Swedish Design and Decor Tips

Achieving the Swedish Design 'Look'

When most homeowners in Dallas hear the words, "Swedish interior design," they probably think of the internationally successful furniture chain, IKEA. Of course, there is more to Scandinavian design than just modern-style furniture.

Among interior designers, Swedish style is known for its soothing colors, painted wood furniture, and lack of clutter. This style became more popular in the US during the 1950s, because it shared traits with midcentury modern design. Today, Swedish design style still has plenty of fans. Younger homeowners are often attracted to the style's marriage of "shabby chic" and traditional elegance.

The Style of Swedish Interiors

Swedes live with long daylight hours in the summer, and long, dark nights in the winter. During the winter especially, they want to bring as much light into their homes as possible. Floor-to ceiling windows, crystal chandeliers, and gilt mirrors help reflect light around the room and make winter days a little more cheerful.

Another design choice that helps make Swedish interiors feel more open and airy is wood flooring. The wood is almost always either white, pine, or birch. Carpeting is nowhere near as common in Swedish homes as it is in other styles that can be found in Dallas.

Although Swedish design is best known for its palette of whites and grays, many Swedish interiors have an accent color as well. Robin's egg blue is a popular color throughout Scandinavia. The preference for blue is one thing that makes Swedish style stand apart from American midcentury modern.

Swedish Antique Furniture

To design a Swedish style home, especially a traditional or transitional home, it helps to know about Swedish antique furniture. These pieces are often referred to as "Gustavian furniture," named after King Gustav III, who reigned in Sweden from 1771-1792. Gustav spent a lot of time in Versailles with King Louis XVI, which is where he was exposed to the neo-classical style growing popular in France. 

Gustav loved what he saw and brought elements of it home with him. Swedish handmade furniture produced during his time borrowed forms from the French and English, but left out hand-carved Rococo details. The result is furniture with artful, but clean lines. Gustav's taste trickled down to the gentry, who in turn influenced the lower classes.  Swedish country homeowners would paint their wood furniture because they could not afford the expensive woods Gustav used in his palatial homes.

Many interior designers associate Swedish style with white and gray painted furniture, however some true antiques were actually painted in pale blue or green. Blue and white gingham was the usual pattern for upholstery and linens.

There are a few furniture styles that were unique to Sweden. One of these designs was the iconic Swedish Mora clock. Mora clocks were produced in the town of Mora, in the Dalarna province, from the late 1700s through the 1800s. Some desks were produced with a built-in Mora clock on top, but these are hard to find today.

Buying Swedish Antiques

Be warned that Swedish antiques can be difficult to authenticate because some of them look newer than they actually are, or have been repainted since they were first built. That is why having an expert in antiques and buying from the best dealers is so important. If you do want to start collecting authentic, high-quality Swedish antiques, connecting with a dealer in Sweden can help you secure them.

At Chambers Interiors, we offer a European buying trip service called Tour Decor. We use our close relationships with top dealers overseas to help you find the best antiques at wholesale prices. With an itinerary just for Scandinavia, Margaret Chambers works alongside her partner, Lea Barfield, to find the perfect pieces. If you are interested, visit Tour Decor's site to learn more and see photos from our latest trip - www.tour-decor.com

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Antique Tea Caddies

Today, you can inexpensively buy tea from China, India, Vietnam, or Africa at your local Dallas grocery store. But when tea was first brought to Britain in the 1600s, it was an incredibly expensive commodity. This is because the Dutch East India Company held a monopoly on the tea trade from China.

Among those who could afford it, tea was popular for its taste, therapeutic quality, and the ceremonial way with which it was prepared. It's understandable that after paying a hefty price for these rare leaves, people would want to store them with special care. This is how the tea caddy came to be.

The First Tea Caddies

Although tea-drinking is strongly tied to British culture today, England was not the first European country to import tea. Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess who married King Charles II in 1661, was accustomed to drinking tea in her home country and asked for it when she arrived. This is believed to be the first time that tea leaves were imported to England. Catherine’s tea-drinking habit quickly became fashionable among England’s aristocratic society.

The word caddy is believed to have come from the Malay word, kati, a unit of measurement roughly equivalent to 1 pound and 4 ounces. The very first tea caddies only had one compartment and were shaped like a bottle. The cap on top was removable and could also be used to measure out the tea. As for the caddies themselves, they were often made of silver, china, enamel, glass, or metal covered with straw-work. Tea caddies made before 1700 had simple designs and are very rare today.

