Asian Zen Interior Design Guide

Searching for more relaxation and peace in your life? The calming tranquility of the Zen style with its roots in the Japanese Zen traditions will be perfect for your living room transformation. Using calming, natural colors and elements from Asian cultures, this style is perfect for lovers of simplicity in style. We'll describe the elements you need to make your home Zen.

1. Choosing the Right Colors

The Zen interior style involves natural wood browns and grays, white, black, and the brilliant greens of plants. Remember that simplicity is key, so choosing a simple color scheme is important.

 

Tips:

• Walls: Walls can be painted beige, white, or grey. More commonly, wood paneling or wood frames can be a way to add more details and interest to your design. The use of straight lines through wood paneling can enhance the design of your home.
• Floors: Simple wood floors in any color from natural gray wood to warm oak wood works well with this design.

2. Choosing the Right Patterns and Textures

In a simple, uncluttered style like the Zen style, having different textures is important to adding visual interest to the look.

Suggestions:

• Patterns: Avoid most patterns other than the occasional, subtle, natural or Japanese inspired pattern. The emphasis is on simplicity in Zen styles. Instead of patterns, contrast straight lines with curves through the outlines of elements in your design.
• Textures: Include textures through blankets, cushions, sofas, wood, and art. Texture is important to this style and even something subtle like layers of wood on frames of embroidered art can add an extra oomph to your design. Meanwhile, tatami mats are a practical addition to make even the floor of your home comfortable for sitting down while drawing on Japanese influences.

 

3. Choosing the Right Furniture

For the Zen style, fewer furniture pieces are needed, so as to emphasize the open, flowy feel of the space. One key furniture piece, like a sofa, should be complemented with if anything low tables. Smaller, shorter furniture would best complement this style, drawing on Asian cultural traditions of kneeling at low tables on the floor.

• Design: Choose furniture with a simple, minimalistic design and straight lines instead of organic lines (but rounded corners are fine). Fabric furniture is recommended for the softer aspects of this look but having a low wicker ottoman which doubles up as storage would also fit well.
• Frame: Wood frames and legs are better for this style, fitting with the other natural elements in the design. It is best to avoid metal and choose plastic or wooden frames.
• Shelves: For this style, choose unembellished wooden or plastic shelves and take care in choosing which items to display. For other clutter, it is best to hide it behind closed cupboards instead. The inbuilt wall shelf which goes into a wall recess is best to keep the clean look of the Zen style. 

4. Choosing the Right Accessories

To give your room more of a Zen flair, choose accessories that make you feel calmer such as meditative pictures or items. Leaning into the simplicity and natural focus of the style can guide your accessory choices.

• Art: If you want to lean into the Japanese roots of this style, traditional calligraphy paintings and Japanese style embroidery art can be a great addition to your living room. Given the cultural significance of these pieces, please remember to respect the Japanese culture in your choices.

Another option for art includes black and white pictures of nature or those with muted colors. These pictures can be of meditative, still moments to create an atmosphere of tranquility in your space. Adding a circular picture can be a great way to break up the other straight lines found in this design.

• Cushions: Simple cushions or slightly patterned cushions are perfect to keep your Zen living room comfortable and cozy, but don't go overboard on adding cushions. Remember, less is more.
• Blinds: Blinds are preferable to curtains in this style. Bamboo blinds in a pale, natural shade of warm beige-brown are perfect to keep with the style and provide the privacy you need in your living room. The repeated horizontal or vertical lines of blinds also add visual interest to your otherwise plain design and a sense of stability.

5. Add Natural Elements

Given the Zen emphasis on finding peace amidst nature, adding elements of nature like a few rocks or plants can go a long way in making your living room more Zen.

Ideas:

• Bonsai: Bonsai, or plants twisted into miniature trees which are kept in shallow pots, can be a great, space-friendly addition to your living room. Plants of all kinds, however, add a living accent to your space. Go for plants native to Asia to keep with the vibe.
• Rocks: You can incorporate rocks into your design in a variety of ways. Smooth pebbles can be embedded into a section of the floor, forming an indoor foot reflexology path to massage the aches and pains of the day by walking upon it. Large rocks surrounding an indoor tree are another great way to incorporate nature.

6. Choose the Right Lighting

The right lighting is always critical to keeping your living room atmosphere as bright as you want it. In the Asian Zen style, however, there is less need for different light sources. Daylight remains the most important light source, so having tall windows and skylights is essential. For less sunny days, though, other sources of light may be needed.

Options:

• Lamps: Make sure that your light fixtures are as simple as possible, avoiding shiny materials like crystal or metal. A traditional, wood and rice paper lamp hung discretely from the ceiling or standing on the floor in a corner will fit in seamlessly with this style, pulling on its Asian roots. Otherwise, a simple cloth lampshade and a boxy or gently curving lamp works just as well.
• Recessed lighting: Use discrete recessed lighting embedded in the ceiling to brighten up inlaid wall shelves and other hard spots for daylight to reach. This adds a feeling of soft lighting emanating from everywhere.

Conclusion

All in all, the Asian Zen interior design style is perfect for those wanting a simple, calming living room design with Japanese influences. Bringing nature into your home is a great way to find tranquility amidst the disturbances and stresses of everyday life. Make your living room into a peaceful sanctuary with muted colors, natural elements, gentle lighting, simple furniture, and a minimalistic approach to decor so that you can feel comfortable and relaxed at home. 

Ready to transform your living room into the perfect meditative retreat? Consider starting with a space saving sofa bed from the sofabedstore.com collection! For more interior design tips and inspiration, check out our YouTube channel where we showcase different living room transformations every two weeks using the same sofa bed from sofabedstore.com!