Asian Influences

Asian influences in interior design never seem to tire. Decorators such as Billy Baldwin and Tony Duquette fully embraced the use of chinoiserie in the home. Whether used as wallpaper in a whole room or as just as side table accents, Asian influences are here to stay.

Chaing Mai Dragon wallpaper from Schumacher

and Arbre Chinois from their new collection

Tea House Wallpaper from Thibaut

Hand Painted wall murals are gorgeous on a pale backdrop

Pagoda inspired furniture

a beautiful secretary with a red interior

Chinoiserie inspired chairs which I love

There are subtle ways to incorporate Asian influences in your home

or antique boxes with Asian ornamentation

Table settings with monochromatic porcelain or more traditional Chinese export porcelain

When I lived on the corner of 72nd Street and Third avenue in NYC I used to frequently go to visit the Han Horse on Lexington and 70th. A few great looking pieces

I also used to go to The Frick Museum at 70th and Fifth. Right now they have a collection of Meissen Porcelain on exhibit. These two pieces are from 1730′s.

Oh how I love the dragons….

The Meissen Shop

Augustus II (1670-17330) built the Zwinger Palace in Dresden Germany to rival Versailles. He was obsessed with porcelain and had 20,000 pieces when he died. Augustus wanted to discover the Asian secrets of porcelain’s hardness and translucency. His court alchemist, Johann Bottger, was motivated and Meissen, Europe’s first china, was produced. Interestingly, two weeks prior to Russia bombing the palace in 1945, the Russian troops shipped all of the porcelain to Moscow. In the 1950′s Kruschev returned it all. Photos of the palace.

In 2003, Peter Marino was chosen to build an Oriental Gallery at the Zwinger Palace dedicated to showing the porcelain.

I love the red lacquered walls and you can see the Palace’s reflection.

Sources: Wallpaper from F. Schumacher (2), Wallpaper from Thibaut Desgins, Elle Decor Online (two images), Google Images, Oscar de la Renta for Century Furniture, Secretary from Allen Kerr Antiques, Kitchen photo from Windsor Smith, Lantern- Vaughn Lighting, Southern Accents July/August 2008 (two images), Han Horse (four images), Frick Museum, The Meissen Shop, Zwinger Palace photos from Google Images, 2 B&W images from www.johnnykurtz.com, Peter Marino/Interior Porcelain images from Architectural Digest

Tagged as: Allen Kerr Antiques, Architectural Digest, Century Furniture, Chinese Porcelain, Frick Museum, Han Horse, Oscar de la Renta, Peter Marino, Schumacher, Southern Accents, The Meissen Shop, Thibaut Designs, Windsor Smith, Zwinger Palace