Asian Decorating Styles

Asian Decorating Styles

Asia is the world’s largest continent and with more than 4 billion people, contains over 60% of the world’s total population. Asia has over 60 countries including China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and the island nation of the Philippines, to name a few. With so many different religions, regions and cultures, Asian decor is as diverse as the people who call this land home.

Oriental Decor

This article will focus on two distinct types of Asian decor. The first is oriental style decor. The term orient literally means "the east". By the late 19th century, the term usually referred to China, Japan, Korea and surrounding nations while in the United Kingdom it was commonly used to refer to India.

Today, in the United States, it is considered politically incorrect to refer to people of China, Japan, Korea and surrounding nations as oriental, Instead, we use the term Asian. Oriental is still widely used to describe objects and material goods that come from this part of East Asia..

Oriental decor is an exotic, beautiful decorating style. Many of the designs found in oriental decor are inspired by the natural surroundings found in this part of the world, the culture and architecture. This includes floral designs like bamboo, orchids, mums, lotus and cherry blossom.

While the mythical dragon is usually associated with the national emblem of China and is commonly used in oriental decor, in recent years, the highly endangered giant panda has also served as China’s national emblem and is a common design. Beautiful, exotic birds such as the peacock and crane are frequently seen as well. The unique shape of structures such as the pagodas, tiered towers with multiple eaves and Chinese palaces are distinctly oriental. Also common are the intricate characters used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean written languages. These characters themselves are often considered art.

Bright, vivid colors are used in oriental style decorating, with red, gold and black being dominant. Gold or multi-colored dragons against a red, white or black background are common.

Furniture such as chairs, tables and room dividing screens are frequently made from bamboo and rosewood. Highly lacquered, shiny wood furniture is also common with this type of decor. Oriental decor and furniture are often adorned with motifs that depict natural and cultural scenes which are meaningful in Buddhist and Confucian inspired societies.

South Asian Decor

South Asian decor also has an exotic beauty and appeal but is distinctly different than oriental decor. This type of decor has more of a middle eastern style. Northern India and Pakistan share a common heritage from the Indus Valley Civilization and the Maurya, Kushan, Gupata and Mughal empires. Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism are some of the prominent religions in this area.

The region of South Asia that includes Pakistan and India has a rich and diverse cultural history that includes influences from the Silk Road, an extensive, interconnected network of trade routes that connect East, South and Western Asia. Trade goods, especially luxuries such as silk and satins were transported along these routes.

Today, Pakistan is a leading producer of cotton and has a large textile industry. Local artisans from the rural areas of India and Pakistan use the modern technology of electric hand looms combined with age-old workmanship to reproduce ancient cultural designs and motifs on luxury bedspreads, duvet covers, throws, decorative pillow covers and hanging wall tapestries.

These exotic textiles bring to mind the type of decor one would see in a desert palace and were considered a symbol of royal elegance while the workmanship was praised in ancient royal courts. Often, there are slight imperfections in the patterns and stitching of these handmade items, which add to their uniqueness and character. Today, the textile industry of South Asia is an important income source for these impoverished rural artisans and their families.

In the past, one had to travel abroad to seek out authentic Asian decor, or hope to come across these treasures by being in the right place at the right time. Today, authentic Asian decor and textiles can easily be purchased online and delivered right to your home or office.