Dubai interior design studio Brand Creative discusses wabi-sabi

Wabi-Sabi is a Japanese ideology based on highlighting imperfection, finding beauty in it and then embracing it. Derived from traditional Buddhist teachings, finding beauty in something that is flawed, incomplete, asymmetrical, rough and unpolished is a unique perspective in which they choose to see the world through. Mexican furniture designers, MOB, used the concept to create a table inspired by this particular ideology and gave it the namesake.

The Wabi-Sabi table is unique in that it comes in three separate components. The first piece is a raw wooden pedestal base that is unfinished and unpolished with visible cracking.  The second part of the table is a marble top which is fitted onto the wooden base. However, the wood and marble are not secure and the piece remains incomplete until the user hammers the third component, a brass wedge, into it. This causes the wood base to crack further and as it expands it locks the marble in place.   Requesting the user to hammer the wedge to complete the piece themselves is not a case of the designers being lazy. It is significant in communicating the concept by having the user determine the final product. It helps the owner identify with the piece as it requires their effort to be completed. Naturally, we feel more connected to something we are involved in creating than to something we just bought at the store and placed in our homes.

Another significance realized in engaging the owner in the process is found in the variables. Each individual’s strength, the way the person carries the hammer, the type of hammer used and possibly the conditions in which the hammer was used in are all variables unique to that individual and the final product. As a result, the way the marble ends up laying on the wood, as well as the placement and angle of how the wedge enters the wood, will be unique to the individual. This is not some machine that presses the wedge perfectly into place at laser precision, which means there is room for human error. However, in the case of the Wabi-Sabi table, getting it wrong is almost better than getting it right.

Dubai interior design studio Brand Creative discusses wabi-sabi . 

By Lama, Interior Designer.

Images via:

www.design-milk.com/table-inspired-japanese-culture/