Tea Caddies in the 1700s

For many years, only the wealthiest could afford tea in England, and this is partially due to the tea tax. The tax was initially 199%. In 1784, the Commutation Act was passed to lower the tea tax to 12.5% and make it more accessible to the common folk.

Tea caddies from the 1700s had a lock and paper lining to protect the leaves from moisture. Because it was fashionable to offer both black and green tea to guests, the caddies were often made in pairs, one for each color of tea. Sometimes these tea caddy pairs were stored in a larger tea chest, which also had a bowl for sugar (another expensive commodity at the time). You’ll notice that most tea caddies have a keyhole. Tea caddies were often locked to prevent theft by the wait staff.

Unlike the early bottle-shaped caddies, 18th-century caddies were commonly made of wood, usually mahogany, walnut, or pine. Excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum inspired designers to use more straight lines, concave and convex shapes, and motifs such as urns, flowers, and festoons.

Designers became more creative with decorating the outside of the caddy as well. Painting, marquetry, and rarely, carving, were used to decorate the wood. More unusual materials for caddies during this time include ivory, tortoiseshell, and papier-mâché.

1800s Tea Caddies

As England was exposed to other cultures, tea caddy makers began to experiment with the traditional forms. Some tea caddies from the early 19th century have 'pagoda' shaped tops or sides that slope upward and taper like the Egyptian pyramids. Another popular design from this period is like a sarcophagus, boxy with a rectangular lid. Many of these caddies also had metal or wooden feet.

19th century tea caddies have less marquetry, as the form of the tea caddy was intended to be striking on its own. The more detailed pieces incorporated brass inlay, floral designs, and penwork. If you search for tea caddies online, you will occasionally come across pear and apple-shaped, single-compartment tea caddies. Tea caddies like these were produced into the early 1800s. These command high prices because of their novelty, and reproductions are often passed off as the real thing.

Tea became increasingly accessible in the 19th century after India entered the tea trade. Loose leaf tea was soon desired by all classes of people, and as demand rose there was pressure on the English government to reduce the tea tax. Naturally, storing tea carefully became less important. In the 1880s, pre-packed tea was finally available in grocery stores. This marks the end of tea caddy production.

What to Look For When You Buy

Once you've identified your favorite styles of tea caddies, you'll want to start searching for them online or in Dallas antique shops. Refurbished tea caddies are common, but most collectors prefer a tea caddy in its original state, patina and all. If you want to avoid refinished or reproduction antiques, look for the following signs of age:

• Surface defects such as scratches and dings

• Wooden veneers or marquetry on the outside should have faded or changed color due to exposure to sunlight

• The lead lining on the inside of the compartments should be flaking off or falling apart

• Wear on the base of the caddy

• Check the condition of easily-replaceable parts such as feet, handles, and hinges

You can tell that a wooden caddy is authentically from the late 18th century if the wax or turpentine finish has built up a patina. Feeling along the edgings and inlays with your hand, you should notice some unevenness. Often these antiques have been refinished with a glossy polish, but many collectors feel that this ruins the piece.

Today, the rarest kinds of tea caddies are ones made of ivory and tortoiseshell or shaped like wine barrels and fruit. Silver is the most valuable material.

If you're completely new to the world of antique collecting, you might find the prospect of tracking down the best antiques for the best prices daunting. Chambers Interiors has years of experience sourcing tea caddies for numerous clients and can provide you with the perfect piece to suit your tastes. Email us at info@chambersinteriors.com or call our Dallas office at 214-651-7665 for more information.

Related Articles:

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Guide to Collecting Imari Porcelain

Our last interior design blog took a look at the current market for antique collecting, specifically for antique American furniture. In this blog, we'll explore another hobby that has remained popular for decades: collecting Imari porcelain.

History of Imari

Imari porcelain can be Chinese or European in origin, but was first created in Japan. In 1616, the town of Arita became Japan's porcelain production center because it was near Izumiyama, a quarry rich in kaolin clay. The wares were then shipped to the West from the port of Imari, hence the name. The earliest Imari pieces had simple, hand-painted designs in blue against white grounds and were made to be tea bowls, dinner plates, and rice bowls.

