MAKING A SPACE
PARTICULAR TO YOU
CAN MEAN INVITING
IMPERFECTION INTO
THE DESIGN OF YOUR
HOME, AND NOT
APOLOGIZING FOR IT.
Wabi-sabi is hanging your child’s artwork
on the wall, proudly serving meals on your
first ceramics-wheel attempts, and displaying
treasures that are undoubtedly another’s
discards (my personal version of treasure is
wildly shaped sticks and various bits and bobs
from the beach). It might mean collecting
mismatched mugs or rugs—all shaped by
a different potter’s or weaver’s hand—or
incorporating pieces of furniture passed down
through your family, even if they’re not as
polished, or relevant, as they once were. It’s
making room in your home for candid family
photos and wildflowers from the roadside
and objects from people and places you love;
it’s cherishing things that express joy and
sentiment rather than status.
Making your home personal sometimes
means making do with what you have (whether
time or money or space is the limiting factor)
and coming up with solutions that serve you
but may seem unconventional to others. In my
case, we live with wonky wooden furniture I
cobbled together in grad school—a bed
frame, a slender desk, a rickety bench, and
a whole slew of stools at various stages of
completion. I love these pieces because they’re
wholly mine and they’re wholly representative
of my family. These, among many others, are
the imperfect design elements that allow other
people to both know me intimately and to feel
at home when they’re in my space.
The images featured here illustrate how
wabi-sabi has been interpreted in different
spaces—ultimately striking a balance between
the beautiful, polished design we love to aspire
to and the rough-around-the-edges things
that fill us and feed us and remind us who we
are. Letting your home breathe with who you
fully are is what gives you and your guests the
freedom to be themselves, wholly imperfect as
we all may be.
A wabi-sabi home is intimate,
simple, and unpretentious.
Make spaces in your home
where people can get close and
share a cup of coff ee in a laid-
back environment, like a small
dinner table or breakfast nook.Showcasing your books and
magazines off ers a little sneak
peek into who you are and
what you’re about, whether
lovingly organized on a shelf
or stacked on the fl oor.