Japandi decor is a wonderful style of interior design to bring into your home. It’s a calm and collected decor style that highlights natural materials and sleek designs. It’s perfect for those who love to bring serenity into their homes.
We wanted to learn more about how we could incorporate more Japandi elements into our interior design and spoke to four content creators who are accomplishing this style perfectly. Here are their tips and tricks to achieving Japandi decor.
What is Japandi decor?
Japandi is a hybrid decor style that has boomed in popularity in recent years. It is a combination of Japanese and Scandinavian styles that embodies both the traditional Japanese ethos of wabi-sabi - a way of life that values slow-living and simplicity - and Scandinavian hygge - comfort, cosiness and wellbeing.
Japandi homes often feature a palette of warm neutral colours and wood tones, accented with lots of texture and natural materials. It blends the smooth, modern lines of Scandinavian design with the sleek functionality and elegance of the Japanese aesthetic.
Meet our experts
We interviewed four different content creators who focus their popular social media accounts on renovating their homes. They all lean on Japandi influences within their home decor and we wanted to get their expert opinions on how people can introduce more of this style into their own homes while still staying on a budget.
Becky Wilkins of @rmw.home on Instagram lives in Birmingham with her boyfriend Chris and dog, Indi. Becky and Chris bought their own home in February 2020 and have kept their account up to date with all kinds of updates, changes, and new additions to their home. She describes her style as “a mixture of Scandinavian neutral with a hint of industrial” and her decor features lots of neutral and white tones with accents of black. She focuses a lot on the details, with plenty of throws, cushions, and knick knacks to help her home feel intimate and welcoming.
Ore Nzekwe runs the account, @oreathome. She lives with her husband and two young children in South London and has documented her home journey from renovation to where it is now. She describes her style as “a mix of influences.” with some rooms staying true to their Victorian style home while others are “much more minimal and Japandi in nature.” She says that “for the most part, I’m a lover of a neutral palette and just focus on any room I decorate feeling ‘comfortable’ for those who are enjoying it.”
Ella Oprey is a self-proclaimed lover of “all things minimalist (warm minimalism to be exact), renovation, DIY, and understated contemporary design with japandi and natural elements.” Ella lives in Liverpool and runs the Instagram account, @insidenumber90. She describes her interior design style as ”sleek, minimal with natural elements” and enjoys incorporating softer, natural materials such as wood and linen with more rough elements such as limestone, metal, and travertine.
Finally, we interviewed Faye Hindle of @fmh.ome, who designed her home alongside her partner Anthony and who lives in West Yorkshire with their son and purchased their new build home this year. Their account is full of the stunning details found throughout their home. Faye describes their design style as being “a mix up of Japandi, mid-century and minimal but impactful with subtle hints of nostalgia.” She goes on to say “We really like the calming aspects of natural wood and clean lines, using the blank canvas of clinical white to give us the option to add colour pops with artwork and retro glassware, almost like a gallery exhibit.”
What or who was your inspiration?
Inspiration can be found in all sorts of places. Ella and Becky both looked to Instagram for their inspiration whereas Faye says her and Anthony like a combination of different influences. “Anthony has a huge love for Americana, Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, postmodernism, and natural elements, whereas I am drawn to clean lines, mid-century furniture, traditional Japanese homes and unusual aesthetics. Which all work really well together in synergy.”
Although she does also say that “Instagram is a huge source of inspiration, we are both drawn to anything with the use of wood, angles and large open spaces.” Other than fellow content creators who share an affinity to the same style as her, Ella also says that she was heavily inspired by Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool “The interior is so mid-century and minimal and definitely provided some inspo for me.”
Which room did you decorate on the smallest budget?
Both Ella and Ore said that their offices were the rooms done on the smallest budget - transforming a couple of small rooms into functional spaces from which they can work.
Ore says that her office started out as a small bedroom. “It was just a box room with a single coloured wall and it wasn’t a very inviting space to work. I, therefore, spent weekends working on it and it cost around £300 because of no labour costs.” And to great effect, turning an almost unusable space into a productivity haven.
Ella turned a dressing room into a home office and says it was done on “a total budget.” “The whole room probably cost around £600 to re-decorate. That includes being very open to travel to find some great deals on Facebook marketplace.” By driving to various places to collect some bargains, as well as relying on budget furniture shops like Ikea, the space was transformed into a beautifully functional space.
What's your best piece of advice when transforming a room on a budget?
Our experts had plenty of tips to give when it came to sticking to a budget.
Becky says “Shop around, look for dupes and use Instagram for inspiration. Most of the time if you see something you like, you can get it for a fraction of a price.” Ella also gives us the advice: “don’t be scared to give up cycling and DIY a go - you’ll surprise yourself!”
Both Ore and Ella told us that taking your time is important. “Social media posts and reels will have you seeing home accounts click their fingers and a room is transformed but in reality, it takes a lot of time to decorate and transform a house so don’t feel rushed because of what you see online.” says Ore while Ella also notes that “I rushed doing my house the first time and ended up doing it (and paying) twice.” So it’s worth it to make sure you don’t rush the process.
Both Becky and Ella also recommend spending a little bit more money on larger items such as cabinets and floors as these can start to wear much quicker when bought for cheap - instead, “when it comes to decor and furnishing keep them cheaper as they will be the items you switch out first if your style changes.” says Becky.
Ore also had an excellent tip when ordering items online: “Always check your packages when they arrive even if you’re not going to be using the items for a while – it’s terrible to have a box sitting in your hallway for 2 months and then you open it to install whatever it is and realise it’s broken or faulty and it’s too late to take back.”
How can people recreate this look themselves?
Recreating the Japandi style in your own home can be easy!
Both Becky and Ella believe in keeping your base neutral with white walls, wooden floors, and neutral-coloured furniture. “Keeping your main furniture pieces neutral is an important thing for us, if you do that it means your rooms are much more versatile as you can switch out the soft furnishings every now and again to add a different feel without having to spend a lot of money.” says Becky but while she likes to bring in details with different textures, Ella prefers to add “life and vibrancy with foliage and flowers.”
Ella also mentions “don’t feel like you need to fill every corner and wall, enjoy some empty space to give the feeling of curated calmness.” Faye is also a fan of keeping it simple and clean with “wooden furniture, simple but intricate and interesting designed items.”
To help bring a little of the Japandi style into your own decor, and to follow in the footsteps of our experts, why not add a little Green Lili Japandi art to your home? Our modern abstract art prints and large abstract canvas art is the perfect way to add detail and interest to your space while staying true to the minimalistic roots of the style.
