While a living room must feature decor appropriate for entertaining, and the kitchen requires a functional design, your bedroom offers more possibilities for letting the imagination run wild. Jump on the Asian decor trend by transforming a basic bedroom into something more tranquil or arty, more folksy or modern, depending upon the Asian bedroom style you select.
Instructions
Asian Bedroom Decor
1. Select an Asian style for inspiration. The traditional Chinese look features lacquered black surfaces, silk textiles and red and gold accents. Japanese design trends range from Tokyo modernist high rise minimalism to Wabi-Sabi's rustic simplicity. Go Indonesian with a tropical or rain forest theme, or Indian with bright, ornamented textiles and solid wooden furnishings.
2. Paint your bedroom or an accent wall. Faded earth tones lend a tranquil yet modern feeling to the bedroom, an ideal backdrop for many Asian bedroom themes. Even white gets reinterpreted in Asian bedrooms, with soft eggshell or distressed antique whitewash defining a Japanese farmhouse look and glossy black creating a contemporary Japanese or Chinese aesthetic. A wall mural or accent wall adds a focal point to Asian decor. Simple designs, like faded green leaves, create a neutral backdrop, while a packaged wall mural of a bamboo forest defines the room.
3. Integrate key Asian furnishings into the room. A simple platform bed with a low profile and topped with a futon mattress bespeaks Asian minimalism. You can adorn it with a Wabi-Sabi element such as an old wooden door painted creamy white and repurposed into a headboard or vintage textiles. Original Asian antiques give the room a dash of authenticity, but many reproductions incorporate artisan touches such as wood joinery, multiple niches or hand-painted trims.
4. Welcome nature into your bedroom decor. Many Asian architectural traditions consider frame a perfect garden view or ways to allow natural light to enter and travel through a room. Low, modular furnishings keep spaces breezy and open. Minimal window coverings emphasize natural light. A tri-fold Shoji screen with translucent paper panels can serve as a privacy barrier while allowing light to filter through. Window frames and door frames provide perfect spots for leafy green plants or a beautiful flower arrangement.
5. Accessorize with Asian arts, crafts and functional pieces. Try a row of paper lanterns in bright colors and patterns above your bed or, for a more sophisticated look, two simple off-white lanterns flanking either side. For Indian flair, try a vintage beaded and mirrored sari on the bed or over the window. Balinese puppets make for intriguing wall art. A mosquito net over the bed recalls a rain forest retreat. Wall art may include scroll paintings, Tangka images, ethnic textiles or even Japanese toys and cartoon imagery.
Tags: your bedroom, accent wall, Asian bedroom, Asian decor, natural light, rain forest, wall mural