Asian Decor Tips – The Yin And Yang of Design
Who says you would need a salary’s worth of savings to explore the tranquil mysticism of Asia? With a few renovations and some bits and pieces here and there, you can transform your own living spaces with a look that reflects the calm mood of a Thai spa or a minimalist-inspired Japanese home.
Although various cultures contrast, these different Asian countries come together with similar design schemes. It’s a usual practice nowadays for people to embrace the key elements from each cultural area. They arrange it together in a blend that is truly and spectacularly Asian and truly unique at the same time.
Now before you begin chasing after silk draperies and Chinese jars, there are some teeny-weeny details you should think about first.
Will you swear to trim down all the excess clutter in your home? Are you willing to denounce your chaotic space for something relatively free of unnecessary “stuff”?
Are you into smooth furnishings? How about upholstery and windows minus all the fancy trimmings? Remember in Asian décor, there’s no room for plush Victorian-inspired bed covers – less is more every single time.
And another thing, brace yourself for an explosion of green, blue and beige along with several surprise streaks of glittering gold or blood red pieces. These are the popular colors that dominate Asian styles. Are you a Barbie-fanatic or a huge Barney fan? Then you might want to reconsider because Asian designs are not known for their affinity for pinks or purples.
So you think you can handle these major must-do’s? If so, then let’s begin capturing the essence of a warm and relaxing Asian-inspired retreat, beginning with these simple steps.
Firstly, do away with all the trappings and trendy furnishings that you already have. You need a space that is relatively spacious and simple. Be ready to give all your beloved lacy table-tops away. Next, provide a clear setting for your design by painting your walls in hues of beige or bamboo green. Instead of blinds, why not use bamboo to shade the room from too much sun? Hand-woven mats and Asian rugs can also take the place of your regular carpet too.
Once this is done, you can now begin incorporating other stuff to complete your Asian theme. However, you might find this a bit difficult too because there are different styles and cultural designs to choose from. You can go totally Chinese or pick something that has an Indonesian vibe to it. It depends entirely on your preference. Decide on a particular kind of Asian style that best reflects who you are.
Remember, guests should not walk into your home feeling as if they are in a section of the national museum. Make sure your personality echoes throughout your home design. Still confused? Don’t fret, it’s quite alright to combine themes from those styles you feel comfortable with.
When it comes to giving your bedroom the Asian treatment, here are some useful tips. Instead of a fancy headboard why not utilize a bed frame that is lower than your usual preference. It would also be nice to experiment a bit.
Discard your flower-printed bed cover and replace this with a simple quilt. Then throw in a couple of pillows with Asian designs to complete the look. A plain little bench in the corner of the room can also serve as a table top for studying or other purposes. You can also add some candles or fortune plants and bamboos to enhance the mood for meditation. To compliment this set-up, an Oriental painting or exquisite scrolls pinned up on the wall would pretty much do the trick.
With regard to your living room or dining space, there are a couple of suggestions I’d like to offer to make these rooms feel undoubtedly “Asian”. To start, why not discard your usual sofa set for something that has straight simple lines? An alternative dining setting would also involve having a low table with several plus-size cushions in place of your regular chairs. While you go about with your home make-over session, adapt several Feng Shui principles as well. To avoid ruining the Asian vibe, camouflage those electronic gadgets behind a nice piece of furniture that will double as an entertainment center in the living room. Have fun being Asian!
Simple and Elegant Decor: A Few Principles
Home beautification is often thought of as an expensive and bank-breaking process. Yet there are many options for you to give your home a simple but elegant touch: from simply moving your furniture around to highlighting your living room with affordable candle centerpieces, you can make your home beautiful without having to max out your credit line.
Plants A few potted plants placed strategically around a room will prove not only a beautiful and affordable means of decorating your home, but a source of vibrant and refreshing life as well.
It is this growing source of life that makes plants simple and elegant additions to a home’s décor. Just make sure not to put too much life in a room: a few potted plants will enhance a room’s beauty, but having too many around will prove to have a stuffy and crowded effect.
Furniture Your pre-existing furniture can also serve to add elegance to your home. You just need to shift them around for maximum effect.
If you are familiar with Chinese Feng-shui, then you should know the basic concept of ‘harmonizing’ a room’s décor. While steering clear from the mysticism of Feng-shui, the arrangement of furniture can help make or break a room’s beauty. If you notice a dresser or a cabinet distracting the view and blocking the way, you may want to consider moving it to someplace that can use its bulk to take up the space.
Wall Décor While Rembrandt paintings and wall-mounted sculptures are legitimate wall décor that can help fill up space and add beauty to your home, these options are often expensive; costing up to a few hundred or thousand dollars apiece.
However, there are less expensive options for you to spruce up your bare walls. A clock, diplomas, certificates and even shelves holding up a few knick-knacks are great ways to fill up space, while the curtains you choose for your home will add to the final effect. Just do not forget to choose wall décor that will complement with each other: a few African tribal masks would be a little out of place in a room that has a distinctly Oriental feel to it.
