INTERIORS ARCHIVE: 529: Trend spotting Trina O'Hara takes us on a tour of international furniture fairs to find
the top Japanese designers at work today. 521: Child's play Trina O'Hara checks out the design celebrities hatching playful furniture
and accessories for kids. 517: Personal Effects In celebration of the centennial of his birth, Trina O'Hara looks at the
life and enduring legacy of Japanese-American designer Isamu Noguchi. 513: Seeing the light Trina O'Hara ponders the latest interior design trend and finds the answer
is clear. 505: Lights of fancy Trina O'Hara checks out the contemporary chandeliers and whimsical lighting
sculptures fast becoming fine art across the city. 501: Natural causes 493: Living rooms Inspired by the diverse lifestyles of this teeming metropolis, design experts
Kyoko Asakura and Jaume J. Nasple-Baulenas have compiled an intriguing look
inside the city's private homes. Tama Miyake Lung talks to the authors of Tokyo
Houses. 489: Living in the past Art editor John McGee reveals three Tokyo stores that specialize in finding
the best of what's old in Japanese antiques. 485: Monochrome marvels Black and white are back in fashion and making their mark in the interior
design scene. Martin Webb reports on how to get the look for less. 481: Cut and paste Scrapbooking has swept America, where it's big business, and now it's catching
on in Japan. Chris Betros attends a "cropalong." 477: Moss cause A sprinkling of moss can transform any windowsill into a miniature Zen temple.
Hanna Kite offers some tips for bringing a little tranquility home. 469: Ikebana for idiots With a plethora of rules and schools, Ikebana can be intimidating, not to
mention time-consuming. But who says busy people have to miss out on this ancient
art form? Georgia Jacobs gives you the basics on no-fuss flower-arrangement.
466: A dyeing breed Winning fans from New York to Tokyo, designer Akiyoshi Yaezawa is putting
a traditional stamp on modern accessories using a 17th-century hand-dyeing and
painting process. Krista Wilson reports. 457: Party of five Matt Wilce lays out five luscious looks for New Year. 449: Thought out
Designers create spaces but they also like to inhabit them. SuperDeluxe offers
a place to drink and think for the design community—and of course their
friends 445: Design on Tokyo
A trio of interior design events is on its way to bring style into our Tokyo
living rooms 439: Setting pretty
Matt Wilce lays the table with styles for summer. 435: Tropical haven
Asian furnishings are finding their way to flats across the city 431: Wed white and blue
Treasures of traditional Japanese design, blue and white are the perfect foil
for Tokyo's sweltering summers 427: Have a ball
Who says you need tickets to catch a piece of World Cup action? 423: Collection point
Nishi-Ogikubo's 65 pre-loved furniture stores make up Tokyo's great antique
oasis 419: Flower power Bring your gloomy flat back to life with seasonal flowers. 415:On the mend
Tokyo's fix-it men can have your furniture back in form 411: Phone home
Panasonic unveils the e-lifestyle of the near future 407: Launch Pad
Sputnik Pad lands in Jingumae
399: Interiors
Retrospective 395:
Interiors
Kitchenware flare 391: Interiors
Ideé is one of Tokyo’s most established interiors stores 387: Inner
sanctum
The days of sitting on the tatami floor are over 383: Life
in style
Tokyo's embraces ultra-modern design 367: Wealthy
workplaces
Put feng shui to work at work 364: Healthy
homes
The ancient Chinese art of feng shui
Monochrome marvels
Black and white are
back in fashion and making their mark in the interior design scene. Martin Webb
reports on how to get the look for less.
Muji's
new ceramic tea set
A revival of '80s flashiness, a
reflection of a more somber zeitgeist or the latest recycled trend; whatever way
you look at it, black and white are back in style. After making a splash at interiors
trade shows in Milan and London, the monochrome duo are steadily filtering down
to mainstream retailers-Muji's new ceramic tableware collection and Catherine
Memmi's Aoyama store being two of many examples.
The trend is heavily
influenced by Japanese minimalist aesthetics-think calligraphy, priests' robes
and black granite on raked white gravel in Zen gardens-with one of its most prominent
proponents, Yanagi Sori, also enjoying a resurgence. Last month, Casa Brutus magazine
dedicated an entire issue to Japan's most celebrated product designer's life and
work, and the Ozone design store in Shinjuku Park Tower staged a special exhibition
of his painstakingly simple design. Sori's classic ceramic tea set, which combines
smooth, calming silhouettes with a contemporary urban look, is one great way to
get the black-and-white look without breaking the bank.
Super-sleek
black tableware from Sori looks great on white linen
Tokyo-based
color consultant and interior coordinator Haruko Masuda says the less-is-more
monochrome scheme is easy for people to achieve, reeling off a list of stores
that are stocking items in black and white. "For furniture, you could go
to Idee, The Conran Shop or Catherine Memmi, for accessories and tableware maybe
Sputnik or Mid-Century Modern," she says, adding that fabrics and carpets
are a little more difficult to source, and require trips to specialty stores.
Masuda, who also works as a professional shopper, advises those aspiring
to get the look to steer clear of an overtly '80s style in favor of a more livable,
relaxing scheme. "Avoid glossy, polished black surfaces and harsh brilliant
white and instead go for more natural tones and textures like wood for example,"
she explains in her London accent.
Color coding For those
without the means to employ an interior design consultant, the look is still within
reach. Instead of splashing out on exorbitantly priced designer furniture like
a Miami millionaire or painting the walls of your apartment ebony like a loft-living
artist, the sophisticated simplicity of the black-and-white look can be achieved
with some judiciously positioned tableware, fabrics and accessories. Remember
that rather than the hard-edged sterility that prevailed in the '80s, this time
around the look is based on curvy, organic shapes and matte finishes.
Styling
salad servers from Sputnik Pad
Muji's newly released
ceramic tableware, available in contrasting black and white with a rustic kiln-fired
finish, is perfect for getting the juxtaposition of the two non-colors without
getting overly crisp and clinical. Catherine Memmi's black ceramic tableware and
napkins have a rough, earthy finish, capturing a rustic Orientalism. Aoyama interior
store Sempre, meanwhile, carries matte black cutlery from the permanent collection
of New York's Museum Of Modern Art.
Black and white schemes are certainly
high on impact, and if the dramatic effect is too strong for your living room,
it can even be fitted into the kitchen. Super-cool interior emporium Sputnik Pad
has picked up on the look with a range of kitchen utensils that contrast ceramic
whites with black-stained wood.
So no matter how big or small your home
is, there's room for an ultra-modern revamp thanks to the age-old union of black
and white.