By the 1630s, ceramic makers were introducing a wider variety of colors into their pieces. The designs also became more intricate, featuring images of cranes, fish, beautiful women, flowers and gnarled tree branches. These were the most popular images in Japanese textiles at the time. Pieces were under-glazed in blue first, with the blue used to delineate borders and backdrops. Afterward, other colors such as rust red, green, and gold were added and fired at a lower temperature. Imari's iconic color combination proved to be very popular in Europe.

Japan imposed a self-isolation policy in the mid-seventeenth century. The only other nation that could continue trading with them was Holland, so Dutch traders would import Japanese goods (including Imari) and trade them to the rest of Europe. Imari potters began to produce pieces specifically for European tastes. Dutch artists would suggest some ideas for scenes, which might depict geishas, hunting scenes with dogs, or Dutch men and women. Imari wares produced before 1750 are called “Old Imari” and command high prices because of their scarcity.

English factories such as Royal Crown Derby, Minton, and Worcester produced their own versions of Imari. Other European factories included Chantilly in France, Meissen in Germany, and Holland's Delft factories. Chinese potteries also began to release high-quality Imari pieces for export, which flooded the market and drove up prices for scarcer Japanese Imari.

The isolation period ended in the mid-nineteenth century. Now that Imari was more readily available again, its popularity exploded. The designs produced during this period have vivid tomato reds and deep cobalt blues.

Regional Styles

The most prized pieces among Western collectors are the Imari that were produced by the Koransha kiln from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. These are often densely decorated with bold and stylized motifs, including bamboo, koi, and irises.

Japanese collectors tend to prefer 18th century Imari from the Kakiemon and Nabeshima kilns, which had elegantly simple designs in soft colors. Kakiemon is named after Sakaida Kakiemon, who discovered a new technique for applying enamel decoration to porcelain. Although overlooked by many Western collectors, these are the most valuable at auctions today. They are more sparsely decorated in asymmetrical designs of subdued red, blue, yellow, and turquoise green. There was no blue under-glaze and the design of the piece emphasized the fine "milky white" background of the porcelain.

Royal Crown Derby, which produces English Imari to this day, is known for using intricate borders and an abundance of gold detail. French Imari is designed in a similar way. Meissen Imari from Germany are less cluttered than either Derby or Japanese Imari, and feature comparatively simple designs.

You can identify Chinese Imari by its brighter white and more purple-toned blue. The red over-glaze is also thinner and closer to orange than in Japanese pieces. Chinese Imari is generally more finely potted than Japanese, with a very even glaze.

Reading Marks

As you begin to research different types of Imari, you may be drawn to one factory's particular style. You can usually identify which factory produced a piece of porcelain by its mark on the underside. However, don't be surprised when you find antique Imari without any mark at all.

Before 1890, imports to the US were not required to be marked by country of origin. Those that were marked usually listed the name of the importer or manufacturer. Japanese Imari is especially difficult to date. Marks on these pieces can vary from personal signatures, the name of the customer, or the exporter and importer. Sometimes even pieces within the same set can be marked differently. 

If you want to become a serious Japanese Imari collector, you'll need to learn to read the names of cities and kiln areas where Imari was made. An English/Japanese dictionary may be required, but there are also handbooks such as Japanese Marks and Seals by James Lord Bowes that you can consult. Imari marked with "Gold Imari, Hand-painted," are vintage Arita wares produced between 1959 and 1984.

Chinese Imari were always given an imperial mark that was either written in normal script or drawn in a special style of seal script. The 'handwritten' script was harder to fake because differences in penmanship would give away a forged piece.  Modern Royal Crown Derby pieces are always marked with a crown, the name of one of three factories, and the year the piece was produced. Meissen Imari are marked with crossed swords; the style of the mark determines the age of the piece.

Enjoying Your Collection

Since so much Imari was produced to be exported, you don't have to travel to Japan to find authentic antiques. Even here in Dallas, Imari can be found for fairly competitive prices. And due to their history of craftsmanship, these antiques will continue to rise in value.

One of the draws of Imari collecting is that newcomers can find high-quality, beautifully made pieces at a variety of price points. 19th-century vases, serving bowls, chargers, and platters in three-tone color schemes usually sell for under $1000 apiece. Smaller items, like tea caddies, figurines, and incense burners can also be good pieces for beginners on a budget.

