How to Decorate a Living Room in the Asian Way

The Asian way of decorating can create a real sense of serenity in the home. It also works well in smaller spaces, like condo rooms because it is a style that does away with clutter.

Simplicity is at the heart of this style. Keep your lampshades as paper ones. You can get white ones or red ones which are the most authentic. However many China town stores have them in an attractive yellow color that can make quite a style statement. Places like Ikea also have paper hanging or free standing lanterns that add a real sense of atmosphere to a place. Bamboo place mats are also appropriate. Straw mats look very elegant in any room. You can use one to define the seating area of any room.

Oriental parasols can also make very elegant lampshades. You simply saw them to the right length and use them to cover the fixtures. This is a good way of covering over ugly pot hole lighting.

Another classic type of room divider is called a Shoji room divider and using one in a room can really give a room an Eastern flair. These are wood with bamboo paper.

Simplicity and harmony are also at the heart of the window blinds used in this culture. Opt for simple bamboo blinds to give your home a sense of airiness. Bamboo room dividers can also be used to separate one area from another.

To really give your home that Asian look try using an Asia Scroll painting. Hanging a large Asian scroll on your wall gives it a lovely counter point.

You can also make a big Buddha or a collection of Buddha figures the focus of your room. Deerknocker fountains and koi ponds, (fake or real) also make a beautiful addition to any décor.

Another Asian touch is to hang a pair of crossed swords on the wall. This is an ancient placement to protect against evil. Make sure the swords are not that sharp and hung securely on the wall.

Most Asian homes also have an aquarium or fountain of some kind in the room. These can be large or small. A poster of fish, mountains or peonies or a similar type of image printed on your linens can also help.

At tabletop Zen garden is the kind of decoration that also gives your room that Asian Flare. This is just a patch of sand with pebbles in it and a rake. You then use the rake to make patterns in the sand.

How to Decorate A Room in Nerd Chic Style

Nerd chic is also known as Geek chick. It is a hot style right now that mixes glamour with geek. The best way to pull off this look is to find vintage styles or retro styles that are very traditional and classic; obscure and a bit kitsch ar best. It is quite easy to find this type of furniture on ebay or Craigslist. Half the time it can be had for free.

The most important part of nerd chic is choosing nerdy art. You can poke through websites like etsy.com and find the proper geeky prints and paintings. The types of art we are talking about here are girls riding on a five person bikes, silhouettes of royalty over maps on which they leave, subway maps with pictures of local attractions Old movie posters, how-to posters and pictures of children crying with large eyes painted on velvet are ideas. You should also make sure that these pieces of art are displayed in frames that are displayed in complimentary colors. Scrolled picture frames in that tacky gold and white laminate are just right as well.

Antique figurines are also a big part of this aesthetic. Go for matching salt and pepper shakes. The more they have to do with video games the better. For instance, a matching Mr. and Mrs. Pacman salt and pepper shaker set would be amazing. A perfect nerd display would be a display of key rings or even a display of antique vacuum cleaner parts.

Another nerdy touch is to put a canopy in an odd place in the house. Many fans of this style have a canopy of some type put up in the living room. It can be a solid color or a reference to an exotic Asian culture. Just make sure that you do not make it into a fire hazard by placing candles too near to it.

You can really show off your geek side in the kitchen. You can do things like use a pizza cutter that has a handle shaped like the body of Star Trek’s spaceship Enterprise. You can use Star Wars light saber chopsticks or serve up cocktails in ice cube trays made in the shape of Pi symbols.

There is an endless supply of geeky fridge magnets, knick knacks, lamps and fabrics online on the big sites that can help keep your place decorated in wonderful and cheap nerd chic ways.