The venerable age of the civilization of the Celestial Empire determines the isolation of the unique Chinese culture. Although China also maintained trade with neighboring states, but never borrowed anything from foreigners. Chinese culture, architecture and design delighted Europeans, fond of exotic antiquity. This determined the fashion for oriental objects of everyday life, which from the end of the 17th century spread throughout all countries. Love for Chinese culture was called "chinoiserie" and instantly spread among architects, artists and even cooks and tailors.

A little later, the three-thousand-year-old Taoist doctrine of feng shui reached its receptive to the new European minds, aiming to find in space and use for the benefit of human health the flow of qi energy. The system of 5 elements, developed by philosophers and sages, 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 of its increase were calculated.

Of course, one can not confuse the rich Chinese culture of the arrangement of the living space with only the teachings of feng shui. It was influenced by historical events. For example, two well-known dynasties of Chinese rulers Qing and Ming have left their imprint 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 minimalistic and restrained. It is in it that the red, black and white colors become traditional for China.

       

At the heart of the modern Chinese style is the idea of ​​the unity of opposites, the preservation of balance, the fusion of Yin / Yang and the harmonious coexistence of light and darkness.

Distinctive features

What elements of the Chinese style will not give a mistake in his identification:

• Only rounded soft lines, if sharp corners occur, it is extremely rare;
• key materials - bamboo, hardwood (originally sandalwood), marble (used for countertops), silk and, of course, in abundant ceramics - figurines, vases, dishes;
• traditional Chinese decoration 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 the zoning, screens or grids made of bamboo are painted with plot pictures;
• 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 covered with varnish.

As for the colors, they are selected depending on the functionality of the room:

• red symbolizes the masculine;
• black is considered a symbol of rebirth, and hence of the feminine;
• white - a symbol of immortality, purity and eternity;
• yellow represents power;
• green - energy.

Who will suit

Chinese style in the interior - the choice of people pacified, both conservative and extraordinary. It is suitable for fans of bright colors, sophisticated connoisseurs of philosophy, creative people. They will be happy to embody it in their homes lovers of luxury and exotic oriental accessories.

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Colors and materials of decoration

The design of the Chinese interior has the ability to introduce bold colors. One of the most favorite colors in the Celestial Empire is the red one. The Chinese believe that red is a color of well-being, a color that brings good luck. As accent colors you can use golden, yellow, blue.

However, nothing terrible will happen if you decide that red will act on you exciting. Instead, you can arrange a brown background, perfectly combined with cream, beige and milky shades. Such colors are often found in modern interiors of the Celestial Empire. In other respects, the accommodation must correspond to the canons of the house style - a minimum of simple but expensive furniture, a sufficient amount of colorful decor.

Floor

The basic requirement for Chinese-style floors is laconicism and simplicity, which is successfully expressed in materials such as light wood or ceramic tiles. In the front room and in the bedroom, the presence of a rich Chinese red carpet is mandatory. However, the red carpet is not limited to decorating the floor in the living room.

Carpet weaving in China for more than two and a half thousand years. Carpet weaving from China has come to other countries of the world (to India for example). The most beautiful silk and wool carpets were made by hand craftsmen. A special decor always distinguishes carpets from China: dragons and lotus flowers, Yin and Yang symbols, herons, tigers, hieroglyphics and a variety of floral ornaments.

Walls

The possibilities of decorating the walls in an apartment in the oriental style are as varied as possible. Modern manufacturers of finishing materials produce a whole range of matching wallpapers in Chinese style. The traditional approach to the interior in the Middle Kingdom is based on the laws of feng shui. Harmony into the house comes through the style of decoration - so says the basic Chinese treatise.

The dwelling should always be well lit - therefore the wallpaper is of a light tone. Create them from natural materials: bleached paper, bamboo. The patterns on the wallpaper have many details, since they are created specifically for prolonged contemplation:

• The yin-yang sign brings harmony and tranquility into the house;
• Effective dragon means wisdom and good;
• actively used in decorating plants and trees: bamboo leaves, bonsai, cherry blossom - permanent images in the decoration;
• Hieroglyphics are often used for decor - they are elegant and sometimes have a philosophical meaning.

Совсем не обязательно на стену клеить обои. Окрашивание стен в светлые оттенки тоже довольно популярный вариант для китайского интерьера. Одно но— Walls должны быть богато украшены декором. Частое украшение стен в китайском стиле — огромные шелковые китайские ковры с мелким витиеватым узором. Они содержат жанровые и сюжетные сценки из жизни китайцев, изображения животных и даже стихи. Часто встречались в домах знати и деревянные панели с изящной резьбой.

However, quite expensive silk decor with success today replaced not less popular wall painting. The history of Chinese painting goes back to the depths of the centuries for 8 thousand years. The artistic painting of the walls of the religious trend spread in China during the Han and Qin dynasties. And in the era of Tang began to appear the first everyday stories.

The subjects for decoration can be very different: hieroglyphs, mountains, quaint trees and flowering plants, dragons and birds, pagodas, natural phenomena. The dominant color on the walls is red and yellow - these are the colors of the fire, which embody the inspiration and development. For more discreet drawings, you can use shades of brown. By feng shui walls in such tones attract wealth and luck into the house.

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Ceilings

Of course, in a modern home, you can use the usual stretch simple and smooth fabric ceiling. If desired, you can put on it an image in Chinese style - a blossoming cherry blossom, 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 ceiling in the Chinese style is symmetry. Even a multilevel design should be symmetrical.

