The venerable age of the civilization of the Celestial Empire determines the isolation of the unique Chinese culture. Although China supported trade with neighboring countries, it never borrowed anything from foreigners. Chinese culture, architecture and design admired Europeans who were greedy for the exotics of antiquity. This led to the fashion for Oriental household items, which since the end of the XVII century has spread in all countries. The love of Chinese culture was called chinoiserie and instantly spread among architects, artists, and even chefs and tailors.
The history of the development of style
In Europe, Chinese products are firmly in vogue in the XVIII century. In rich houses they collected expensive Chinese porcelain, the poor also decorated their dwellings with Chinese exotic handicrafts. In the 18th century, English furniture master Thomas Chippendale began actively introducing elements of interior Chinese style into his furniture - gratings, decorative strips, etc.
A little later, the three-thousand-year-old Taoist Feng Shui teaching, which set itself to find in the space and use the flow of qi energy for the benefit of human health, reached the susceptible to the whole new European mind. Developed by philosophers and sages, the system of 5 elements classified everything that surrounds a person, including the person himself. According to the attributes of the elements, the degree of harmony in a particular room was calculated and the ways to increase it were calculated.
Of course, one cannot mix the rich Chinese culture of arranging living space one-sidedly with Feng Shui teaching. Historical events also influenced her. For example, 2 famous dynasties of the Chinese rulers Qing and Ming left their mark on the design of palaces and houses. If the Qing style is characterized by a warm palette and massive decor, then the Ming style is more minimalist and restrained. It is in this that red, black, white colors that have become traditional for China prevail.
The basis of modern Chinese style is the idea of the unity of opposites, preserving balance, the fusion of Yin / Yang and the harmonious coexistence of light and darkness.
Distinctive features
What elements of Chinese style will not allow to be mistaken in his identification:
- only rounded soft lines, if sharp corners occur, it is extremely rare;
- key materials - bamboo, hard wood (in the original - sandalwood), marble (used for countertops), silk and, of course, in abundance, ceramics - figurines, vases, dishes;
- traditional Chinese decor is embodied in calligraphy, large and small sculptures of Buddhas and animals from natural stone, lacquer painting, natural Chinese carpets, works of national painting;
- in zoning, bamboo screens or lattices painted with subject pictures are used;
- straightforward and simple furniture is designed to serve the basic needs of the owner. However, it is made of precious wood, then decorated with national ornaments and varnished.
As for colors, they are selected depending on the functionality of the room:
- red symbolizes the masculine;
- black is considered a symbol of rebirth, and therefore - the feminine;
- white - a symbol of immortality, purity and eternity;
- yellow personifies power;
- green - energy.
To suit
Chinese style in the interior is the choice of peaceful, at the same time conservative and extraordinary people. It is suitable for lovers of bright colors, sophisticated connoisseurs of philosophy, creative people. Connoisseurs of luxury and exotic oriental accessories will be happy to bring it to their homes.
Colors and finishes
The design of the Chinese interior has to introduce bold colors. One of the most favorite colors in China is red. The Chinese believe that red is the color of well-being, a color that brings good luck. As accent colors can be applied golden, yellow, blue.
However, nothing terrible will happen if you decide that red will act excitingly on you. Instead, you can arrange a brown background, perfectly combined with cream, beige and milky shades. These colors are often found in modern interiors of the Middle Kingdom. The rest of the housing must comply with the canons of the house-style - at least simple, but expensive furniture, a sufficient amount of colorful decor.
Floor
The main requirement for the floors in the Chinese style - conciseness and simplicity, which is successfully expressed in materials such as light wood or ceramic tile. In the main room and in the bedroom you must have a rich Chinese red carpet. However, the red carpet is not limited to decorating the floor in the living room.
China's carpet weed is more than two and a half thousand years old. Carpet weaving from China came to other countries of the world (for example, in India). Beautiful silk and wool carpets were made by hand craftsmen. Special decor always distinguishes carpet products from the Celestial: dragons and lotus flowers, symbols of Yin and Yang, herons, tigers, hieroglyphs and various floral ornaments.
Walls
The possibilities for decorating walls in an oriental-style apartment are as varied as possible. Modern manufacturers of finishing materials produce a whole line of combined wallpaper in the Chinese style. The traditional approach to the interior of the Middle Kingdom is based on the laws of Feng Shui. Harmony comes to the house through the design style - this is the main Chinese treatise.
The dwelling should always be well lit - so the wallpaper comes in a light tone. Create them from natural materials: bleached paper, bamboo. Patterns on the wallpaper have a lot of details, as they are created specifically for long-term contemplation:
- the yin-yang sign brings harmony and tranquility to the house;
- spectacular dragon means wisdom and goodness;
- images of plants and trees are actively used in decoration: bamboo leaves, bonsai, cherry blossoms - invariable decorations in decoration;
- Hieroglyphs are often used for decoration - they are elegant and sometimes have a philosophical meaning.
It is not necessary to glue wallpaper on the wall. Painting the walls in light shades is also quite a popular option for the Chinese interior. But one ... The walls should be richly decorated with decor. Frequent decoration of the walls in the Chinese style - huge silk Chinese carpets with a fine ornate pattern. They contain genre and plot scenes from the life of the Chinese, images of animals and even poems. Often met in the homes of the nobility and wood panels with elegant carvings.
However, a rather expensive silk decor with success today has replaced the equally popular wall painting. The history of Chinese painting goes back centuries to 8 thousand years. The artistic painting of religious walls spread in China during the Han and Qin dynasty. And in the era of the Tang began to appear the first domestic scenes.
