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Sliding paper doors give a subtle elegance to any room, but unfortunately for homeowners in Japan who like to keep things nice, are extremely fragile. Even the slightest finger poke can damage the thin paper, leaving you with the task of trying to cover up the imperfections. But those with shoji are in luck! Crafty netizens have come up with an easy and eye-catching way to fix those holes, using their favorite patterned fabric to add a splash of color to the traditionally white doors.

Often, the damage to your shoji doesn’t look too bad from afar, but definitely takes away from the simple beauty of the door.

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Homeowners have the option of purchasing little stickers made of the same paper used in shoji to cover up the tears. Here’s one shaped like a cherry blossom:

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However, using too many stickers starts to make things look crazy:

▼ There’s an entire gang of butterflies loitering on this door.

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Of course, for families with children or cats, keeping shoji intact is a full-time job:

▼ “Oh hey, mom, what’s up?”

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▼ “Don’t mind me, just getting some climbing in.”

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So what’s a homeowner with kitties, kiddies, or a clumsy spouse to do? A new decorating trend suggests you should use colorful cloth to gussy up your sliding doors. And we have to say, it’s a lot classier than those butterfly stickers:

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Beautiful, isn’t it? Best of all, changing up your shoji panels is actually easier than you might think. IKEA Japan even sells kits with instruction manuals explaining the process step-by-step.

▼ Choose the cloth you’d like to use, make sure it’s thin!

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▼ Cut the cloth to size and use double sized tape meant for shoji doors to secure your new panels.

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▼ Press the fabric onto the double sided tape, making sure there aren’t any wrinkles or loose areas.

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▼ FINISHED! Now look how good that looks!

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The fabric choices and placement are endless! You can get really creative with this technique. Take a look at what people have done all over Japan:

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Online forums suggest that it’s best to use patterns that are predominantly white because too many colors will turn your room into a rainbow when the sun shines through the cloth.

▼ Although all those colors makes it look like Japanese stained glass, not such a bad thing.

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▼ You don’t even have to replace all of the panels. Change up a few of them for a really beautiful look!

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▼ You can even get extra fancy and use lace.

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So if your cat has clawed its way through your paper door for the second time this week, don’t despair! Just get your creative juices flowing and start getting excited about how cute your new cloth shoji is going to look!

▼ And maybe train your cat to help out with all that replacing.

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Source: Naver Matome
Featured image: Neko no Mainichi, Sweet Hode to Love Blog (edited by RocketNews24)