Keep It Simple: The Art of Wabi-Sabi

Types of materials used in the wabi-sabi home are typically all natural including wood, stone, and bamboo. Wabi-sabi is all about contrast. By placing your computer on an antique desk, surrounded by greenery, you're maintaining wabi-sabi amidst technology. Items that show the fleeting nature of life are also highly wabi-sabi because they show age and wear but are still uniquely beautiful. A chipped plate, weatherworn pottery, and a flower—from bud to wilt—are all inherently beautiful despite their flaws. Actually, people who take on the wabi-sabi worldview, see flaws as only adding character and even more beauty to an object. Dents, smudges, and scratches make a jar made out of clay uniquely yours, special in it's own imperfect way.

Textured walls are also very wabi-sabi, creating a sense of being outdoors while in the comforts of your own home. Plaster and marbled finishes work well in muted colors such as beige, gray, and any other naturally occurring shade. Likewise, a coffee table with knotholes is more valuable than one made from pressed wood and a glossy finish. As the wabi-sabi mantra goes, the more natural the better. Even objects that are brand new but made to appear rustic bring the essence of wabi-sabi into your home.

By taking on the philosophy of wabi-sabi, you immediately view the beauty in the tree bent from the wind, and a one-of-a-kind hand woven basket. Now that designers all over the world are taken with these Zen-like views and incorporating them into their design plans, simplicity is being praised, and antiques cherished. By bringing the natural world into your home, a sense of peace and oneness is created, along with a decor that adds the warmth of family and openness of the outdoors for the makings of a remarkable living space. Again, wabi-sabi makes for a balance between old and new, hand-made and bought, and blooming and decaying. It represents all stages and forms of life as something to be celebrated. So celebrate your home and life with the wabi-sabi touch throughout. It won't bring fortune or happiness as feng shui promises, but it can create a humbly serene environment for family and friends to come together, and perhaps come down to earth from the high flying pace of the modern world.