Japandi: which design classics suit the style?

What is japandi?

The name joins Japanese and Scandinavian. The two traditions share a liking for simple forms, natural materials and craft. In a japandi interior you see:

• Wood, light like oak and ash or dark like smoked oak and walnut, often oiled.
• Natural fibres: paper, cane, rattan, paper cord and linen.
• Ceramics with a matt or uneven glaze.
• Quiet colours: white, sand, grey, black and muted green.
• Few things, with space around each piece.

Light: paper and pleated shades

Akari by Isamu Noguchi. Vitra sells the Akari Light Sculptures, which Noguchi designed from 1951 on, after a visit to Gifu in Japan, a city known for its paper lanterns. They are still made there by hand, of washi paper on a bamboo frame. There are table lamps such as the Akari 1A and the Akari 3X, and floor lamps such as the Akari UF3-Q.

Le Klint. The Danish maker Le Klint folds its shades by hand, in plastic or in paper. The Le Klint 101 is a design by Kaare Klint. There is the 375 with a paper shade as a table lamp, the Sax wall lamp with a paper shade on smoked oak, and the Cylinder 182 in black oak.

Rattan and bamboo. David Trubridge makes the Hinaki in bamboo, Markslöjd the Bali with a rattan shade.

Chairs: wood and weave

CH24 Wishbone Chair. Hans J. Wegner designed it in 1949 for Carl Hansen & Søn, which still makes it. The seat of the CH24 is woven by hand; the chair comes in oak, beech and other woods.

Danish wooden chairs. FDB Møbler makes the J46 by Poul M. Volther in smoked oiled oak. HAY sells the J42 in oiled oak. &Tradition makes Sami Kallio's In Between SK1 in smoked oak and walnut.

How to choose a dining chair for your table is in the guide to dining chairs.

Table, textiles and ceramics

A wooden dining table is the base, like Bloomingville's Maldon dining table in oak. Linen on the table suits the style: Södahl makes its Pure Linen tablecloth of 100% flax.

Glass and porcelain by Naoto Fukasawa. The Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa made the Eugenia glasses for Alessi, such as the white wine glasses and the water glasses, and the porcelain Itsumo salad bowl.

Ceramics. A vase with a matt glaze or relief, like Ferm Living's ceramic Moire or Pols Potten's Three Ears, gives a table or a cabinet one quiet accent.

How to put it together

Choose one wood or one wood colour as the base and keep to it for table and chairs. Add one material that lets light through, such as a paper shade. Keep the colours muted and leave space open: an empty shelf or a bare wall is part of the style. Mixing works: a Japanese lamp above a Danish table is exactly what the name says.

Comparing prices

The designs in this guide are under pendant lamps, table lamps, dining chairs and vases. The brands have pages of their own, such as Le Klint, Vitra and Carl Hansen & Søn. Every size and version has its own EAN, and Lofvi compares them one by one.