The concept of Japandi has been trending for at least a decade, mostly in the context of interior design focused on high-end homes and luxury hotels. The minimalist movement combines the Japanese practice of wabi-sabi, which is about slow living, simplicity, and contentment, with the complementary Scandinavian philosophy known by different names in each country but best recognized outside the Nordic region under the Danish term hygge, which celebrates coziness, comfort, and well-being.
Collaborations have been a big part of the trend in the interior design space. More recently, partnerships in the consumer home goods sector are starting to highlight their Japandi influences:
- Singer John Legend paired with Rove Concepts for a collection of five furniture pieces meant to turn consumers’ homes into places of love and comfort, as well as beauty. The Journey’s Collection Composed by John Legend was inspired by Legend’s own embrace of Japandi styles, which have played a role in the design of his own home. The range launched in August 2024 and included round and side tables, a chair, an upholstered sectional couch, and a rug.
- Australian furniture and luxury home goods designer Alice McMullin of McMullin & Co. paired with Assembly Label, a lifestyle apparel brand headed by designers Damien Horan and Daniel Oliver, for a Japandi-inspired collaborative rice paper lamp that provides soft, diffused light. The one-off product was released in May 2024.
- In November 2023, Japanese electronics brand Pioneer partnered with Danish design company Bolia for a collection of stereo cabinets. The three pieces in the Cord DJ furniture collection were designed specifically to fit Pioneer DJ equipment and are in a Japandi style that combines influences from both companies’ home countries. Each case features elements such as simple handcrafted details, natural materials, organic shapes, and muted colors. For example, braided paper rope is strung vertically to create the fronts of the pieces, allowing music to flow through while hiding the speakers and cables. German designers Hertel & Karhoefer led the design process.
- Yuni Jie of Jie Design is an Indonesia-based interior designer known for her Japandi style. Her product collaborations with high-end home décor and furniture partners, some of which feature her watercolor artwork, include the likes of furniture and lifestyle brand Vivere, kitchen and bathroom supplier Toto, dressmaker Adrian Gan, home textiles marketer Czarre, luxury home furnishings purveyor Laflo, rug brand Moire, and wallcovering company Sekata Living, among others.
While the concept of Japandi has been making an impact in high-end interior design for a while, it seems to be gaining steam among a broader audience. A number of design publications have written articles in the past six months—including a handful in the past few weeks—highlighting Japandi and noting that the trend is here to stay. This may fuel more Japandi-influenced collaborations in the home goods category, building on the current upswing.
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