Wabi-Sabi

Where it comes from

A Japanese aesthetic that finds value in age, asymmetry and wear.

Wabi-sabi resists the instinct of a remodel, which is to make everything new and level. The work is choosing materials that will age well and then not correcting them — lime plaster with movement, timber with grain, ceramic with variation.

Lighting

Low, warm and directional, so texture reads. Even flat light erases the entire point.

What breaks it

• Symmetry
• Machine-perfect finishes
• Bright saturated colour
• Matching sets of anything

Where to spend

Plaster and joinery finish. Machine-perfect surfaces cancel the style whatever colours sit on them.