Asian antiques have come back in style and can serve as statement pieces in a variety of homes – from English to French to American. This fine porcelain can add color to your walls in lieu of a painting. Consider also using Imari pieces for table presentation. In addition, a small collection of Imari can mix beautifully with leather-bound books in a den.

If you're shopping for fine porcelain, consider adding Imari to bring a beautiful piece of history to your home. To learn more about how Chambers Interiors can help you source the finest Imari available, call our Dallas office at 214-651-7665 or email us at info@chambersinteriors.com. (Please note that Chambers Interiors does not do appraisals. If you want to learn more about the value of your Imari porcelain, we recommend that you contact your local auction house or appraiser.)

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Collecting American Antiques

Get Started Collecting American Antique Furniture

Given the popularity of contemporary interior design, it might seem like now would be a odd time to start collecting antique furniture. Many new homeowners in Dallas are choosing to sell their family heirlooms and start over with brand new, factory-made furnishings. However, it is actually because of this downward trend in antique collecting that savvy collectors are finding amazing deals.

American antiques, which are the most valuable and collectible in the world, are selling for historically low prices. If you've long admired the craftsmanship of antique furniture, but feel like you need a degree in art history to navigate the marketplace, this guide can help you get started.

Why Buy Antiques?

Since 1890, furniture in America has been made by factories rather than by hand. If you want handmade furniture that was built to last generations, you'll want to buy antiques. These days you can potentially get a high-quality antique with a unique patina and character for the same cost, or less, than you would pay for a mass-produced piece with a "distressed" finish.

Because design trends run in cycles, it's likely that these low prices for antique furniture won't last forever. The popularity of different kinds of furniture also fluctuates over time. For example, in the past ten years many kitchens were designed with an "open" plan, connected to dining and sitting areas. This made formal dining room sets less desirable. However, more recently we are seeing separate dining rooms come back as homeowners decide they don't want their guests to see dishes piling up near the sink.

Learning about American Antiques

The American antique period starts in the mid-1600s, with very simple and utilitarian furniture, and ends in the late 1800s with the Aesthetic Movement. An antique is by definition at least 100 years old, so any furniture created after this period would be referred to as "vintage" instead of antique. Since America is a "young" country with only 300 years’ worth of handmade furniture to go around, American antiques tend to command higher prices than European or Asian antiques.

Periods of American furniture:

William and Mary:

• Produced from 1680 to 1730.

• Named after William III of Orange and Mary II, the co-regents of England in the late 1600s.

• Usually made of maple, pine, oak or walnut woods. These early pieces of American furniture were characterized by a Baroque look with intense curves and turnings.

Queen Anne:

• Produced from 1730 to 1760.

• Named after Queen Anne of England.

• This era saw the introduction of the cabriole leg. Other features of this style include decorative shells, scroll shapes, and curved chair crests.

Chippendale:

• Produced from 1755 to 1780.

• Named after Thomas Chippendale, who published a book of furniture designs called The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director.

• Chippendale furniture features a lot of carved accents and ball-and-claw feet.

Federal:

• Produced from 1780 to 1820, during the Federal period of American history.

• This period was inspired by Greco-Roman architecture and featured motifs such as swags, garlands, columns, and urns. The furniture had straight legs, inlays, and simple lines without many carved details.

Classical:

• Produced from 1820 to 1840.

• Inspired by the French Restoration period.

• This is the last period of handmade furniture in America. The furniture often had veneered surfaces with little decoration.

Egyptian Revival:

• Produced from 1861 to 1865, which was during the Civil War.

• While Federal furniture had taken inspiration from Greece and Rome, now furniture makers were looking back to Egypt.

• Sphinxes, obelisks, and pyramids appear as motifs. The combination of black and gold furniture detailing also draws inspiration from Egyptian art.

Renaissance Revival:

• Produced from 1850 to 1885.

• Inspired by Renaissance architecture.

• During this period, you see a lot of walnut wood furniture with square forms, tapering legs, plaques, and medallions.

Aesthetic Movement:

• Produced from 1860 to 1890.

• The Aesthetic Movement was a wider cultural movement that promoted the idea of “art for art’s sake.” According to aesthetes, not all art needed to be functional and utilitarian.

