If you’re looking for peace, comfort and elegance in your home, you may find them in the Japanese style of interior design. It offers a clean and uncluttered look to your home, and has the ability to present balance and order with the introduction of natural elements to the space.

In designing a Japanese style bathroom, you would need to know all the principles of the style to be able to correctly master and perfect it. We have already discussed and reviewed all aspects of the style in our previous articles, so make sure you’ve reviewed them to get what we’ll be discussing here.

A Room With Purpose

The Japanese have redefined the bathroom from merely being a space used for hygiene, into a purposeful room. Following the principles of the Japanese style and Zen, you will be able to design a Japanese style bathroom that offers you peace and tranquility.

When designing a modern or traditional Japanese style bathroom there are considerations to be made. The first thing to consider is how to create a décor that will engage the human senses and delight them. To do that, the natural environments should be integrated within your design. This could be done by simply adding plants like bamboo trees or potted plants; or by going all out and having a small garden to open your bathroom to. If that’s not possible, nature inside the space would give the feeling of peacefulness and the separation from the outside tense world.

Lighting

The second consideration is the lighting of the space. As we have thoroughly discussed before, the importance of light in Japanese architecture can’t be overstated. To construct a bathroom space that will impart a relaxing effect, you must consider the lighting of the space. It has to be mostly natural, and in the case of having to use artificial lighting, it should be of clean lines only, no bulky or bold light fixtures.

The Color Palette

The third consideration is the color palette. Again, nature is your answer. Colors derived from nature is what you need to use in your bathroom. Such colors are shades of brown, green, white and grey (review our article  “Peace and Serenity; the Japanese Style Interior Design” to get the reason behind each color). Be careful of using too many bright colors, which will create distraction rather than tranquility.

Bathroom Furnishings

The fourth, and most important, consideration is the furniture and utilities. All furniture to be used in your bathroom design should be of clean lines and down to earth. It should not overwhelm the user rather than giving peace and serenity. The Japanese culture presses on the importance of having a space at your home for rest and revival of the senses. This would be the role of “tub time”. In the past, the Japanese would have a soaking tub in a space in their house for relaxing their tired bodies after a long day. Hence, the bathing tub choice is one of the important piece in your design.

Hygiene and privacy are another important principles for the Japanese. They would put the toilet either in a separate cabin or would put it out of sight when entering the bathroom and in many cases they would have their own space separate from the tub.

Last but not least are the details and decorations that bind all together. Relaxing music and candles should be utilized in your bathroom design. But make sure to hide the technology with authentic décor so as not to overpower the style. Have natural sounds and light relaxing music in the background of your “tub time” would just be the mood-changer in a heartbeat.

When engaging culture, traditions and art within your design, you’ll be able to create an astonishing room that can transcend your expectations.