![]() How do you want your customers to feel when they leave, are they here to savour the food and conversation with their friends? Or are they here to be entertained? You need to work out where you sit on this energy scale. For some, a highly layered, almost chaotic atmosphere is needed to create a high-energy customer experience. In the context of restaurant design, the idea of restraint and subtlety will not suit all hospitality concepts. Everything in the space is an end in itself to be savoured rather than simply used in an unthinking way as a means to an end. ![]() The principles bring about an environment that quiets the mind and brings focus. When there is less visual ‘noise’, you can more easily make out the quietest ‘whisper’ – how the light changes throughout the day, how your chair really feels to sit on, how cold the stone countertop is. By paring back the space to only what is essential, everything that is left is elevated in importance. A large driver for this aesthetic is the concept of Zen, more particularly the principle of Kanso which pertains to a sense of simplicity. ![]() One of the most visible aspects of Japanese interior design is the quality of minimalism, sometimes taken to almost a monastic austerity, which contrasts against the mass consumerism and throw-away culture of modern society. I think these qualities in many ways transcend what we might call eastern and western design approaches, at the risk of sounding grandly philosophical, they shine a light on human nature and how we experience our everyday reality. Below are 4 key ideas based on a number of specific Japanese principles, and how I see them applying to the design of spaces.
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