• Aesthetic furniture features simple lines, marquetry, and inlays. Often these pieces were painted black and had brightly colored detailing, calling to mind lacquered goods from Japan.

Buying antiques as an investment

If you're buying antiques as an investment, spend your money on a few high-quality antiques rather than on a large collection of inexpensive pieces. Antiques will always rise and fall in value. But when prices fall, the value of high-quality pieces will be affected the least. Also, remember that it could be at least 10 years before your prized antique appreciates in value significantly. So make sure to buy pieces you will actually use, or at least enjoy looking at in your home.

When an appraiser evaluates a piece, he or she assesses how close the item is to its original condition, its provenance (history of ownership), size, rarity, and quality of construction. Contrary to what you might expect, most antique collectors desire an aged and well-used surface to a refinished one. It's a furniture's patina that gives it character and history, so even a cracked and fading paint job is preferable to stripping the original paint away.

Refurnished pieces sell for much lower, even if the repairs were necessary or desirable. For example, new feet on a desk can reduce its price by half or more. If you're not buying to invest, and just want an antique you will enjoy for its own merits, you can get very nice refinished furniture for very low prices.

Keeping Antiques

Many collectors today mix and match antiques from different periods. You can easily bring these antiques together by choosing matching wood tones. Small antiques should be grouped together as a collection, rather than scattered throughout the house.

If you want to keep an antique in the best condition, research the best ways to take care of its wood and finish. Beeswax is considered the best polish for antique wood. Carefully dust the piece-preferably with a soft cloth or brush rather than a feather duster--  before applying any polish. If a piece of the antique breaks, hold onto it until you can find a repairer to restore the piece for you.

A professional interior designer with experience in traditional design can help connect you with respectable antique dealers in Dallas. At Chambers Interiors, we have our own collection of antiques for sale, and we also offer private antique buying trips to Europe. Whether you're interested in American antiques or those from the Old World, an interior designer is a valuable resource for locating the best pieces at the best prices. Call our Dallas office at 214-651-7665 or email us at info@chambersinteriors.com for more information.

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How to Mix Different Wood Tones and Finishes

As a Dallas interior designer, one of the questions I sometimes hear from homeowners is, "How do I mix and match different sets of wood furniture?" Gone are the days when everyone bought complete sets of wood furniture in the same finish, sometimes even matching their hardwood floors. Today, it is more common - and economical - for people to layer different furnishings they have collected over the years. If you're a Dallas homeowner who finds the idea of mixing different woods daunting, here are some suggestions to get you started.

First of all, if you do have one of those "all-matching" sets, there's no need to throw it all out. Consider painting one or two of the pieces to create variety. You should also distribute the pieces throughout the room instead of putting them together on the same side. Imagine a room with a set of light-colored wood on one side and a dark set on the other. The room will surely feel "unbalanced" to anyone who enters. To combine two different kinds of wood, you will need to break things up.

One of the ways interior designers balance different woods in a space is by creating visual buffers. For example, if you have a large table in one wood, and floors in a different wood, the contrast between the two can be jarring. Place a rug under the table to make a softer transition. White paint and exposed wood are a classic combination: spacing out your wood furniture between white areas can either break up a matching set, or create calm between contrasting woods. If you suspect that you might actually have too much wood in one room, introduce more hard surfaces like metal, glass, and acrylic.

What if you want to actually highlight the differences between your wood furniture? A key point to remember is that some contrasts are more 'acceptable' to the eye than others. Interior designers usually contrast light versus dark, or smooth versus rough, but not 'warm' versus 'cool.'

A warm-colored wood will have undertones of orange, red or yellow. Meanwhile, a cool colored wood will usually have a grayish cast. If you have trouble identifying a piece's color, find the lightest tone in the grain, or try looking at the piece from a distance. Generally warm colored woods, like yellow pine or dark red cherry, will go together better than they would with gray woods, regardless of finish. 

This master bedroom has a very harmonious color scheme, but on closer inspection, there is a good deal of contrast introduced in the different wood finishes and colors.

If you have a wood furnishing that you want to highlight, like a coffee table, armoire or buffet, you can surround it with a different kind of wood to turn it into an impact piece. Besides color, texture is an opportunity to create contrasts between woods: smooth versus rough, painted versus unpainted, or fine grain versus large grain. The shape of wood furniture pieces can also create cohesion or contrast. Smooth lines contrast against curves, while simplicity contrasts with carved details.