Plots for decorating can be very different: hieroglyphs, mountains, fancy trees and flowering plants, dragons and birds, pagodas, natural phenomena. The dominant color on the walls remains red and yellow - these are the colors of fire that personify inspiration and development. For more restrained patterns, you can use shades of brown. Feng Shui walls in such colors will attract wealth and good fortune to the house.
Ceilings
Of course, in modern housing, you can use the usual stretch simple and smooth fabric ceiling. If you wish, you can put a Chinese-style image on it - a blossoming sakura, a dragon or several hieroglyphs. Such a ceiling will create the necessary mood and complement the style.
You can give preference to the plasterboard ceiling, with which you can also create multi-level structures. A very important rule for the Chinese-style ceiling is symmetry. Even a multi-level structure should be symmetrical.
Lamps in the form of light white balls made of rice paper (or imitation) will help to emphasize the specifics of the style. You can place them on the ceiling levels, combining with modern more efficient spot lighting. You can buy in specialized stores selling products from the East large Chinese wooden lamps with glass inserts with painting and decorated with red tassels and fringe.
Furniture
Furniture in China has been created for centuries and passed down. Therefore, there were 2 types of furniture - cheaper bamboo (although the most poor peasants and artisans did not use furniture in China at all, but lived on mats) and more expensive - simple in form, but made of expensive wood. Today, furniture can be made from low-cost species and is lined with maple, cherry, and oak.
No matter how simple the furniture was, it was necessarily painted by craftsmen by hand or decorated with carvings. The painting usually contained genre scenes, images of birds or historical events. Dark red, black, dark green are the main background colors for furniture.
A prerequisite for the arrangement of furniture remains the principle of symmetry, for the expression of which pair objects were purchased. A table with 2 chairs on each side symbolized love, happiness and well-being. If there are paintings or silk carpets in the room, then under them too they put a table with a pair of chairs.
Cabinets in the rooms were also installed in pairs opposite each other. The facades of the cabinets were specially made clean so that there was an opportunity to give free rein to the artist. The images on the cabinets were often of a benevolent nature: for example, a flowering peach tree meant a wish for longevity, a dragon — power, and peony flowers — nobility.
To create an authentic atmosphere in the office, you can buy a calligraphy table in a specialty store (usually such stylized furniture is in antique stores). Usually it is equipped with a special inclined panel. Frequent pieces of Chinese-style furniture are wide stove benches with a small tea table on curved low legs. All that is possible - tables, tables, dressers, racks decorated with vases of flowers.
Accessories and textiles
The peculiarity of the style is that for a long time curtains and drapes were not popular in China. The windows on the inside were decorated with frequent partitions with ornate intricate details. Curtains hung only on the lower part of the window. There was a period when the windows were simply covered from the inside with the thinnest rice paper. Modern Chinese-style curtains should not create obstacles to the sun's rays. Translucent, expensive, very simple cut, they should just flow down. There should be no lambrequins here.
The walls, however, were decorated with the finest scarlet silk, red carpets adorned the floors, and low furniture was decorated with shining gold pillows. Textile accessories can play the role of color accents. Pillows could be blue, yellow or green tones with black or gold patterns. For textiles can be attributed to the screen, covered with the finest painted fabric, serving to distinguish zones in the room.
Chinese lounge
The Chinese-style living room is a ceremonial reception room. Everything here should be rich, beautiful and solemn. For floors suitable parquet or laminate wood. The walls are covered with bamboo or paper wallpaper with drawings of traditional Chinese painting. The decoration of wooden panels and even bamboo canvases perfectly fits the solemn ceremonial style.
Furniture here should be the minimum amount. It is important to keep the room open. The best option is a low table for tea drinking, a small sofa, elegant shelves or racks with vases and other accessories, armchairs with soft seats and a couple of chairs. As the final touches, the room needs to be filled with decor that will make it original and original.
The iconic thing for the Chinese interior is an aquarium. If in the home pond the Chinese breed koi carps, then their counterparts - goldfish usually swim in an aquarium. With the help of exquisite porcelain little things, bells, canvases with hieroglyphs, you will bring a special flavor to your interior.
Kitchen Design
For a small kitchen, the design of the walls can be chosen in light colors - light beige or cream, which does not exclude the presence of important colors of the style - red and black. Dark red furniture fronts and a black kitchen apron will best emphasize the owner's interests in the eastern direction. Stone countertops will fit well into the kitchen interior.
The Chinese-style kitchen just has to have a lot of decor. These can be statues of Buddhas or animals, tea sets, flashlights made of thin paper, painted vases of flowers. By the way, artificial sakura twigs revive the interior. Narrow painted paintings with Chinese landscapes and verse quatrains will look good on the walls.
Bedroom
The bedroom to make in the Chinese style is not easy. The thing is that the traditional beds in China are literally a room in a room. They have their own roof and fences around the edges, covered with rich textiles and guarantee complete privacy to the sleeper. This bed is often in the center of the room. Of course, to realize this luxury in a small room will not succeed.
If it is not possible to bring the main element of the style into the room, you can use a variety of decorations that emphasize its style - put a screen, fence off a dressing room, hang a huge fan over the bed with a picture of flying cranes. It will be useful to hang pictures or a picture of a lotus on the wall - the flower personifies perfection and harmony.
Painted canvases are often hung over the headboard to the ceiling, but in modern interiors they are often replaced with glass ones. However, you can take this place photo murals depicting dragons or crooked pine trees growing on top of a rocky cliff. Tall multi-colored lamps made of bamboo and rice paper and tall floor vases will fit well into the interior.
Conclusion
Creating a Chinese flavor in your own house with your own hands is not the easiest event, but the subsequent effect will reward the working people a hundredfold. Chinese style is life-affirming, wise and very positive. It is soft, pleasant and very harmonious. If it is not possible to create it using expensive furniture, then it is quite possible to achieve the same effect using decor, decoration and accessories.
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