A friend of ours just moved to Japan and has been on the hunt for stylish--yet small--furniture. His apartment is a mere 320 sq ft, and he's been playing around the idea of creating what he calls, "Scandi Safe Place." We've been batting around a few ideas on how to get that serene, comfortable feeling in a small space (lots of white with accents in saturated color). Luckily, we found Idée, a furniture store in Japan that not only captures that aesthetic, but is tailor-made for Japan's notoriously small homes. We've collected a few of our favorite photos from the catalogue to share....
Need an Idée? Inspirations from Japan's Idée Catalogue
A favorite color combo: Bright yellow, dark blue-grey, and white....
Using natural light-toned wood for all furniture against a white backdrop is an easy albeit safe way to achieve a calm and earthy look. Given how small our friend's apartment is, we thought this could also be an effective way to make the home seem airy and spacious.
When the home is sparingly furnished, little details become even more significant--even a quirky light fixture makes a statement.
A white background lends itself well to mixing and matching different colors and textures. And speaking of...
...love the retro upholstery on these chairs.
Check out more cool furniture and other offerings at Idée. (Warning: The entire site is in Japanese...)
(Images: Idée)
Comments (5)
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Very cute. How much does this stuff run if it were in American dollars?
view Modernhulagirl's profile
I love this stuff too, I wish they would bring their store like Ikea
view Haunted_Studio's profile
they'd make a fortune if they opened a store in NYC....
view Bridget212323's profile
The site may be in Japanese, but if you just want to browse for visual prettiness, it appears that scrolling over the links gives you an English translation of the category you're clicking on (chair, tableware, accessory, etc). There is also the Maisons avec IDEE section with some house tour-esque pictures.
If you're interested in price information -- I haven't browsed the whole site but it appears that the price should be on the second column down on each individual item's page. Just plug the numeric amount into google -- ie "22,000 yen to dollars" and it will give you an idea of the price range.
view peanut's profile
HiddenBed from Uruguay recently licensed their hardware and designs to a firm in Japan. These are wall-mounted or free-standing desks that have beds in them. We build them here in Maine and ship all over, but Japan's too far and local furniture makers there would be proficient at innovating and adapting designs for local markets: http://www.hiddenbedusa.com/hbline.html
for help reaching the owners overseas I can be reached at www.condofurniture.com
view condosofa's profile