“I find the spirit of things much more important than the look of things – I really don’t mind if things are ugly. They have their own beauty, if only one looks hard enough.” – Axel Vervoordt

I’ve always loved the work of Belgian designer Alex Vervoordt. I love the minimal rustic quality he creates in his work. To me his spaces evoke an understated elegance, a history, a quietness, and a love of natural repurposed materials. He often applies the philosophy of wabi sabi, a Japanese aesthetic rooted in zen buddhism which embraces the art of finding beauty in the aged and imperfect. I think this is a beautiful notion we can embrace in many aspects of our lives.

I think wabi sabi is best described by Andrew Juniper in his book The Japanese Art of Impermanence, “If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi sabi”.

Axel Vervoordt’s book Wabi Inspirations is a beautiful example of this idea of beauty in the natural and imperfect. I find his interior design very moving, it’s a feeling I get that takes me back to a different time and place, a place I want to go to. Honestly, It makes me want to pick up, sell everything I own and move to Tuscany to grow old and beautiful in my imperfectly perfect rustic Italian farmhouse.