Japanese Style Bedrooms

Japanese design and culture has now entered bedroom decor. This is for good reason: Many people find its simple lines soothing. Since your bedroom is your innermost retreat, your sanctuary, it should offer you comfort as you enter the room. By utilizing sparing, but luxurious, Japanese decor and design, you can create a relaxing, meditative, bedroom. How do you go about creating a Japanese styled bedroom? Let’s find out.

Start from the bottom up, and consider your flooring. Would you like traditional tatami (tightly woven straw) mat flooring? It is very comfortable to bare feet. Traditional Japanese design requires a certain mat layout that dictates certain room dimensions. Modern Japanese-inspired decor may use a traditional tatami mat layout as a floor insert surrounded by other flooring or one tatami mat on top of hard flooring to use as a yoga mat.

Next is the central feature of a Japanese-style bedroom – a futon or platform bed. In Japanese design, this bed does not have a footboard or, sometimes, a headboard. It has an extended platform on which the mattress sits in the middle. It usually does not have box springs. It sits low to the ground and sometimes well away from all walls. Use all silk bedding in a single rich color to continue the Japanese theme (and to pamper yourself). Add several silk pillows to your platform bed to complete the effect.

Add shoji-style lamps for lighting. Their translucent panels are especially good for creating warm, diffused lighting. Put one on a dimmer switch on either side of the bed and have bright enough light for reading or soft, romantic lighting from the same lamps. Shoji doors could replace French doors leading into your bathroom or out onto your deck. Skylights also look classy framed to appear shoji-style.

Remember to keep bedside tables and other tables in the bedroom area low. Keep them in proportion to the height of your bed. If your bedroom also has a sitting area, consider keeping the Japanese theme and use a low table and zabuton (the seating cushions).

You should also consider adding a tokonoma, which is a small, raised alcove in which you might display a wall scroll, and other decorative features. A sliding-door wall closet can be opened up and trimmed to make a deep tokonoma. A shallow alcove can be framed out and set in the wall. If you are displaying a tall, narrow object, you can even put a tokonoma between studs. Traditionally, the decorations are changed every month or so. Small geisha dolls, a bonsai tree, or a Buddha statue are other ideas for your tokonoma decorations.

So there you go.

When you are ready for a soothing bedroom makeover, consider Japanese design ideas. Whether you go completely traditional with a tamaki room, and all the proper accents or whether you choose a lighter impact, only incorporating a few Japanese-inspired items in with your traditional bed and flooring, a bedroom with Japanese style elements is a mentally soothing retreat that you will look forward to visiting at the end of a stressful day.

Author: Tom Matherson

Tom Matherson is a writer for Worldwide Tapestries where you’ll see a wide range of wall tapestry discounts to decorate any home, including a fine range of French style tapestries and Oriental wall hangings as wall art to decorate your room or home.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Matherson

Feel free to read more about decor in Japanese homes and the traditions and flavors of Japan here: Japanese Home Decor – Japanese Decorations & Paintings – Japanese Style Furniture – Japanese Decorating & Ancient Culture – Japanese Wall Decor & Traditional Japanese Decor – Japanese Bedrooms – Japanese Rooms – Japanese Shoji Screen – Japanese Wall Fans.

Japanese Bedroom Designs

After a stressful and busy day, wouldn’t it be nice to come home to and rest in a quiet and uncluttered bedroom? This feel is what a Japanese bedroom gives. These Zen designs are proven to provide the sense of tranquility and relaxation that you need. Here are some Japanese bedroom designs that you may use for your own bedroom.

The first item that is vital in any Japanese bedroom is a low platform bed, which may or may not have a frame. Bed frames are usually slanted or curved. The bed is usually placed in the center of the room or facing a window. Windows are usually big and are left open to allow natural light inside the room.

The keyword for Japanese design is minimalism. There are no frills or unnecessary décor. What you see are clean lines and solid dark colors. The wooden bed, which is usually dark brown or black in color, is accentuated by white linen sheets and some pillows with solid dark colors like rust, red, green or purple. And because Japanese furniture is multi-functional, these beds may also provide additional storage. Pull-out drawers are sometimes placed under the bed.

Because there are not too many furniture inside a Japanese bedroom, each piece is essential. What you often see in the room is a dresser, an armoire or wardrobe, and a nightstand. Sometimes there is a tiny tea table and a chair. If more storage is needed, a "tansu" or chest is placed. These chests are usually made of light wood such as elm, kiri or woven bamboo. What’s more, these chests are usually stackable, so as not occupy a lot of space. The furniture also serves a dual purpose. The dresser has drawers for storage purposes. The nightstand also serves as a table.

Another quality of the Japanese bedroom is harmony. That is why each furniture piece is of the same color and type of wood, like mahogany or cherry. Aside from achieving harmony among the furniture pieces, there is also the characteristic of being in harmony with nature. You can place a bonsai or some potted plant in a corner or on top of the nightstand, or a painting with waterscape or scenery may be mounted on the wall. To complete the look, walls are painted with a light color like cream or yellow.

There are other ways to create the Japanese feel in your room. Clear your room of any clutter and take out unnecessary furniture. Add some Japanese home decor like a floor lamp, shoji screen divider or a geisha doll. By changing the décor with Japanese or Japanese-inspired pieces, you can create that look.

Author: Albert Lee

For bedroom design ideas, visit http://www.bedroomdecoratingideas101.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Albert_Lee

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