My Wabi Sabi laundry room.

A good friend once said to me “you are either traveling or at home, nothing in between”. She was so right for as much as I’m love to be on an adventure in my heart I’m really a homebody and like to keep a balance between the two. You won’t see fashion and gossip magazines in my house; it is all home magazines especially my favorite English Home which features charming country homes full of antiques, fraying upholstery, uneven slate floors, hunting dogs and wobbly Christmas trees. It is a far cry from the perfectionism of House Beautiful and Traditional Home. The truth is I like things a bit Wabi Sabi.

‘Wabi’ means simple/humble and ‘Sabi’ means “the bloom of time”. This is finding beauty in imperfection; slow, simple, natural and uncluttered which is the essence of this Zen way of living. This is the appreciation for everyday objects, used and loved, chipped and scratched, embracing imperfection as a beautiful way of life.

I wasn’t always like this. I had a deep streak of perfectionism but the beauty of children is they teach you a new way to live. Specifically, my creative Caroline taught me that a slightly messy house was part of the process of living and to get over myself and stop cleaning all the time. She is my little Zen master!

Four years ago I moved into a very Wabi Sabi home. The patina of age and grace infuses every room. My family has owned the home for over 60 years and, at the time they moved in the house was already past its hundredth birthday. Handmade brick, well-worn floors and slightly shabby upholstery make my home alive with history and the echo of family life. Over the last few years I have changed some things to make it my space and more liveable but the Wabi Sabi essence is still there.

It is all a work in progress. My project of the week was to remove the ancient carpet on the stairs to the basement—I couldn’t take it any longer. Underneath the carpet are oak treads, dirty and worn with a few old paint drippings. I swept them and then washed them twice with the Murphy’s oil soap which gives them the smell of clean wood. These old steps are so Wabi Sabi and I was happy to discover their true nature after being covered for so long. Because I don’t enter my home through the grand front door but through the garage carrying groceries up these hardworking stairs. I want my welcome home to be tidy, clean and practical.

As I have married my love of minimalism with the natural world of Wabi Sabi, I find that there is a greater ease and grace to life. Ok, I’m not giving up my nine sets of dishes (yes 9, thanks to my mother-in-law and yes, I have used them all)  anytime soon but everything has a place and a joy and a reason. There is no perfect place of arrival in the pilgrimage of life just the wonderfully perfect imperfection of each day.

I draw water  I carry wood  This is my magic-—-Zen poem

Some of my favorite books on Wabi Sabi

Living Wabi Sabi by Taro Gold

Simply Imperfect:  Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House  by Robyn Griggs Lawrence

Wabi Sabi Simple;  Create Beauty. Value imperfection. Live deeply

by Richard R Powell

Bird plates used for Easter dinner.