In an ideal world, your home’s visual language would speak volumes about the phases you’ve lived through, the people you love, and, importantly, the person you are in this very moment. But, if we’re being honest, the doomscroll of buzzily described ‘chic’, ‘stylish’, ‘must-have’ interiors from butter yellow everything (yes, still) to chrome thalis rebranded as contemporary organizers and steel-framed couches has become gauche, tired, and ultimately a never-ending cycle of craving luxury. Now, the Japanese principle of taru o shiru curbs this tendency.
Literally translating to learning to be content, it’s an SOS of the hour where it feels like you can’t have a moment without your eyes twinkling at the sight of a new fad on your feed. This philosophy turned Japanese design principle beckons a moment of introspection to ask, ‘Do I really need it?’
So, how can you practice taru o shiru in your living space, and why is ‘enough’ a luxury in and of itself? Let’s talk about it.
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What Does Taru O Shiru Mean?
Simply put, it’s defined as knowing what is enough. And where your home is concerned, this understanding can go a long way.
(Image credit: Yoko Kloeden Design)
“Taru o shiru (足るを知る) is usually translated as ‘less is more’, which makes a discipline sound like a decorating preference,” says interior designer Yoko Kloeden. “Closer to the sense is knowing what is enough.
“Not what is enough in general, but what is enough here, in this room, for the way you actually live. No number is attached, and that is deliberate. It is where the idea parts company with minimalism, which tends to arrive with a prescribed quantity and a faint suggestion that you are failing to reach it.”
Instead, Yoko explains that taru o shiru leaves the quantity to you, which is more generous and, in turn, considerably harder.
Yoko Kloeden Design is a London-based architecture and interior design studio, founded by Yoko Kloeden in 2016. Located in West London, the studio specializes in crafting mood-enhancing sanctuaries, seamlessly blending Japanese aesthetics with natural, serene elements. Each project aims to create spaces that feel both harmonious and deeply restorative, reflecting Yoko’s commitment to calm, balanced interiors. The studio provides a full range of architecture and interior design services for private and commercial clients, carefully crafting every space to bring balance, beauty, and well-being to those who inhabit it.
Why Is Enough a Luxury Rather Than a Restriction?
A confusingly packed room will never feel as elegant as a skillfully self-controlled living space.
(Image credit: Felix Speller. Design: Studio Hagen Hall. Styling: Emily Farbrother)
Yoko answers that the concept of enough is a luxury because a great deal of what fills our homes is not really for us. “It is for the person who might come round — the guest, the neighbor, the version of ourselves we would like to be seen as,” she notes.
“Accumulating beyond what we need, and displaying it, is at bottom a question about confidence. It is very human, and most of us have done it. However, knowing your own enough asks more of you than filling a room does.”
She finds that it asks for the self-awareness to know what you actually need, the maturity to know who you are without the props, and the confidence that what you own is not a measure of your worth. Knowing what to spend on in a living room and what to thrift for it are smaller lessons that can help along the way, but taru o shiru can’t function on this alone.
“It also demands an eye. Recognizing which few things genuinely matter to you and telling them apart from those that merely impress is a skill — and not a common one. Most of us find it easier to accumulate than to discriminate,” she states.
“A home that fills every corner becomes rigid. On the other hand, a home that leaves space can grow with its people.” The Japanese concept of ma ties into this philosophy of less by finding the beauty in naked space.
How to Use Taru O Shiru to Design Your Home
Begin by changing the way you see empty space. It isn’t always indicative of room to fill.
(Image credit: James Han. Design: BLA Design Group. Styling: Jesse Basran)
“Start by being honest about how you actually live, rather than how you imagine you might. In briefing conversations, we ask fairly ordinary questions — what kind of cooking do you really do, where do you actually read — and the answers often surprise the person giving them,” says Yoko.
“Someone who briefed a show kitchen realizes they cook twice a week and someone who wanted a wall of bookshelves reads on a tablet in bed. Once you know the truth of it, the curation resolves itself.”
Allowing room for restraint might also be the solution to getting your taste back. It’ll help you question what you want for your home and aid in avoiding copycat interiors that look like they’ve been ripped off every other Instagram.
She reveals that the clearest example comes from clients who wanted neither bedside tables nor a bed base. “The mattress sits directly on a tatami floor, and a pair of paper lanterns stands on the floor beside it, serving as the bedside lights,” she says,
“Each of those elements is a subtraction they chose, not one they put up with. And if you take the time to understand the space, you’ll notice nothing in the room is missing. It holds precisely what they decided was enough.”
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If you wish to take a more gentle approach to designing a home that feels true, there are small Japanese design lessons that will make you rethink what is authentically lacking in your space. And for more design advice that goes beyond the cookie-cutter, sign up for the Livingetc newsletter.