Home Garden

Japanese Interior Architecture

Japanese interior architecture is a reflection of the entire building and how it relates to nature. To understand a Japanese interior, you must relate it to the whole. Most Japanese structures are built in the sukiya style of Japanese tea houses, an architectural format that dates back 400 years. The integration of the inside of the home with its outdoor environment creates unity, typical of Japanese interior architecture. Space flows. The eye rests on the simplicity of the rooms rather than the embellishments that are brought into the home. Wood and natural materials are favored to create a harmony between the inner spaces and the natural environment.
  1. The Structure

    • The islands of Japan are a series of volcanic land masses. As such, there is little stone that can be used for building or carvings. Wood is the primary building material and many different kinds of wood are used inside and outside a building. Different woods used include: Japanese cedar, red pine, white cedar, chestnut and bamboo. Walls were often clay, built from the earth. It's not unusual to find walls covered in soot so they resemble wood.

    Maximizing Minimalism

    • Japanese homes are not large. They are designed with strong geometric forms to create an open, free-flowing interior that shows no limits. Screens are incorporated into the interior to create privacy when needed. Floors are wood, and the same surface continues throughout the home, creating unity.

    Windows

    • Windows often reach from floor to ceiling and invite the outside in. Creating harmony between the structure and nature is one of the most important principles of Japanese architecture. The building must be a part of its surroundings. Shoji screens framed in wood with rice paper panes is traditional window covering and form interior screens. Unifying the look without creating a diversion is important to the integrity of the interior architecture.

    Furnishings

    • Furniture that is close to the floor is part of the Japanese interior architectural design style. Tatami mats for sleeping fold away in the morning, unseen during the day. A dining table has low and unobtrusive seats. All accessories are minimal. Colors are limited to earthy reds and yellows, with the green being imported from outdoors and browns from the wood within the structure. The purpose is to create a zen-inspired mood that promotes introspection.

    Interesting Diversions

    • Nightingale floors are floors that sing. They're usually found in temples and the sound is created when someone walks across a warped floor, rubbing the clamps holding them together. Japanese homes are built without nails, using the bracket system of grooves to connect horizontal with vertical supports. And the roaring dragon sound is created when a sound is trapped between the floor and the ceiling and the echo bounces. The overlapping echoes create a dragon's roar.