Besides its many traditional and ancestral arts, when it comes to decorating, Japan is a country renowned for the Zen and relaxing atmosphere it manages to bring out inside its homes. Interior designers and decorators draw inspiration from this to create current trends. If you've ever visited a traditional Japanese home, you'll have noticed a number of differences from our European homes. There's a tatami floor on which you have to walk in socks, a tokonoma (a small raised space where decorations are placed), sliding doors and, above all, no chairs around the table. In fact, Japanese people are accustomed to sitting on the floor on a cushion around a coffee table. As practical as they are aesthetically pleasing, cushions save a considerable amount of space in the main room and promote a calm, warm atmosphere.
Origin of Japanese Futon
The Japanese have long been accustomed to sitting on cushions around a table, as opposed to the stools, chairs and armchairs we're used to. This dates back to the Muromachi period (1336-1392), when interior architecture began to develop and integrate tatami mats on the floor of houses. As a result, a new way of sitting was born. Called seiza, it consists of sitting on the knees on a traditional cushion called zabuton. Since then, however, many other Futon have been born, with different shapes and styles, as you can see from our collection of Japanese futon. Over the last few decades, these cushions have seduced us with their comfortable look, bringing a warm, cocooning atmosphere to any room or space.
Some ideas for installing a Japanese Futonin your home
In general, Japanese decoration and the atmosphere it creates is something that many people envy and would like to install in their homes too. However, when you really get down to it, it's not a simple matter, given that you don't have the same interior architecture and furniture. Indeed, it's commonplace to have a restful, uncluttered space with the coffee table and cushions around it in the dining room of a Japanese home, but this isn't necessarily the case in our Western homes. That's why we'd like to give you a few decorating ideas to improve your interior design and help you install one or more Japanese cushions in your home.
First, let's start with an alternative use for the Japanese futon. Although the latter is often used to create a cosy space for relaxation and to act purely as decoration. But that's not its only use. You can use it to meditate from time to time, and feel as if you're on cloud nine. Many meditators neglect the environment in which they meditate and the cushion or surface on which they stand. However, this is a mistake, as your concentration tends to be disturbed by your discomfort, so if you're already meditating or you'd like to start, it might be a good idea to kill two birds with one stone by adding one or more Japanese futon as decorative objects and using them as meditation cushions if required.
Secondly, Japanese Futon can of course be used to create a relaxing corner where you can sit down from time to time with family or friends. For this, nothing could be better than to place them around a coffee table in the same way as the Japanese do. By adopting a similar arrangement with a few cushions around a coffee table, you'll create a cocooning place where you can go to play a board game, enjoy an aperitif or chat whenever you feel like it. Finally, if you have a corner sofa or just a couch, you can use it as a headrest to rest on while sitting or lying down.
Finally, if you don't have enough storage space in your dining room to fit a coffee table and Japanese futon, you can always place them in your bedroom. You'll be able to create a warm and inviting style, as opposed to the impersonal industrial style you're used to. As well as decorating your bedroom with traditional Japanese colors and patterns, you can use them to relax, read or watch a video. As with the sofa, you can also use it as a headrest in your bed. What's more, if like many you're the type to leave things and clothes lying around you can always leave them on a Japanese cushion while you wait to be put away.
