Japandi is about creating calm, serene spaces and lifestyles.
In both interior design and lifestyle, the Japandi ethos of minimalism, simplicity, natural materials and comfort are applied.
Whether applied to a room or your morning rituals, Japandi’s calming effect has a positive impact on mental health. We’ll dig into how - breaking out design and lifestyle applications.
Design
The link between elements in interior design and mental health (namely stress, anxiety and depression) is well documented. Sunlight, openness, color, decor, plants, furnishings, textiles - every element has an impact on the mood the room evokes. Add to this we’ve all spent more time than ever in our homes, it’s very important that we be purposeful in designing our interior spaces.
When we look at Japandi, it uses elements in a way that’s naturally calming - and here’s why.
Japandi Design Calming Elements
Clutter-Free
Clean, clutter-free spaces facilitate better moods. Doing a thorough decluttering of your space is incredibly cleansing and rewarding. In applying Japandi to our own home, we were able to donate items that we don’t regularly use or bring us much joy - and we no longer have a storage unit (cost savings $)!
A cluttered space is a chaotic space, and chaos in a place that’s supposed to be your retreat will just cause more stress and anxiety in your life.
A clutter-free space creates better moods. Photo by Minh Pham on Unsplash
Minimalism + Simplicity
The Japanese minimalism and simplicity elements of Japandi design really has you focus on what is absolutely essential. When you do this, everything in the room is intentional and serves a function - and yes, having something in the room that just makes you smile is serving a function :)
When applied, minimal interiors create open, simple, clean and (again) uncluttered interior spaces - which help improve your mental health.
Example of room with minimal elements. Photo by tu tu on Unsplash
Nature
Japandi interior design embraces nature in a couple of ways - by using natural materials in furniture and decor and by bringing nature inside with natural light and greenery. Open, well-lit rooms with plants have been proven to have positive impacts on one’s mood.
Plants, in particular, have a positive impact on emotional well-being.
Bring life into your Japandi room with plants. Photo by Chris Lee on Unsplash
Lifestyle
The Japandi lifestyle focuses on rituals and products that have the same elements of Japandi design. Many of these elements promote self-care, which helps maintain mental health.
When you add some Hygee moments to your daily rituals, it will help you find the calmness and serenity in life that you find in your Japandi interior.
Japandi Lifestyle Calming Elements
Enjoy the Moment
We know that Japandi combines the philosophies of Wabi-Sabi and Hygge. Wabi-Sabi, in basic terms, embraces the idea that nothing is permanent or lasts forever.
That’s why this line of thinking finds beauty in natural materials and what happens to them as they age. So a patinated metal object can be beautiful not only because of the object itself, but also because we’re experiencing it in it’s natural, current state at this exact moment in time.
Applying this to the Japandi lifestyle, it’s really about embracing and enjoying the moment. There are a lot of ways to - say - drink tea. A common way would be to stick a cup in the microwave and take it on the run. The Japandi way would be to brew up a nice pot, have a seat in a cozy chair - and enjoy the moment.
Take a moment for yourself. Check out the Japandi Tea Collection for a comforting assortment of teas.
Take a Moment for Yourself
The Japandi lifestyle adds time into your day to take time to yourself - even if that means doing nothing :). This is a great way to decompress, get focused and keep the stress down.
Relax and take a moment for yourself. Put your feet up with Japandi house shoes.
Simplicity
People like Elaine St. James can expound on how to simplify your life and the benefits that it provides, but essentially it’s the concept that our lives are so complicated these days that you can become overwhelmed. By embracing simplicity, you’re able to cut out a lot of unnecessary complications and focus on what really matters to you.
Elaine St. James does an excellent job of breaking down ways to slow down and simplify your life.
Most people connect simplicity with choosing to buy and earn/work less, which is indeed a core concept. However, you can incorporate simplicity into your life other ways too.
For example, looking at a closet full of (probably way too much) clothing is overwhelming. Different colors, materials, seasonal pieces, etc. are common in a typical closet. A way to embrace simplicity here is to adopt a Japandi wardrobe.
A Japandi wardrobe features fewer pieces in a neutral color palette.
What does a Japandi wardrobe look like?
- Fewer, better quality items
- Neutral color palette so you can easily mix and match all pieces
- Layers for wear all year round
- Easy care (avoid dry cleaning)
Now a trip to the closet to pick your outfit becomes far less overwhelming, and putting together an outfit is simple. With this you’ve reigned in some of the chaos in life simply by simplifying your wardrobe.
Natural Products
As with interiors, Japandi lifestyle embraces nature. While there are limitless ways to embrace nature in life, Japandi lifestyle focuses on the products that you put on, in or near yourself.
Skin is permeable to all chemicals, so whatever you’re putting on your skin penetrates the skin and ends up in the blood stream (given at trace amounts). With this in mind, Japandi places an emphasis on using products that have all of the good - without the bad. Soaps and body washes, lotions and other personal care items are both natural and gentle.
Natural materials are also used in other lifestyle products. Japandi apparel and textiles are made from (at least mostly) environmentally-friendly materials such as recycled or organic cotton. These products also don’t use toxic dies or chemicals during production.
Shop our bath and body favorite finds including La Rose French Pink Clay Bar Soap, the Baden Moisturizing Shampoo Bar, and the Vulcano Activated Charcoal Bar Soap.
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In both interior design and lifestyle, Japandi has so many positive effects on your mental health - we've experienced it personally.
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Japandi Supply House is the first and only store dedicated to Japandi interiors and lifestyle. We feature the largest selection of Japandi furniture, home decor and lifestyle products - with new additions added frequently! Subscribe and keep updated on All Things Japandi.
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