The checkered wood floor provides a striking geometric contrast to the ornate curved furniture over it in this French Country home.

If you're building or remodeling your Dallas home and haven't chosen your hardwood floors yet, here are some things to keep in mind. Generally, a lighter wood will make for neutral flooring, as long as it isn't too red or yellow. The advantage of neutral flooring is you can introduce medium or dark-toned woods without worrying if they will clash too much. Similarly, dark toned woods without a strong color can help to ground a space.

As a rule of thumb, you should not use more than three kinds of wood per room. The "80/20" rule we interior designers use can be useful here. 80% of the wood in your room should be of a similar color or finish, while 20% can be a contrasting accent wood.

Hopefully you can now look at your wood furniture with a more exacting eye, and see combinations - or potential contrasts - that you couldn't see before. Otherwise, an interior designer can always help you bring out the fullest potential of your wood collections.

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Asian-Inspired Interior Design Trends

Many interior designers and homeowners in Dallas today look to Asia for stylistic inspiration. "Asian-style" can refer to interior design with an East Asian (Chinese or Japanese) influence or South Asian (Indian) influence. Asian decor continues to be popular for a few reasons. Asian accessories or design elements can instantly bring tranquility into a room. Japanese style also blends very well with contemporary rooms, since both styles emphasize clean lines, open space, and neutral colors. Meanwhile, Chinese accessories, with their sense of history and craftsmanship, are well suited for traditional homes.

Characteristics of Chinese Interior Design

Curved, intricately detailed furniture is associated with Chinese style rather than Japanese. In a traditionally decorated Chinese home, it's common to see furniture with gilt details, hand-painting, carvings, and ornate handles. If you own a statement piece with these features, make it the center of attention by surrounding it with simpler furniture.

Oriental rugs, fine silks, and tasseled draperies are also characteristic of this style. When you're picking fabrics or patterns for wallpaper, keep an eye out for common Chinese motifs. Fish, flowers, dragons, monkeys, and tigers are all examples. Unlike the soothing earth and gray tones in Zen homes, Chinese style homes are more dramatic, with gold-painted walls or patterned wallpaper. 

A traditional oriental rug can still belong in a contemporary setting if its colors and pattern complement the rest of the room. The mirrors in this bathroom are also inspired by Indian design.

Some Asian accessories, such as blue and white china and chinoiserie, are also at home in a traditional room. Blue and white china pieces were imported to Europe as early as the 15th century. Chinoiserie, a French-term for "Chinese-esque," are traditional decorations that draw inspiration from Asian art. Examples of Chinoiserie include paintings, pottery, textiles, wallpaper, and decorated furniture that depict a fanciful version of China. 

Blue and white china adds refinement to this transitional home in Plano.

A Chinese design philosophy that is sometimes utilized by Western interior designers is feng shui. Feng shui, when applied to interior design, is a very exacting style. Every piece in the room must serve a purpose. The choice in natural materials becomes incredibly important, as wood, water, fire, earth, and metal-- and the furnishings associated with them--create their own distinctive energies. By hiring an expert in feng shui design or studying up on it yourself, you can carefully reconstruct the emotional quality of each room.

How to Incorporate Japanese Influence

If you enjoy modern design, but also appreciate traditional rooms with a sense of culture and history, Japanese design could be the best of both worlds for you.

Japanese-style rooms are often described as having a 'Zen' quality. A Japanese school of Buddhism, Zen teaches that its followers must experience enlightenment for themselves, rather than simply memorize a list of teachings. Living a simple life, experiencing the here-and-now, and disciplined meditation in a calm environment are said to be the path to results.

When it comes to interior design, Zen-inspired rooms usually feature low furniture, natural materials, lots of light, and very little clutter. Common natural materials include stone, bamboo, rattan, earthenware, and dark woods. Designers will often recommend neutral cream and beige for the walls and restricting dark colors to the furniture. Red and black accents-- such as lacquer pieces-- can add a dramatic touch to an otherwise even-toned room. Furniture should also have clean, simple lines, as in modern and contemporary design. Avoid pieces with ornate details and asymmetry. 

