Decorating with Asian Colors, Furnishings & Designs

Color:

Japanese interiors generally use neutral, natural colors, to provide a simple background. Interiors as well emphasize architecture as provide a sense of geometric order.

Adding to this, natural colors minimize a feeling of clutter, which is also essential to eastern design and its philosophy of simplicity. Thus, when a statement is made in a Japanese interior, it is usually through a single strong exclamation of color or a predominant texture.
 
Eastern art colors are pure. Unlike western art, which mixes color and elevates sketches, eastern art is original. It means the initial color and/or brush stroke is the final result. Eastern art is simple, strong, and graphic, whereas Western art is often complex.

Black is often considered a "non-color" in our society, yet, it is very important in eastern interiors. Usage of black in oriental rooms lends definition and form. For instance, black is a color in its own right, when used with white rice paper in a shoji screen.

Texture & Contrast:

Some Japanese textures and materials that immediately come to mind are cedar, rice paper, maple, bamboo, stone, and woven wicker. Also think of textured silk, tatami floor mats, and the elaborate needlework of kimonos and obi’s.

Japanese culture aspires to balance opposites in all aspects of life (yin and yang), and interiors are no exception. Interior designing finishes can be highly opposing and contrasting, and yet achieve balance. For example, they are highly polished floors with heavily textured mats, a lacquered box displayed on top of a rough wooden table, or white pebbles on a polished black granite ledge around a tub.

Display:

Western homes typically use an object on the perimeter as a focal point, such as a fireplace, a painting, or an elaborate window treatment. On the other hand, Eastern interiors focus on a central object, such as a hearth, a garden, an altar, or an elaborate still life composition.