I'm a Muji Whore!

I've found to my dismay that I'm on the verge of attaining critical mass on ownership of Muji products. Any more and my room will become an unofficial branch of the store.

It hit me when I hung up the curtains that I bought. I went for the brown ones in a bit of a rush because they were the darkest and promised to blot out all light. But once they were up, I realized it was this huge expanse of heavy brown on the wall that lessens the sense of space in the room. However, what freaked me out was the sudden set of brown correspondences that reverberated around the room. My brown curtains now matched my brown duvet cover, my brown floor cushion and my brown towel, all from Muji, plus the four or so items of brown clothing that I have. Argh, all along I had a subconscious fetish for brown cloth - Muji or otherwise - and I didn't realize! Holy Muji bathsponge on a stick, I've become Mr Muji Muji!

My Muji inventory now looks like this:

1 Muji desk
1 Muji desk chair
1 Muji pen holder
1 Muji duvet
1 Muji duvet cover (brown)
1 Muji cushion (brown)
1 Muji curtains (exchanged the brown ones for light grey ones)
2 Muji bins (one for living room use, one for kitchen)
1 Muji iron
1 Muji ironing board
1 Muji bathtowel (brown)
1 Muji floorsweeper
9 Muji translucent plastic storage boxes (4 for desk, 5 in cupboard)
1 Muji collapsable translucent plastic box for laundry
1 Muji shelving set

It doesn't look as bad as it sounds... the shelving system is in the cupboard, as are half of the storage boxes. I do plan to buy the Muji washing machine + metal shelf set to go over it, but only because it's the only nice looking washing machine I can find in Tokyo and I will immediately wash the black, non-Muji duvet cover I was using as a makeshift curtain in my last flat and use that instead of the brown Muji duvet cover on my bed.

I guess I was aware I was buying a lot of Muji stuff when I arrived in Tokyo last year, but as everything was exposed in my previous room, the colour of all my books and DVDs and stuff outshone the muted Muji tones everywhere else. Even a lot of the things I haven't bought from Muji, like my lamps and coffee tables (and, ahem, my MacBook Pro), are essentially Muji style. In the new room, a lot of that colour is now hidden away in the cupboard, which itself has a Muji-ish air to it.

I don't think I've made a mistake though. Muji is a great way of getting cheap, well made goods that have a basic level of good design to them. Muji has a very restricted aesthetic to it, so I think the way forward is to use it as a soft base on which to put more striking objects that are brightly coloured or patterned. Putting some brighly coloured, differently shaped cushions on the floor, a colourful bathmat and towels and a striking desklamp will make my room much more interesting. Considering the beige capsule that is my bathroom, that are in particular desperately needs some colour. I'm also making a point of buying completely unmatching crockery and placemats and as well as putting out some of the unusual souvenirs that I brought back from Tibet, the whole apartment will look better once I have some photos on the walls.

At some point later, I'll post 'before and after' pics of my new room.