How a centuries-old Japanese philosophy can help you rethink home design.

BY LIAM RAZZELL
In a throw-away culture, it’s commonplace to live in a state of “replace.”
From aging rugs and out-of-date cupboards to that favourite old chair that’s grown wear marks over the decades — it’s likely friends and professionals will remind you there are nicer, more modern choices to help keep your home looking sharp.
The thing is, for some, this loses the story. That old chair, made by someone’s grandad, will always have more meaning than a store-bought lounger. That rug still ties the room together with its creative pattern, and those cupboards are perfectly functional. The great news is there’s a philosophy that justifies keeping all of these pieces if they mean something to you.
Find the meaning
Wabi-sabi is a centuries-old Japanese philosophy that encourages seeing beauty in the imperfect — and it’s applicable to everything from architecture to ceramics. While it can be misunderstood as a concept, it applies to home design through treasuring the beauty in less-than-perfect outcomes along with wear and tear.
“It’s a thoughtful approach to imperfection and adopting ideas around how to embrace that,” says Javier Campos, principal designer and architect at Vancouver-based Campos Studio.
A real-world example of this practice is a house that Campos Studio recently designed. Currently under construction in Sooke, it will sit atop a mossy incline surrounded by trees. The exterior walls will be made out of cedar strips, which, exposed to the elements, will change colour over time.
“It’s kind of alive,” says Campos. “Eventually, they’ll all turn grey in a different way.”
As if a metaphor for the ideal of perfection fading, the studio chose to highlight, instead of hide, cedar’s qualities.
Irregular qualities
Campos Studio also had a role in building a Vancouver open-concept laneway house that elevated the concept of wabi-sabi’s imperfections.
Designed for a fourth-generation Japanese-Canadian client, the exterior of the build leaned into the beauty of asymmetry — straying from the cookie-cutter rectangle into an angular, sculptural structure shaped by the rooms required. Campos says, when building from the inside out, the end result is unusual, but the team prioritized the crucial needs of the interior, then made the exterior work around that.
Things wabi-sabi — whether a building’s exterior or interior, or objects within it — share a few characteristics.

“They are made of materials that are visibly vulnerable to the effects of weathering and human treatment,” writes Leonard Koren in his book Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. “They record the sun, wind, rain, heat and cold in a language of discolouration, rust, tarnish, stain, warping, shrinking, shriveling and cracking.”
Irregularity, simplicity and earthiness are other shared similarities.
Wabi-sabi and interior design
Why would some designers seize this movement in a world where online inspiration has us looking to the “new” as the best choice?
“If you start to understand it as an idea and philosophy,” says Campos, “then you can implement it all the way from your glassware to the rest of your house.”
Buying things made to look imperfect won’t cut it — embracing genuine imperfections, however, offers a brand new way to prioritize design. Doing so requires a shift in mindset. For example, instead of purchasing a new rug, appreciate the way the sun has faded your own. Emphasize these colours, even, with a bouquet of dried flowers that draw out these shades.
Chances are, there are things in your home you see as old or worn out. That ceramic vase in your living room, cracked thanks to a rambunctious dog, now bugs you every time you look at it. Wabi-sabi philosophy would pose that, by accepting its imperfections, you can accept it for what it is: an object that, like everything else, develops character as it ages. Only then will you appreciate the way the veins of grey and white glue run like streams through the vase, adding texture, colour and a story.
Embracing wabi-sabi frees you to cherish beloved objects, much in the way we cherish old friends. It also naturally leans toward organic materials, live edges, muted colours, asymmetry and all things handmade — things that are meant to take on life’s storms.
Author Koren says this usually encourages fans to keep a limited palette of materials and, interestingly, keeping conspicuous features to a minimum.
“Pare down to the essence, but don’t remove the poetry,” Koren writes. “Keep things clean and unencumbered, but don’t sterilize.”
Applying Wabi-Sabi
Here are three ways to lean into wabi-sabi philosophy in your own home.
Buying things made to look imperfect won’t cut it — embracing genuine imperfections, however, offers a brand new way to prioritize design.
Repair, repair, repair
There’s a good chance some of what you think is unusable or worn out is only in need of a fix. For example, a rip in your sofa means you need a needle and thread, not a trip to a furniture store. Fixing damaged objects in creative ways can add interesting details to your home, including choosing a visible thread for a highlight, rather than trying to hide the mend.
Embrace imperfect objects
Cracks, discolouration and tarnish on objects can be beautiful if looked at in the right light. Instead of throwing away your “imperfect” things, try setting some out on display. Doing so may add a whole new feel to your home. And, if you really don’t like it, it’s fine to let it go, too.
Balance imperfect with perfect
Contrast the “imperfect” parts of your home, like those sun-faded walls and that nicked vase, against sleek, refined architectural features to lend your space a sense of balance.