Whether you're adding Asian influence to a traditional or a modern home, you don't want to overdo it. Including even just one or two Asian symbols or accessories transforms the entire feel of the room. For example, a Buddha statue brings with it a whole history of cultural and religious associations. Paper lanterns, silk screens, and lacquer jewelry boxes will also immediately give your room an Asian feel for visitors.

Small Buddha figurines are just a few of the multicultural accessories we used in this eclectic downtown Dallas highrise.

Because of this, Asian can be an inexpensive style to emulate. Swapping in red accent pillows, a calligraphy scroll, or a religious icon can all help you achieve the style. A very casual room can still benefit from the surprise and cultural flair East Asian design brings. Try adding potted cherry blossoms or bamboo window shades to bring both nature and an Asian influence to your informal setting.

Tips for Designing an Indian-Inspired Home

If you've ever wanted to incorporate the beauty of Indian patterns and furnishings into your home, here are a few suggestions.

When you think of India, certain colors probably come to mind. India has culturally embraced an abundance of colors, including both jewel and burnt tones. Burnt oranges, terracotta reds, and ochres can all be main colors. If you prefer something more understated, warm neutrals like taupe and sand will work too. Pure white is a color associated with mourning in India, so you will not see cool whites in traditional Indian homes; however, westernized homes will often incorporate warm and creamy whites. 

As for jewel colors like turquoise, green, purple, and magenta, these colors are usually reserved for accents. Common Indian accessories include statues of Buddha or Hindu gods, mirrors with carved or forged frames, and ornaments covered with small pieces of mirror or tile. Don't forget to fill your sofas and beds with lots of colorful embroidered pillows. For a truly traditional Indian look, you should use lamps, sconces, and lanterns for lighting rather than chandeliers.

An Indian room isn't complete without furniture made of exotic woods such as ebony, rosewood, and teak. Antique pieces will feature beautifully intricate carvings, but Indian furniture is not dainty-- these are sturdy pieces meant to last a long time. Seating tends to be low, and a sitting area will often feature an ottoman or pouf. That said, you don't need to buy a whole new set of furniture to get an Indian look.

You can also layer Indian throws, rugs, and textiles over what you already have. Consider using silks or even a sari as a sofa throw. Tablecloths patterned with woodblock prints and bedspreads with beading or metallic thread will immediately bring India to mind. Common Indian patterns for wallpaper and textiles include paisley, floral, swirls, birds, and elephants. 

Regardless of whether you're only including a few Asian accessories, or having a designer redo your whole home according to Zen or feng shui design philosophies, Asian influence will add culture, harmony, and worldliness to your home. Here at Chambers Interiors, our team has a lot of experience sourcing multicultural antiques for homes. To schedule a consultation with us, call Margaret Chambers at 214-232-9501 or email us at info@chambersinteriors.com.

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Wallpaper is Back

There's nothing dated about the metallic, cool gray wallpaper in this home in Plano.

Wallpaper has been making a comeback for the past five years, and interior designers in Dallas predict that it will be more popular than ever this year. If you've spent hours applying or removing wallpaper in the past, you might be wondering why homeowners would choose wallpaper over paint. This is partially thanks to improvements in technology. Wallpapers with vinyl coating will resist the effects of shower steam and are easy to wipe clean. Wallpaper today is also easier to apply and remove without damaging the wall; some kinds are even self-adhesive. That said, hiring a professional to do the job will still save you hours of tedious work.

Wallpaper, despite its drawbacks, has a few clear advantages over paint and faux finishes. Covering your walls with an artistic design can add the elegant touch (for more traditional patterns) or the 'wow' factor (for overscale modern designs) that your interior design needs. Wallpaper is less expensive than other high end materials such as textile fabrics and stone. Simply put, a pattern can do more for your room than a coat of paint alone. The trick is to identify which rooms can benefit from wallpaper, and which patterns work best with each space. Wallpaper is most helpful when it complements the architecture of the room.

Today's wallpapers designs are not what you'd find in your grandmother's kitchen. Visual effects that were difficult to reproduce before can be easily created with modern screen printing techniques. At the same time, hand-printed or painted paper with a personal touch is enjoying new popularity. 

