5 Japandi Living Rooms to Steal Serene Inspiration

Karimoku Case, a Japanese lifestyle brand, knows everything about Japandi interior design. To demonstrate their expertise, they created 10 case study homes – and what’s impressive about one of them, the Azabu Hills Residence in Tokyo, is that everything here has a sense of flow and movement. Specifically, all of the furniture, from the sofa to the coffee table, has rounded edges and shapes and the different pieces are all in an earthy color palette. The zelkova wood used in many pieces, which looks like beech, is a traditional building material for temples in Japan.

2. Mahogany combined with colorful details

The living room overlooks the home’s peaceful 161-square-foot private terrace.

Photo: Hervé Goluza

The architect chose a straightforward and simple design for the living and sleeping areas.

Photo: Hervé Goluza

This 323-square-foot Paris apartment wasn’t the most practical space—until architect Hélène Lacombe intervened. She created an inviting home by skillfully combining waxed concrete, mahogany elements, and light colors to create a completely Japanese look. There is also a small garden that continues the combination of Scandinavian chic and Japanese sensibility.

3. No wonder

A light palette combines with art from China and Japan in this London apartment.

Photo: Vigo Jansons

Even if you have limited space to work with, small rooms can embrace the Japandi aesthetic too—you just need to know some of the right design moves to make. One of them is to create niches with seats and corners that invite you to feel comfortable with a good book. That’s how interior designer Tom Lawrence-Levy created this inviting, Zen-inspired resting place in a London apartment.

4. Add some wabi-sabi

Light, matte walls and lots of natural light give this room a calm, happy atmosphere.

Photo: Yadnyesh Joshi