I use noren for my apartment door..people can pass by but not have a view into the apt but i have air flow on hot days....so many people have stopped me to find out how to do it for their place...maybe it will catch on here also
We have a lovely balcony but between 12:00 and 18:00 in the afternoon the sun is too direct and makes sitting on the balcony uncomfortable. I saw noren in old movies from Japan, mostly Zatoichi. That gave me an idea to make noren to shade the balcony and still let some light through. Plus, allow the wind to move freely across the balcony and into the apartment. We used linen in four parts made of eight pieces. Two sides and two for the front. My wife painted a landscape scene across all the noren using Sumi ink and brushes. After hanging them, we found that the light became magical as the noren danced on the wind. As the linen was prewashed and shrunk before we cut and sewn the pieces together, they withstood the rain without incident. We've made a second full-length noren for the patio doorway leading out to the balcony made from red silk and linen to finish the top and bottom. Again, using Sumi ink and brush my wife painted a tree in springtime just budding. This glows in the sunlight and the movement of the noren outside creates a dappled effect with the light through the second noren. We are amazed at the effect this has had on our cozy outdoor space. Once again, a lovely and clever solution from Japan and long ago.
I use noren for my apartment door..people can pass by but not have a view into the apt but i have air flow on hot days....so many people have stopped me to find out how to do it for their place...maybe it will catch on here also
We have a lovely balcony but between 12:00 and 18:00 in the afternoon the sun is too direct and makes sitting on the balcony uncomfortable. I saw noren in old movies from Japan, mostly Zatoichi. That gave me an idea to make noren to shade the balcony and still let some light through. Plus, allow the wind to move freely across the balcony and into the apartment. We used linen in four parts made of eight pieces. Two sides and two for the front. My wife painted a landscape scene across all the noren using Sumi ink and brushes. After hanging them, we found that the light became magical as the noren danced on the wind. As the linen was prewashed and shrunk before we cut and sewn the pieces together, they withstood the rain without incident. We've made a second full-length noren for the patio doorway leading out to the balcony made from red silk and linen to finish the top and bottom. Again, using Sumi ink and brush my wife painted a tree in springtime just budding. This glows in the sunlight and the movement of the noren outside creates a dappled effect with the light through the second noren.
We are amazed at the effect this has had on our cozy outdoor space. Once again, a lovely and clever solution from Japan and long ago.
Thank you for sharing! I imagine your balcony brings so much joy and warmth feeling!
I look forward to getting my own noren for my house. Arigato gozaimasu Japan for all the awesome stuff you do!
How to make anoten