Kintsugi & Other Japandi Kitchen Design Principles

07 Jul 2023

Scroll any Instagram interior design feed lately and you’ll discover “japandi,” a trending style that blends the Japanese philosophical idea of wabi-sabi with the Scandi concept hygge. The first promotes simple living, the second cosiness. Together, they cover an idea that’s easy to get behind:

Minimalism-lite for comfort-lovers.

Achieving hygge is straightforward; a sheepskin throw, warm armchairs, a rustic hearth and fairy lights. But wabi-sabi? Not so simple. You see, “wabi” is about appreciating simplicity and “sabi” focuses on the transience of life. Hence, “wabi-sabi” requires you to live simply with possessions you’ll love for a long time.

Fortunately, you don’t need to master tai chi or “wax on, wax off” for days to enjoy japandi. A few intelligent kitchen design choices are all you require to get a japandi-style kitchen and reap all the wellbeing benefits. Today, we’ll explore a few to help you get started. So, listen closely… Grasshopper.

Learn to Relax with Tea

Japanese kitchen ideas often evolve from profound thoughts. In this case, the wabi element promotes the idea that a simple life helps you be more human and gets you to closer to nature. Wabi-sabi experts use tea ceremonies to illustrate the fact, arguing that drinking tea helps you live in the moment and be less materialistic. As the Japanese proverb explains:

“If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.”

At Sigma 3 Kitchens, our new Breakfast Dressers help users double down on reflecting and serving guests. Luxury yet understated, they complement the importance of the humility that wabi-sabi teaches despite being world-class breakfast stations versatile enough to rival up-market teahouses.

"Our clients love using their Breakfast Dressers – some for big family breakfasts and others for sophisticated afternoon teas with friends. They say the dressers help them slow down and be more sociable."

Settle on a Design That Lasts

Sabi teaches you to appreciate the natural passage of time and find beauty in any object, no matter where it is in its lifecycle. That doesn’t have to mean letting your kitchen deteriorate, though. Instead, you can interpret it as selecting design features that you know will have enduring appeal.

Take kitchen cabinet drawers, for instance. Inexpensive drawers fracture, their synthetic dividers fade and their frames derail. Sigma 3 drawers, meanwhile, remain ageless thanks to their wood-effect cutlery organisers. And the runners are so dependable our partner Blum offers a lifetime guarantee.

Sigma 3 drawers age like a rich Sangiovese wine. Pair them with timeless accessories like ornate biscuit tins or mason jars and you will have truly embraced wabi-sabi interior design principles.

Japanese artists use “kintsugi” – the art of “fixing” broken pottery with precious-metal lacquers – to create a product that ends up more beautiful for having been broken. The practice is a metaphor for human development, the idea being that our flaws and mistakes make us better as we age.

In many ways, the kintsugi ethos overlaps with wabi-sabi. Both place great importance on loving objects just the way they are, finding perfection in possessions throughout their lifetimes.

Truffle or Midnight Pietra worktops bear a similar look to kintsugi designs that hide imperfections and still looks good with age, as do Mayfield or Farmhouse Oak kitchen work surfaces. Incorporate either into your kitchen and they’ll help you double down on the wabi-sabi décor style.

"As professional designers, we love layering different cultures’ ideas into kitchens. The key is to keep any references subtle. That way, you create a home that remains tasteful while also being full of quirks that reflect your personality."

Create Asymmetrical Kitchen Shelves

Impermanence is a big theme in Japanese philosophy. It’s all about how life is neither perfect, nor imperfect; it simply is. Thus, Japanese design often incorporates asymmetry to reflect this fact.

Sigma 3’s Scandinavian-style open shelves, which adhere closely with Japandi design, offer a solid blank canvas to stage asymmetrical ornaments or driftwood. The contrast between the imperfect showpiece and the clean lines looks beautiful and drives home the wabi-sabi ideology.

Available in both light and dark wood finishes, our bookshelves can hold up to 85kg per m2 when floated on a wall, or even more if installed in a kitchen island like the one pictured.

Stick to Natural Materials

Love wabi-sabi architecture? Once you’ve settled on a kitchen design, next you need to nail down your colour palette. In general, Japandi-centric homes tend to use natural materials and colours. Often, that means wools, terracotta, timbers and earthy decorations.

Many contemporary kitchen designs often lack these qualities, opting instead for gloss finishes and artificial colours. However, our Ligna and Madoc ranges come in several wood-effect finishes, including Farmhouse Oak and  Driftwood, and adhere closely to the understated wabi-sabi aesthetic.

What’s more, they offer 30% more usable cupboard space than other industry-leading designs. Boasting 16,000 size configurations and a plethora of natural finishes, there are almost endless ways to create a wabi-sabi kitchen.

"Styles cycle but wood-effect doors never fall out of favour. Hence, they’re a great option for keeping your kitchen in vogue, whether you plan to stay in your home forever or sell it."

Find a Wise Mentor

So, there you have it, Grasshopper; five ways to incorporate wabi-sabi design principles in your kitchen. At Sigma 3 Kitchens, we don’t meditate at sunrise to learn this wisdom. However, we do understand what makes a fantastic Japandi-style kitchen. Hence, if you need more help, find your nearest showroom and book a consultation slot with one of our world-class design consultants. Or become a Sigma 3 Insider for free. You’ll get exclusive design tips and lifestyle guides just for subscribing.

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