Difference from Wabi-Sabi: One is Romantic, the Other Austere

The difference from Wabi-Sabi: one is romantic, the other is austere.
Two styles that both appreciate aged beauty are juxtaposed for comparison. The left side is shabby chic: age is treated softly and sweetly—white paint, rose prints, ruffles, crystal reflections, abundant white flowers and lace; the mood is nostalgic and feminine, with many objects densely arranged. The right side is Wabi-Sabi: age is treated austerely and emptily—natural earth tones, coarse pottery, no patterns, almost no decoration; the mood is restrained and meditative, with very few objects and vast empty spaces. Both use aged items, the difference lies in whether the attitude towards this age is lyrical or ascetic. Avoid: making the two look identical, adding empty space and asceticism to shabby chic, having decorations and patterns appear in Wabi-Sabi, changing the square footage of either.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

兩種都以老舊為美的風格並置對照。左側是破舊復古:老舊被處理得柔軟而甜——白漆、玫瑰印花、荷葉邊、水晶的反光、大量的白花與蕾絲,情緒是懷舊與女性化的,物件的數量多、擺得滿。右側是侘寂:老舊被處理得清苦而空——原色的土、粗陶、無圖案、幾乎沒有裝飾,情緒是節制與冥想的,物件極少、留白極大。兩者都用有歲月的東西,差別在對這份歲月的態度是抒情還是禁欲。避免:讓兩者看起來相同、在破舊復古加入留白與禁欲感、讓侘寂出現裝飾與圖案、改變兩者的坪數。