Chinese Decor

If you're looking to bring an eastern flair to your home decor, consider Chinese-style decorating. Elegant and beautiful in its exotic simplicity, Chinese-style decor creates an atmosphere of order and peace in a home without being boring or understated. A Chinese-style decor scheme is easy to achieve with the right combination of colors, fabrics, furnishings and just the right accents to bring it all together for a powerful yet sophisticated home.

Features

Chinese decor features a simple backdrop with a few, strong dramatic punches to really pull a room together. Chinese style is generally minimalist, so getting rid of clutter is the order of business. Make good use of negative space by allowing each piece chosen to be featured rather than lost in a crowd. The pieces that are chosen for a room should help in maintaining the balance and harmony of the room, with a few placed prominently to make a bold statement.

Palette

The main colors of the backdrop -- the wall and the floor in particula r-- should be in natural, neutral shades: tans, creams, slates, muted grayish greens and brownish reds. This gives a rich but subtle canvass with which to work. Ground the room with splashes of black. Then choose a few featured areas to create focal points in the home. This is where you can introduce bright, vibrant, eye-catching colors. This may be a single red wall or large yellow lantern, or artwork featuring a mythological creature.

Fabrics

Fabrics in a Chinese decor are often natural, so opt for hemp, cotton or wool. Silk can find a variety of uses in a Chinese-style home, be it in throw pillows or screens. Add interest by choosing fabrics that are embroidered with Asian-style designs or silk-screened with images such as flower blossoms or mythological figures. For the floor, oriental rugs add a nice touch.

Furnishings

Low, solid, boxy shapes make good options for storage units or tables. Contemporary furnishings with strong but simple lines help promote the Asian feel to the room. Wood is a prime material, especially dark and highly polished woods such as teak or rosewood. Even if your furnishings aren't specifically Asian style, you can redo them and add a Chinese flair to just about any solid minimalist contemporary furniture piece by painting it with black lacquer. Add ornate embellishments such as gold or brass handles to cabinet doors or some Asian-printed fabrics and cushions.

Accents

Remember when you are striving for Chinese decor to think minimalist. Less is always more. Use fewer embellishments and accessories, but the ones you do use should make a powerful statement. Some more subtle accents would be orchids, embroidered pillows or cushions, or rice-paper lanterns. More outstanding works of art, such as sculptures or even wall murals, should pack a stronger punch with color and act as the room's focal point. Use natural light as a design element as well by arranging the room so that natural window light features certain areas or accents.

Resources

• Asian Design Style Tutorial