Why You Should Have Chinoiserie Style in Your Home (5 Reasons)

When you feel bored or dissatisfied with your home, the best way to make a change is broaden your horizons from your living room to the entire world.

How do you do this?

The possibilities are limitless, but one of the best and most adaptable cultural fusions to try out is definitely Chinoiserie. So, what is “Chinoiserie”? (“shin-wah-sah-ree”)? 

Starting in the 17th and 18th centuries (mostly in Western Europe), “Chinoiserie” style was a sort of fantasy fusion using that era’s very limited knowledge of Chinese culture with Western romanticism. This created a beautiful and ornate style that can fuse beautifully into traditionally Western-style rooms. Let’s take a look at 5 ways Chinoiserie can make your space special.

#1 ROMANCE AND THE BEAUTY OF ADVENTURE

Why did “Chinoiserie” start anyway? To romanticize the faraway and to bring distant lands to the footstool in your living room.

Today, it’s no different. In our big box store age of consumable furniture, your living room can often feel lackluster. Using different artistic motifs and scenes from the standard European and North American reminds you in your daily life that far lands, pagodas, dragon-painted temples, and craggy mountain waterfalls exist. Simply put, Chinoiserie reminds us that the world is vast and beautiful beyond our daily life.

So take a page from such European landmarks as Versailles, Sanssouci Palace, and the Kew Gardens by implementing Chinoiserie into your home.

#2 THE GOLDEN GILT OF LUXURY

Why is Chinoiserie such a dominant part of many of the most luxurious buildings in the world?

This often has as much to do with the romance of the faraway as the simple visual effect—gold. In Western Europe, especially in the era of Louis XV, the golden laquer of Chinoiserie furniture: dressers, tables, and chairs, gave a sense of opulence from that special color. The glossy black and gold finish of Chinoiserie pieces fits elegantly into almost any home—likely yours.

Trying to improve your home without actually paying Fort Knox for it?

Add in a Japanese/Chinese-style cabinet with that black and golden laquer aesthetic to give the same Emperor-level elegance the Kings of France once sought.

#3 New Realms of Visual Art

Art is one of the absolute most important things to implement in your home to make it feel unique and special.

A home without paintings or any art often feels like an office with a bed—without its true personality and the owner’s personal imprint stamped upon it. When selecting paintings, there’s often many charming French countrysides, Parisian streets, flowers—you name it. But to vary up what is on your walls, a single Chinoiserie work highlights those original paintings and acts as a contrast (East vs. West at its best).

Think of each painting as a window into your future dreams. If you have a Chinoiserie landscape on the wall, someday the longing you feel from looking at it might be what causes you to finally press BUY on that plane ticket.

#4 BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN

If you’re a collector of antiques, one common trap to fall into is to suddenly discover that your living room looks like a dark museum. Too many old pieces have the dark aesthetic. If you’re stuck with this, Chinoiserie is one of the best ways to still match quality vintage works.

Specifically, the quintessential Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain of Chinese and Chinoiserie pieces acts as a lightening influence on a room and balances out the color.

Our minds also associate a certain element of romance with the color combination. It unlocks something in us and harmonizes a space—light and dark together.

#5 CHINOISERIE IS TIMELESS

Most fads die.

The fads that live become fashion.

Over the centuries, Chinoiserie has proven it belongs in homes and can match an unbelievable number of styles. I find that Chinoiserie is one of the best aesthetics to harmonize with other aesthetic concepts. I have mixed Mid Century Modern with Chinoiserie frequently—showing that Chinoiserie is the really the Swiss Army Knife of interior style.

No matter what room you craft, in whatever style, a Chinoiserie piece can not only fit, but complete the aesthetic.

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