaces? The Aman in New York City, L/Uniform’s store in Saint Germain, as well as Roman and Williams’s RW Guild and Gallery, which specializes in showcasing products from Japanese and Scandinavian artisans.
According to Japandi Living by Laila Rietbergen, published by Lanoo, the style’s origins trace back to the 1860s. A Danish naval lieutenant, William Carstensen, sailed to Tokyo (then called Edo) to explore the country, whose borders had opened just 10 years earlier. He developed an obsession with their culture. When he returned to Denmark, he published a book of his findings titled Japan’s Capital and the Japanese. It piqued the interest of Copenhagen’s creative crowd: “Danish designers traveled to this new, intriguing world and discovered that the Japanese concept ‘wabi-sabi’ celebrated the same principles as the Danish concept ‘hygge’: an appreciation of minimalism, natural materials, and simplicity,” Rietbergen, who also runs the Instagram account @japandi_design, writes. “From that time, Nordic designs started to become influenced by the aesthetic.”
Eastern influence on Western design is far from a new phenomenon: Japonisme, the French interpretation of Japanese style, began in the 18th century and continued through the modernist movement in the 1960s. Chinoiserie, or the adaptation of Chinese motifs in Western interiors, swept through England in the 18th century and is still practiced by companies like de Gournay. Likewise, Japandi is a Western invention: “The trend originated outside of Japan,” Mihoko Iida, author of Japanese Interiors, says. “From a Japanese perspective, we tend to look at the Japandi trend as basically a Scandinavian trend, because we’re all living in a Japanese home to begin with.”
Yet while Japonisme and chinoiserie were France and England’s interpretation of a visual style very different than their own, the design philosophy and cultural interests of Japan and Scandinavia have always been somewhat symbiotic. “Despite being separated by geography and history, the longstanding and intangible appeal of art between both cultures continues to thrive,” says King. “Nordic design was reinforced by Japanese art aesthetics. The innate love of nature in Nordic countries found support in all of Japanese art, making it possible for the two cultures to easily blend with one another.”
In fact, argues Rietbergen, they can even make each other stronger: “When you think about minimalistic living, you are most likely to think of Scandinavian or Japanese interior design. Where they differ, they complement each other. Where Japanese interiors are sleek, Scandinavian ones are rustic. The rich, earthy colors of Japanese design help to keep the monochrome palette of Scandinavian homes from feeling austere. You might say it was only a matter of time before they mixed into the new aesthetic known as Japandi.”
So why is it resonating now? King believes that its earthy, functional energy has renewed relevance at a time when technology surrounds and often overwhelms us. “The directness and simplicity of such everyday solutions often amaze us today,” he says. Romanek agrees: “The principles behind Japandi represent a sense of calmness and ease, which all of us can relate to and need in our lives,” she says. Fittingly, according to Google, Japandi began to see a spike in interest in 2020—just as a pandemic made us value nature, our interiors, and a sense of peace just that much more.
Brent also points out that, unlike many interior styles, Japandi won’t date as quickly, given its roots stretch back centuries. “I think homeowners today are really craving interiors that will stand the test of time,” he says. “Japandi goes beyond what’s trending and is a lesson in investing in timeless, quality designs you’ll have for years to come. It’s the practice of curating a home rooted in beauty and function.”
So go ahead—invest in a Noguchi lamp, a sleek wooden table, earthy vases and some wabi-sabi pottery. It’s a style that’s here to stay.
