City living usually always calls for minimal and functional furniture since spaces are starting to become smaller, and areas tend to get crowded with the many accumulated things people stack up on. But even with the available furniture in the market, people still want something that expresses their personal style without having to break the bank.
Japanese lifestyle brand Muji introduces its vision of The Compact Life with a series of versatile products that can be used for everyday life and which embody one’s personality and preference. Naoto Fukasawa, internationally acclaimed product designer, personally had a hand in developing Muji’s numerous projects since 2002 and his creations are known for integrating function and design in minimal form. According to Fukasawa, The Compact Life concept shows a return to our origins.
“The concept of the Muji brand came about in an age when the Japanese economy had grown rapidly and people were enjoying material wealth,” shares Naoto Fukasawa. “In the original concept, there was a very strong element of having one’s day-to-day needs already met. This was an attitude formed because people were saturated with material wealth. Now, the concept accurately captures the direction in which today’s society is moving,” he adds.
Fukasawa’s signature style is carried on Muji’s wall mounted CD player, hard carry travel suitcase, pop-up toaster, rice cooker with paddle, electric kettle and the sofa bench. Today, The Compact Life highlights Muji’s Stacking Shelves, a versatile piece that allows customers to stack basic two, three and five rows both vertically and horizontally – perfect as a display shelf, file organizer, book shelf. It can also function as an AV rack, or of any use it may be for the consumer. Your imagination is the limit to what purpose it can serve and what form it ends up in your house as it can be combined in numerous ways to fit your space requirement.
With no backboard, the shelves are open on both sides, making them ideal as a room divider that creates a perfect interior. Shelving could carry a growing book collection, files kept inside drawers or rattan baskets and function as an AV rack.
The Compact Life is heading towards a new mode of affluence, defining a well-designed life as seen not only in minimal procession and proper organization of things but in utilizing objects that define oneself and use it for everyday life function. “We are gradually moving toward a world in which form will disappear and only function will remain. It should be possible in the future to live without material objects at all. However, the more we prioritize function and efficiency, the more richness we lose. And at that point, we find objects cannot be contained as extensions of a wall or of our bodies,” explains Fukasawa.
Muji aims to help consumers choose products that adapt to this new mode of lifestyle, giving each consumer the freedom to create home furnishings without really losing their personal style. Fukasawa adds that the idea of The Compact Life “describes a style of incorporating spaces that fuel us personally as bits of luxury.”
In the Philippines, MUJI is located at C1 Bonifacio High Street Central, Greenbelt 3, Power Plant Mall, Robinsons Magnolia, Shangri-La Plaza East Wing, SM Mall of Asia and Ayala Center Cebu. For updates and more information on their products visit www.muji.com/ph or follow muji.ph on Facebook, @muji_ph and @ssilifeph on Instagram for more information.
