Foreign styles hard to replicate

Because so many Americans now travel abroad, we're seeing frequent attempts to replicate other cultures' interior designs here at home. I stress that they're "attempts" because the results are often unsuccessful. It isn't easy to transplant a setting from Europe, Asia or Latin America to a typical American home.

Traditional Japanese interiors may be the most difficult of all to reproduce. American travelers who stay at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese guesthouse, are often smitten with this look, and some become determined to transform a den or basement into a replica of the room they booked in Tokyo or Kyoto. They don't realize that a room's décor needs to be in sync with its architecture.

One irony is that few Japanese actually live in traditional settings these days. In our times, it's much easier -- in Japan as well as in the United States -- to build a steel-and-glass, contemporary-style house than one made with bamboo, straw, stucco, wood and no nails.

Many homes in Japan are furnished with Western-style beds, seating and storage units. In fact, one of my Japanese clients recently told me more futons are now sold as bedding in the U.S. than in Japan.

That might be an exaggeration, but it's a revealing remark nevertheless.

I don't mean to suggest it's impossible to replicate traditional Japanese styling in an American home. I've actually seen a few beautiful examples. A sure understanding of this type of design is essential, however.

Q: We've just bought a two-story wood-shingle house. It's got a finished attic with a pine floor and dry-walled ceiling and walls. It's our intention to turn it into a restful retreat, free of clutter and electronics, where meditation can be practiced.

What do you suggest in the way of furnishings, materials and colors?

A: After my spiel above, I'm not going to urge you to give your attic a traditional Japanese look. But that style would certainly suit your specifications.

I've chosen the accompanying photo not as a template you should follow but as a model you may find inspiring. This interior is featured in "Manspace," an amusing book written by Sam Martin and published by the Taunton Press.

We're told that it was, appropriately, a male crisis-management consultant who arranged for this tranquil setting to be carved out of his saltbox garage. It's presented in the book as an example of the men-only interiors that Martin, half-jokingly, celebrates.

I fail to see what's so male about this space, however. In fact, I bet the crisis guy's wife or girlfriend spends a lot of time there too.

The design is the work of Peter Wechsler, a craftsman trained in Japanese temple architecture. He clearly has the needed knowledge and know-how to make this look succeed in an American interior.

Tatami mats cover the floor of this beautifully detailed setting. Its ceiling is made of bamboo and peeled reed, while straw, clay and stucco have been used for the walls.

Note that all the colors are those of the materials themselves, with the exception of the black accents on the perimeter of the mats and the trim of the furnishings. That's something for you to keep in mind as you work out your attic's design.

The furnishings for your own retreat don't have to be traditionally Japanese in their styling, and there can certainly be more of them than we see here. Ultimately, though, you may find yourself pulled in the minimalist direction closely associated with Japanese design.

Rita St. Clair is a syndicated columnist with Tribune Media Services Inc. E-mail general interior design questions to her at rsca@ritastclair.com.