An Oriental rug is the perfect starting point for your Asian style room

As the UK’s largest retailer of Oriental rugs and carpets we know that Asian style continues to be a major influence in British homes.  This week is Chinese New Year (February 10^th) and so what better way to celebrate than transforming a room in your home into a peaceful retreat.

Simplicity and elegance are the bywords for developing a chinoiserie style in the home.  Remember, with this home decorating idea you are trying to create a look that is peaceful and relaxing and so it is really important to choose your pieces very carefully.

The Chinese love striking, bold colours like red (which symbolises good fortune and joy), green (for health and harmony) and black (which correspond to water, and is a neutral color).  Black and white together is used often as they represent yin and yang – the interconnection of opposites.

As a good starting point, invest in a large Oriental rug which will be the focal point for the room.  You can use the colours found in the rug to help you co-ordinate other accessories, but first you have to choose the rug itself.

You may decide on a bold Chinese rug dragon design but if you have a dramatic pattern like this don’t overdo it elsewhere.

                                                 

 

There are more subtle designs available which still have an obvious Chinese influence and these can be used to blend and tone the rest of the room.

                                                 

 

Or what about a going for gold? You can find rugs with elaborate gold patterns which would not look out of place in an Emperor’s palace.  If this is your choice go easy on the rest of the room’s pieces. 

Other Asian pieces will include fabrics which may be bamboo patterns or solid blocks of colour.   Lamps made of wood or bamboo will enhance the mood and a bamboo screen or dividers made from rice paper may be useful to help zone the room.

While you should not go overboard on other items you can still add a few well-chosen vases or some Chinese calligraphy wall art.

The resulting space should be the perfect place for you to chill out and fall into a meditative state of total relaxation.  And if you want to go one step further and balance the energies in your room -- you can also apply feng shui principles. But that’s another story…….

Gung Hay Fat Choy!