Centerpieces Prominent centerpieces are what will capture the attention of anyone visiting your home, as the surrounding furniture and themes will highlight these centerpieces. Most centerpieces are classy and expensive items; often with six-digit price tags.
However, an effective centerpiece does not need to be a Victorian work of art or some ancient Greek sculpture. Even simple candles and bonsai trees can do the job just fine. Just remember to select a centerpiece that can harmonize with the surrounding plants, furniture and wall décor, and you will have your guests wowing at the simple effectiveness that a bunch of candles has on your room.
The road to beautifying your home need be a costly one. Simple elegance can be found in the most humble of things: from candle centerpieces to a few potted plants in your home. All you need to do is just open your eyes to the possibilities.
Feng Shui Decorating
Feng Shui, you have heard it mentioned but still are unsure what it really is. Well let’s find out the true meaning of Feng Shui. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement and stands for wind and water.
The Chinese used this system to balance out the energy patterns of their physical environment with spiritual forces. Their ultimate goal was to achieve harmony, comfort, and balance, first within their environment and then within their lives. In the Chinese culture the gentle wind and the clear waters have always been linkedwith good health and a good harvest. So from this good Feng Shui means good livelihood and good fortune. On the other had bad Feng Shui means misfortune and hardship. So Feng Shui is a very important part of the Chinese lifestyle.
Feng Shui is based around Taoist and their vision and an understanding of nature. This focuses specifically on the belief that land is a living being and is filled with Chi. The ancient Chinese felt that the land’s energy could either help the kingdom prosper or cause it to fail and fall apart.
There are three principles behind Feng Shui. They involve design, placement, and proportion throughout the space. Without these three principles everything would become unbalanced and interfere with a person’s health and happiness within their environment. The main tools that are used during the Feng Shui analysis is the Ba-Gua which is an octagonal grid that contains the acient symbols of the great I Ching and the compass.
The I Ching is an ancient oracle which is what Feng Shui is based around. Knowing the Bagua for both your home and also your work space will be a great help to you to completely understand how the connection of certain specific Feng Shui in certain areas of both your home and work space can be linked to certain areas and parts of your overall life.
Now we move on to putting the Feng Shui into your home. Generally a consultant would come into your home and look at the five elements wood, fire, earth, metal, water (xuan kong flying star (north star), color, positioning of all the furnishings, and offer out cures for the problem areas).
The colors associated with Feng Shui are: wood is blue and green, fire is red and some of the items for this would be a tea light or a tamp lamp with a red shade, earth is beige and yellow and the items for this would be a terra cotta pot with soil and a rock statue, water is blue and black and the items here could be a fountain or aquarium, and metal is an accent color made up of silver, gold, copper, and bronze.
When it comes to the positioning of your furniture you should always face it in the direction of all the action such as the front door or street. This will give you the perfect flow of Feng Shui. Yang is considered to be the most active energy. It is usually lively and busy such as a public place or a flowing river. This is generally the most windowed side of your home. It should contain a nice view and it is usually a living or family room.
Ying is considered the least energy. This is usually found in the sitting direction of an alley or backyard. Shade trees highlight this area making it quiet and relaxing. This can be the side of the property and you would find the bedrooms in this area.
Indoor and Outdoor home decorating ideas for relaxation
When people picture a relaxing garden environment, personal space or home, they usually think of adding some sort of water feature or following feng shui rules. However, if these are not possible for you, you may think of some real cool ideas or be more creative when it comes to decorating indoor and outdoor space of your home for ultimate relaxation.
Here are some ideas to decorate your home for relaxation:
• Bean bags
These are great seating arrangement. These may not be a traditional idea but offer great comfort. These are affordable and also add up some fun. A bean bag is sized to fit one or two people as per the customer’s requirements. Bean bags work towards adding some casual style to your room. These are available either in foam or filler form. This promises enhanced relaxation.
• Hammocks
Hammocks are durable and can be easily used both indoors and outdoors. You won’t believe but it is true that hammocks are better than bed to sleep in. The reason is that they are capable of distributing the person’s weight evenly and reducing pressure points on the body. A hammock will be a great idea to enjoy aroma therapy. It is a total relaxation solution.
• Scented candles and incense
When it is about decoration and relaxation, how can we ignore beautiful scented candles and incense? These are available in a wide variety. You can also make use of elegant oil diffuser. These work really well to decorate the environment and soothe one’s senses.
• Plaques
You can also go for decorative plaques as an integral part of your garden décor. Plaques can easily identify a specific space as yours. This also provides a welcoming touch to your space.
• Gazing globes
These are amazing decorative pieces. Grazing bales would add a touch of magic to your environment.
• Bird bath
This looks great. This adds a unique touch to your garden. You would love when birds fly into have water, when they are thirsty. Bird baths are available in various sizes, shapes and designs.
• Relaxation music
In case, you want some music, go for a CD of relaxation music. You can easily meditate, go to sleep with a CD relaxation music. It will produce a soothing effect to your mind.
It is very easy to create a relaxing and soothing environment outdoors as well as indoors via following the tips mentioned in this article above. You may add your own niche touch of creativity in conjunction with following the tips mentioned above.
Happy decorating your home interiors and exteriors for relaxation!
