Wabi Sabi...... Perfect Imperfection.

A sense of style..... what does that mean?
  
For me the Japanese phrase Wabi Sabi says it all .. "perfect imperfection".

When I think about stylish and beautiful interiors; and exteriors for that matter I am always drawn back to images that are softly worn and ever so slighted dilapidated.  I would also use the word "decayed" but unfortunately that word scares some people. 

Perfect imperfection.... as in everything you need in a kitchen, blending worn materials, function and beauty.

 

 

 

That feeling I have for things that are as beautiful as they are useful. Think of an  old beach cottage anywhere in the world, with the flaking white shingles and pale blue painted shutters and trim. Or the softly, almost incandescent plaster walls of a French or Italian villa where the layers of chalk paint have worn away to create almost a fresco-ed effect.  

There is a sense of self assurance as well as that enigmatic sense of style, that comes with effortlessly combining old and new, quirky self indulgences with reverence for objects that show their age.
 
A perfect example of carrying this off is the blurring of the boundaries between inside and out.  I love seeing this done in any room. It is so much more interesting to see a beautiful old French Canadian kitchen chair warmly showing it's years of wear used as a bedside table; or a funky, metal patio table used as a side table next to a chair pulled up to the fireplace.  Who needs all sterile "built in" kitchen cabinets when you can have a dresser filled with crockery and glassware and a beautiful old wooden table piled high with all the "encroutement" of daily life ( please pardon my French if the spelling is not correct).  


Here are two stunning examples of just that confidence and style, pulling it off in spades.

But lets face it we do not all live in a converted barn in the south of France or a seaside cottage on an island in Sweden so we have to re-create the ambiance for ourselves. So we do what style savvy people have done through the ages, we  take what we can afford and mix it with what we know to be beautiful, blend it with good practical use and we will come up with own own version of Wabi  Sabi .....

God I love a drinks cabinet....

There are a minimum of 6 re-purposed objects in this beautiful room not counting the structure itself..... sublime

Wabi Sabi ahhhhh.....

Decayed? ......... beautiful.

 
These beautiful images were courtesy of Pinterest....... of which I continue to be an addict.

Ciao for now

Christine