It was the late 17th century when Chinese
interior and decorations started to become more and more popular in the
European houses. Sailors, travelers and merchants returning from mysterious
China were bringing wonderful china, marvelous varnished furniture and
sophisticated beaded umbrellas, chests and caskets carved from ivory or
precious wood breeds with them.
At the end of the eighteenth century and
the beginning of the nineteenth century the marvelous Chinese hand-made
collections were already parts of the huge collection of the wealthy houses and
European museums. The same collections are used as decoration at the Buckingham
Palace in Great Britain and the Fonteblo castle in France.
Today's curiosity in the Chinese interior
decorations is a part of the overall enthusiasm around the Chinese exotic
feng-shui philosophy which has been there for several years already.
Feng-shui philosophy explains the changes
in the human destiny with the world that surrounds him or her. In the Chinese interior
the whole space management is carried out with feng-shui in mind, whether it is
minimalistic interior design or more of a functional Chinese interior.
This might be the reason for so many people
in hope to bring luck, wealth, health and love to their homes, create some kind
of Chinese oasis in their houses which are organized while taking the feng-shui
rules into the account. This way the house owners are trying to establish a
favorable atmosphere both in their home and between the family members.
Feng-shui as a whole appeared in China more
than three thousand years ago and is now known as not only a philosophy but
also as a particular world's perception. These ancient exotic philosophy
followers believe that there are certain chi-energy flows which just like the
wind can flow through our houses, rooms and separate areas of our homes. It is
very important not to let the negative chi-energy flows into your home. To
accomplish this, the Chinese are locating doors and furniture in a specific way
so that the negative energy cannot pass through or at least would not hit
people directly but be reflected by the mirrors, plants, flowers and other
decorative elements. All of these rules can be easily seen in the Chinese
interior designs.
The Chinese interior founding principle in
the space management would be the abandonment of the sharp edges and edgy
furniture in whole. Straight lines are also abandoned in favor of the smooth
and roundish lines and forms. Smoothing out the edgy room can be achieved by
the drapery or simply by rearranging the furniture around the room.
However if you have decided to decorate the
house in the Chinese style you should better start with the tones and
color-palette considering since those are very important for a Chinese house.
Each color has its own meaning and interpretation in the Eastern symbolic. Red
color is symbolizing sun, luck and power. Green color represents appeasement
and brings to imperturbation. Blue color symbolizes the gentility of the house
owner and is very important when decorating the house in the Chinese style,
since blue color is one of the most significant and recognizable details in
Chinese interior.
Once you've picked the desired
color-palette for the furniture, the curtains and the covers you have to decide
how to fit it with the walls. For decorating the walls in the Chinese style one
should really consider using the sophisticated silk wallpaper or silky paper
covering with painting or embroidery imitation. The most used and loved
decoration for wallpaper in Chinese culture are the pictures of the mountains
with wonderful trees growing on top of those, bloomy bushes, flying birds,
celestials' figures, plants and different interior pieces who have symbolical
significant meaning.
Chinese varnish miniatures along with
different decorative pictures and frames would look greatly on the walls.
Another important element of the interior
would be the decoration and the forms of the doors
and windows. As mentioned earlier, their location cannot be simply randomly
chosen, it has to be specified. It is vital trying to locate the large openings
or door-halls in front of each other in order to visually combine the interior
and the space together. The typical elements of the interior that could help
one to bring the spirit of the Rising Sun Country to their home would be bells,
light curtains covered with hieroglyphs that are hanged at the doors.
The way it has developed through centuries
is that furniture is playing a very conservative role for a Chinese person and
therefore is only seen for its functions and not the looks. The Chinese
interior might very much be the ancestor of the today's minimal art, who knows.
A bamboo weaved couch and a table without
any sharp edges would become a significant details of the Chinese interior if
placed properly. Simple bamboo weaved stools along with the low stands can be
placed around the couch and the table. You might as well consider putting a
couple of big china vases on top of the stands to add a spice to the room. A
couple of small pillows embroidered with the golden threads depicting dragons
can be put atop the couch and a blind-cover embroidered with different
landscapes or with pictures of exotic plants and flowers.
A stylistic water-butt with a bonsai plant
in it would greatly decorate a low table. One of the rooms would succeed
greatly if an aquarium with golden fishes would be put somewhere in there.
However if taking care of the exotic species takes too much which you do not
posses then why don't you get yourself sheat-fishes which do not require much
caretaking.
Feng-shui, by the way, is translated as «wind
and water» from the Chinese, therefore the water presence in the Chinese
interior is quite symbolic since water fills life with positive energy. An
aquarium or a fountain would be a great addition to the Chinese interior and
would affect the owner in a positive way as well as the fishes will which
according to feng-shui bring material luck and wealth. Plus, looking from a
different side, a fountain with its quite and bickering water running down
could calm the nerves and bring peace to any house. The fountain would calmly
and positively influence lungs and face who will get moisturized as a result.
The mirrors, bizarre shelves' combinations,
lots and lots of different little things and details, famous Chinese
calligraphic pictures and paintings would be a worthy addition to the interior
and would create a mild and mysterious Chinese atmosphere in the room.
A marvelous blue Chinese umbrella could be «left
behind» in the hall carelessly to add to the atmosphere. A bamboo bush can be
placed in the corner of a room, even artificial will do. Lower spaces can be
filled with china figurines of Chinese mandarins and warriors.
A money-tree can be «planted» in the
cabinet where different important meeting are to be held. The tree can be
accompanied with an owl - a wise guardian who would protect the tree's coined
fruits.
The creation of the Chinese interior in
one's home is rather an interesting occupation that not only helps to positively
improve you day-to-day routine with comfort but also with the help of the
feng-shui philosophy find your luck, obtain a happy smile on your face and
enrich oneself. Enrich oneself not only in the money-aspect but more of a
spiritual enrichment where the pleasant cares would make one's life happier
and, who knows, maybe one day those cares would become your hobby?
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