One of the most interesting Japanese trends in architecture recently has been a renewed interest in Japanese garden style. Many of the main stylists such as Koji Fujimoto and Takashi Tajiri have taken up this style recently to great acclaim, bringing it back into the limelight. The beautiful gardens that these garden designers create often remind us of small fairy tale villages. Many of these are now showing the works of the legendary architectural geniuses Takashi Tajiri and Koji Fujimoto. These two men are the great inventors of what is known today as “Shirobana” or the garden of stones. It is their styles which are inspiring thousands of other young gardeners to follow.

In the interior world of the “Shirobana” style is also being widely embraced, and it too has brought the beautiful garden of stone to many homes across the globe. This amazing style is sometimes described as the “Furano” style, named after the local region of Hokkaido where it was developed. The beautiful simplicity and minimalistic style of the Shirobana garden can be seen in many Japanese gardens, some with only a few plant beds. If you like a countryside scene with lots of greenery but also a touch of the exotic, then a Shirobana garden may well be perfect for you.

In the world of interior inspiration the “Shirobana” style is also being adopted in urban environments. In New York City for example it is becoming quite fashionable for people to design such gardens in the shapes of geisha, tea houses or lanterns. Again these can be seen on the streets of New York, however more traditional styles can be found throughout the city. The inspiration for this may perhaps be the more traditional Japanese gardens of the past, which so perfectly combine the elements of water, nature, and man made beauty.

It is also true to say that interior inspiration can come from quite literally any source. For a classic Shirobana garden you need to look at the countryside. This is a much less specific inspiration as the whole idea is to recreate a garden found in Hokkaido, Japan. However this particular interior style does have an obvious aesthetic feel to it, which can often be utilised to great effect.

If you are looking for a more specific interior inspiration then you are more likely to find it amongst the interiors of a home. The idea here is to find inspiration from the things that you see around you and bring it into your own home. For example, if you live in a period house, you will find that the period features can be used as inspiration or even used as an opportunity to create something similar. If you are an environment fanatic then the outdoors can be an ideal location for inspiration, because there are so many different landscapes to choose from.

If you want to take your interior inspiration to a new level then it can even lead to the development of an entirely new interior design style. The Japanese Zen Buddhist monk type design is one such interior inspiration theme. In this style you will find things like bamboo panels and flowing organic shapes. This particular inspiration can really make a garden setting look very unique.