Minimalist design and smart solutions for small spaces

The spaces in which we live are not always very generous and the need for basic pieces of furniture - bed, table, chairs, desk, cupboard - make everything feel even more cramped. This makes us feel uncomfortable, because we feel good in large, airy spaces. That's why I was really excited when I discovered the Japanese furniture manufacturer's designs Hirashima. They are furniture pieces with a minimalist design, incorporating clever solutions that make a single piece of furniture multi-purpose.

If there is one people in the world who are as good at woodworking as they are at minimalist living, it is the Japanese. Not infrequently we have shown how traditional way in which they continue to process wood, having even very old evidence - hundreds of years - showing that they've been doing it very well ever since.

But this time it's modern, very well-made furniture, mainly made of oak or walnut, finished with oil and sometimes with different textures that make it even more appealing.

For woodworking, the Japanese at Hirashima have left the chisel and other traditional tools behind and switched to computer-controlled machines - CNC - which they see as the continuation of their right hand. And in true Japanese tradition, everything is done with the utmost attention to detail, pushed as close to perfection as possible.

The company concept is based on comfort and tension. They say that the two terms do not repel each other but, on the contrary, work together. It's about a cozy tension brought into a comfortable space to create a great pace of life. This is the ideal space designed by Hirashima. And the Hirashima style contains minimalism, modernism and dynamism combined with functionality and naturalness.

Pieces of furniture that combine the ideas of minimalism and functionality are very simple and that's what makes them so smart. For example, a sofa that can double as a dining table for the couple who, after watching their favorite TV show, want to sit comfortably at the table instead of eating "on their knees" at the small table in front of the sofa.

Or the bed-birourou that no longer forces you to sit with your laptop in your arms, sliding on your pillow and dozing off before you finish your reports. And just imagine what this bed would look like facing a large window or a glazed door opening onto a terrace (balcony).

I'll give you just one more example: what do you think reading is like in this office, part of a library-like policy, next to a fireplace? Doesn't it seem unimaginable for an apartment block?

Although the furniture is made in Japan, in the city of Yanagawa, Fukuoka prefecture, it is also available online, under the brend Island Plan. For those who consider it inaccessible, I advise them to admire the designs and be inspired by them when they decide to furnish their home in minimalist style. They will surely find plenty of great small furniture makers who make pieces suitable for their space.