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How to Design a Japandi Luxury Apartment: A Guide to Tasteful Minimalism with Soul

In the first light of morning, when sunlight filters through a linen curtain onto the smooth grain of oak floors, a certain silence settles. It’s not emptiness. It’s presence. It’s the spirit of Japandi luxury: a way of living that values calm, tactility, and curated beauty.


Japandi is often described as a blend of Japanese and Scandinavian design; but done well, it transcends fusion. It is about alignment: Two cultures shaped by restraint, craft, and reverence for materials. This article goes deeper into the why, the how, and the feel of creating a Japandi luxury apartment.



Luxury Japandi interior with natural stone and wood panels | Viñas Genève
“Silence is not the absence of something but the presence of everything.” — Gordon Hempton

What is Japandi, Really?


Japandi is not a trend. It is a philosophy of space, light, and material. At its heart, Japandi unites:


  • Japanese principles: respect for nature, wabi-sabi imperfection, function as poetry.

  • Scandinavian principles: craftsmanship, comfort, humility in materials.


It is minimalism with soul.


Viñas Genève's approach to Japandi is not aesthetic copying; it is emotional alignment. Material, silence, and space guide the design.



What Japandi Is Not


Japandi vs. Wabi-Sabi: Wabi-sabi celebrates impermanence and the beauty of wear. Japandi values simplicity too, but leans into permanence creating spaces meant to last.


Japandi vs. Muji: Muji leans into anonymous functionality. Japandi cultivates emotional connection with fewer, meaningful objects.



Luxury Japandi interior with wood coffee table and cushions | Viñas Genève
“The emptiness of a room is what allows it to be filled.” — Traditional Japanese Saying

What Makes Japandi Style "Luxury"?


Luxury in Japandi is not driven by price. It is expressed in:


  • Materials: cashmere, oak, clay, wool, stone

  • Intentionality: every object chosen with care

  • Permanence: investment in pieces meant to age beautifully


Luxury lives in the edit, in the courage to leave space.



Raw wood coffee table and cherry tree flowers in luxury Japandi interior | Viñas Genève
“Wood warms you three times: when you cut it, when you stack it, and when you burn it.” — Scandinavian Saying

Core Elements of a Japandi Apartment


  • Flow: Rooms should breathe. Layouts favor open sightlines.

  • Light: Morning light is treated as a design material.

  • Materiality: Hard (stone, wood) meets soft (wool, linen).

  • Furniture: Sculptural but human-scale. Low seating. Textural surfaces.


Emptiness isn't the enemy. It is an active presence, a place where the soul rests.


Raw wood bench and cosy throw blanket in a Japandi interior | Viñas Genève
Quiet accents, pure textiles and raw materials

Quiet Accents: Throws, Textiles, and Ritual Objects


Textiles hold the room together—but quietly. A single luxury throw, such as those crafted by Viñas Genève, brings:


  • Tactile anchors in neutral spaces

  • Cultural depth (designed in Geneva and woven with wool from Lanificio Zegna, where mastery of wool and cashwool is generational)

  • A visual pause: a soft fold of texture against stone or oak


A Japandi luxury space doesn’t shout. It whispers in wool, linen, and hand-thrown clay.


Simple Japanese calligraphic sign | Viñas Genève
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” — Leonardo da Vinci

The Japandi Palette: Colors and Textures


Color in Japandi is about whispering, not announcing.


  • Neutrals: sand, mist, charcoal, chalk, soft blush

  • Materials: brushed wool, coarse linen, rough clay, oiled oak

  • Textures: Variations of matte, nubby, woven, weathered


Tone-on-tone layering builds emotional depth without visual noise.


Modern luxury Japandi color palette by Viñas Genève


How to Japandi Your Apartment: 3 Steps


1 – Subtract first.

Remove excess visual and physical noise.


2 – Choose intention.

Every item should earn its presence—through material, meaning, or memory.


3– Curate silence.

Light, texture, and empty space become your co-designers.


Luxury Japandi bedroom in the morning | Viñas Genève
“The earth gives enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.” — Traditional Scandinavian Saying

Designers to Know if You Love Japandi Luxury


Portraits of Karimoku Case Designers
Karimoku Case Designers

Karimoku Case — sculptural minimalism, Japanese woods


Studio Giancarlo Valle — fluid, serene compositions


Frama Copenhagen — elemental interiors, muted palettes


Tekla Fabrics — tactile purity in textiles


Viñas Genève — quiet cultural luxury in throws



Each of these designers' work embodies a restraint that feels emotionally alive.





Is Japandi Style Expensive?


True Japandi is not about cost: it is about choice.


  • Expensive Japandi exists when you invest in heirloom-quality items.

  • Accessible Japandi exists when you embrace "less, but better."


Viñas Genève offers an example: objects crafted for permanence, not trends.


The Cortina Throw from Viñas Genève's collection Le Plaid des Montagnes
The Cortina Throw from Viñas Genève's exclusive collection Le Plaid des Montagnes


“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.” — Scandinavian Saying


Japandi luxury is not a style to decorate with. It is a way to inhabit space with awareness, humility, and warmth.


It invites us to slow down, to touch textures, to find silence, and to understand that true luxury is simply the absence of excess.





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