To emphasize the specifics of the style will help lightings in the form of light white balls of rice paper (or imitation). You can place them on the ceiling levels, combining with modern more efficient point lighting. You can buy in specialized shops selling products from the East large Chinese wooden lamps with glass inserts with paintings and decorated with red brushes and fringe.

Furniture

Furniture в Китае создавалась на века и передавалась по наследству. Поэтому существовало 2 типа мебели — более дешевая бамбуковая (хотя самые нищие крестьяне и ремесленники и вовсе в Китае мебелью не пользовались, а жили на циновках) и более дорогая — простая по форме, но изготовленная из дорогих пород дерева. Сегодня мебель может быть изготовлена из недорогих пород и облицована кленом, вишней, дубом.

Whatever the simple form of the furniture, but it is necessarily signed by the craftsmen manually or decorated with carvings. The painting usually contained genre scenes, images of birds or historical events. Dark red, black, dark green - basic background colors for furniture.

An obligatory condition for the arrangement of furniture is the principle of symmetry, for the expression of which pairs were acquired. The table with 2 chairs on the sides symbolized love, happiness and prosperity. If the room hangs paintings or silk carpets, then they also put a table with a couple of chairs.

Cabinets in the rooms were also installed in pairs opposite each other. The facades of cabinets were specially made clean, so that there was an opportunity to give vent to the imagination of the artist. The images on the cupboards were often of a benevolent nature: for example, a blossoming peach tree meant a wish for longevity, a dragon for power, and peony flowers for nobility.

To create an authentic atmosphere in the office, you can buy a calligraphy desk in a specialized store (usually such stylized furniture is in antique shops). Usually it is equipped with a special inclined panel. Frequent pieces of furniture in the Chinese style - wide couches with a small tea table on the curved low legs. All that is possible - tables, tables, chests of drawers, racks decorated with vases with flowers.

Accessories and textiles

Особенность стиля заключается в том, что долгое время шторы и портьеры популярностью в Китае не пользовались. Окна изнутри украшались частыми перегородками с витиевато-замысловатыми деталями. Занавески вешали только на нижнюю часть окна. Был период, когда окна просто изнутри закрывались тончайшей рисовой бумагой. Современные шторы в китайском стиле не должны создавать препятствий для солнечных лучей. Floorупрозрачные, дорогие, очень простого кроя они должны просто струиться вниз. Никаких ламбрекенов здесь быть не должно.

       

Walls, тем не менее, украшали тончайшим алым шёлком, на полах красовались красные ковры, а низкая мебель украшалась сияющими золотом подушками. Текстильные аксессуары могут выполнить роль цветовых акцентов. Подушки могли быть синего, жёлтого или зелёного тона с черными или золотыми узорами. К текстилю можно отнести и ширмы, обтянутые тончайшей расписанной тканью, служащие для разграничения зон в комнате.

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Chinese living room

Гостиная в китайском стиле — это парадная комната для приема гостей. Все здесь должно быть богато, красиво и торжественно. Для полов подойдет светлый паркет или ламинат под дерево. Walls обклеиваются бамбуковыми или бумажными обоями с рисунками из традиционной китайской живописи. Отлично в торжественный парадный стиль вписывается отделка деревянными панелями и даже бамбуковыми полотнами.

       

There must be a minimum amount of furniture here. It is important to keep the room spacious. The best option - a low table for tea, a small sofa, elegant shelves or racks with vases and other accessories, chairs with soft seats and a couple of chairs. As the final touches the room needs to be filled with a decor that will make it original and original. A cult thing for the Chinese interior is an aquarium. If in the domestic pond, the Chinese plant koi carps, then in the aquarium they usually float their analogs - goldfish. With the help of exquisite porcelain things, bells, canvases with hieroglyphics, you will bring a special flavor to your interior.

Design kitchens

For a small kitchen, the decoration of the walls can be chosen in light colors - light beige or cream, which does not exclude the presence of important colors of style - red and black. Dark red furniture facades and a black kitchen apron are the best way to emphasize the interests of the owner to the eastern direction. Good will fit into the kitchen interior stone countertops.

       

In the kitchen in the Chinese style, there should simply be a lot of decor. These can be statues of Buddhas or animals, sets for tea drinking, lanterns made of thin paper, painted vases with flowers. By the way, artificial cherry twigs will revitalize the interior. On the walls, narrow painted canvases with Chinese landscapes and poetic quatrains will look good.

Bedroom

The bedroom is not easy to arrange in the Chinese style. The thing is that traditional beds in China are literally room in the room. They have their own roof and fences along the edges, are covered with rich textiles and guarantee complete privacy to the sleeper. It is worth such a bed often in the center of the room. Of course, it will not be possible to realize such luxury in a small room. If there is no possibility to make the main element of the style in the room, you can use a variety of decorations that emphasize its style affiliation - put the screen, fencing off the dressing room, hang a huge fan with a picture of flying cranes on the bed. It is superfluous to hang on the wall photographs or a picture of the lotus - the flower personifies perfection and harmony.

       

Above the headboard is often hung painted linens to the ceiling, but in modern interiors they are often replaced with glass. However, it is possible to occupy this place with photo wallpapers depicting dragons or curves of pine trees growing on top of a rocky cliff. Good fit in the interior of high-colored lamps of bamboo and rice paper and high floor vases.

Conclusion

To create a Chinese flavor in your house with your own hands is not the simplest measure, but the subsequent effect will reward the worker with a hundredfold. Chinese style - life-affirming, wise and very positive. It is soft, pleasant and very harmonious. If there is no possibility to create it using expensive furniture, then it is quite possible to achieve the same effect using decor, decoration and accessories.