Trendy patterns interior designers are using today include Asian patterns, large geometrics, and traditional patterns like floral and damask in an updated color. Gray wallpaper is the most popular of the neutral colors. Some homeowners buy photorealistic wallpaper that mimics the look of natural materials, such as brick, stone, and wood. While mid-century interior design traditionally features unadorned white walls, fans of this style today are incorporating exciting new wallpaper patterns.

Large rooms and high-ceilinged rooms can feel cozier with wallpaper. Choose soothing colors and patterns so you don't overwhelm. You can also try using vertical stripes in rooms with low ceilings, or horizontal stripes in narrow spaces. If you discover a busy or unusual pattern you love, but are hesitant to commit, try putting it in a small space like a powder room.

For any rooms you spend a lot of time in, pick something you'll love for a long time. Stay away from any colors or patterns that are out of your comfort zone. You should also make sure to complement your wallpaper with painted walls, as a home where every wall is papered can be a turnoff to potential buyers.

If the latest designs in wallpaper today have caught your interest, but the time involved in putting them up makes them a hard sell, consider having a professional install them. An interior designer can work with you to pick out the best designs and the best contractors at the same time.

A subtle, tone-on-tone pattern in this Highland Park, Dallas powder room keeps the wallpaper from overwhelming the small space.

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How to Update a Home with Antiques

There are many reasons Dallas homeowners today love their antiques. Original antiques are usually hand-made with high-quality craftsmanship; with proper care, an antique can last for generations. Antiques also bring their decades, or even centuries, of history into your home. Ask any antique seller about their wares and you'll hear the story behind each piece. And unlike many other used furnishings, an antique will only go up in value over time.

That said, the most popular styles of interior design today are contemporary, modern, and transitional. Rooms are increasingly becoming simple, light, and airy. Some collectors worry that filling their home with antiques can make the space feel too dated. If you've been meaning to update your traditional interior design, here are some tips to help freshen things up.

We incorporated antiques into this University Park bedroom while also using simple drapes, clean lines, and neutral tone-on-tone colors. The result is a room both classical and refreshingly modern.

If you have heavy drapes with ornamented rods in your home, it's probably time for an update. The current trend is to use very simple rods with little ornamentation. Curtains and drapes should be in solid colors or subtle tone-on-tone patterns, with simple trim. Meanwhile, antique upholstery with solid color fabric, or a geometric design, will fit in better than upholstery with a traditional pattern.

An oriental rug with vividly contrasting colors will usually be out of place in a modern home. Roll up your older rugs for now and replace them with sisal rugs, which are popular for their textural quality, or muted oriental rugs.

This sitting room features a sisal rug with a geometric design.

Lamps should have clean silhouettes and simple shades, preferably in white. Lucite bases are also a popular choice for lamps in contemporary design.

White, tan, and gray are common neutral wall colors, but if you prefer color, go with pastel shades. Lacquered walls with bright colors are a bolder new trend, and wallpaper is coming back as well. Make sure to choose a contemporary, graphic print for wallpaper instead of a traditional pattern.

For today's transitional and contemporary homes, decluttering is key. Pare down your collections to your favorite statement items, displaying only one or two on each surface. You can always put away your other collectibles and cycle them back out when the seasons change.

You can highlight the craftsmanship and classic design of your antiques by contrasting them with modern pieces. A brightly colored piece of contemporary art will play off wonderfully against an antique chest, sofa, or mantelpiece beneath it.

This contemporary painting in a downtown Dallas high-rise matches the earth tones of the items and chest of drawers beneath it.

If all of these suggestions make you feel overwhelmed, try looking for inspiration in magazines. Save photos of rooms that combine antiques with modern design, focusing on your favorite elements. Instead of updating one item or area at a time, plan out your overall color scheme for each room. You can then use your color scheme as a guide for picking wall colors, fabrics, accents, art, and rugs.

In this process, you will probably find that you cannot keep all of the antiques in your collection. Hold onto your favorite and most valuable pieces, then store, pass down, or get rid of those that are too dated. You can always reupholster furniture to update its look. Also consider that some styles of antiques will fit in better with modern surroundings than others. Asian, Swedish, and Neoclassical antiques are currently in style, for example.

Even if contemporary and transitional interior design are all the rage, antiques add just as much charm and classical detail to a room today as ever. An experienced designer will know how to incorporate your best antiques into a room, while appealing to modern day design trends.

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