Shoji Screens: Diffuse light, Control Temperature, Reduce Noise, Increase Privacy
Shoji Screens are popular in Japan as a semi-permanent way of altering living space within in a home. It’s quite common for the Shoji screens to be taken off their railings to allow a room to be larger for funerals, parties and other events or they are removed to integrate with a garden setting temporarily.
The Japanese Shoji screens
The Japanese Shoji screens are made of a special wooden frame with small squares or rectangles. The frames are filled with “rice paper” although the paper has nothing to do with rice and is made from the fibres of the kobo tree and this traditional paper is called washi.
The washi paper has the tendency to spread light evenly making the light softer on the eyes and this is one of the reasons Shoji screens have become popular in the West. The graceful nature of a Shoji screen effects a room’s ambience by adding a calming effect to any room.
Western Shoji Screens
The Western version of a Shoji is far more practical than a traditional “rice paper” Shoji screen as it is made of acrylic and is stronger and easier to clean. The acrylic Shoji screen has the same effect of softening the light with the added benefit of helping to control room temperature and reduce noise to a degree.
The Shoji screen in homes around our neighbourhood are great as room dividers. These room dividers can come in the form of a wall mount, sliding door, fixed and sliding or as a bifold room divider. You can choose your design from a wide range of options and really enhance your home with a traditional Shoji screen look or a more contemporary feel with different coloured finishes.
Shoji screens can come in a range of sizes with the largest being 3 metres x 2.4 metres a far cry from the smaller homes in Japan.
It’s great to combine the Japanese aesthetic as a decorating touch in your home.
Call Leigh today to find out more Ph 0412 525 137
