Japanese Wabi-Sabi interior with natural timber and restrained palette

MRETTY -- Japanese / Wabi-Sabi

The Beauty
Of Restraint

MRETTY's Guide To Japanese & Wabi-Sabi Interiors

Leonard Koren wrote that wabi-sabi is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. In a city as fast as Singapore, a home built on this principle becomes a daily reset - a place to put down the day and return to yourself.

Chapter 01

Kanso & Ma

Two ideas drive the style: kanso (clarity through simplification) and ma (intentional negative space). Low furniture, natural materials, restrained palette. The result is a home that breathes - rare in dense Singapore living.

Chapter 02

Natural Materials

Hinoki, cedar, bamboo, washi paper, hand-thrown ceramic. We import the cypress and cedar directly from Japan and dry-stabilise to Singapore humidity. The scent of fresh hinoki when you slide a wardrobe door open is part of the design.

Chapter 03

Custom Tatami & Shoji

A complete custom tea room - tatami platform with integrated drawers, shoji sliding partitions in hinoki, low cedar tea table in correct proportion - typically lands between S$18,000 and S$35,000 depending on imported timber selection.

Featured Project

See This Style Built In Singapore

Every principle on this page is delivered in a real Singapore home. Walk through the full case study - room by room, material by material - and see how MRETTY translates this style into liveable design.

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Frequently Asked

Honest Answers

What is the price range for a custom Japanese-style interior?

Pricing varies with scope, complexity and imported material selection. A full custom tea room costs more than adding a few Japanese-inspired pieces. Book a free consultation for a transparent itemised quote.

Does the 2026 catalogue include a Japanese collection?

Yes. The 2026 catalogue introduces an expanded Japanese-inspired line - low platform beds, minimalist sideboards, modular shoji-style partitions. Our real strength remains whole-home custom integration of these principles.

Your Next Step

Bring This Style Home

Book a complimentary consultation with a MRETTY Singapore designer. We walk your home, listen to how you live, and translate this direction into a transparent quote.

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The BeautyOf Restraint