The intrigue of the East, with its unique cultures, architecture, art and crafts, has fostered a taste for furniture, textiles and ceramics of Asian origin.
Since the 18th Century, cabinet-makers in England, France, Italy and the United States have interpreted furniture from the East, incorporating such elements as bracket feet, pagoda crowns and fretwork.
Chinese Chippendale and glazed chintz fabrics printed with Asian bird-and-flower motifs, in fact, were so embraced by the Brits that they’ve been happily assimilated into English style. And chinoiserie, the highly decorated lacquered furniture characterized by paintings of intricate Eastern landscapes or figures, Japanese blue-and-white porcelains, and the shade of Chinese red have been incorporated into the finest traditional decor.
As a pure furnishings style, the Japanese principles of order reflected by a concept known as shibui, the idea of simplicity and understatement, have drawn a following of minimalist designers. Admired for the same reasons as Shaker furnishings, for spareness and clean lines, classic Japanese style is a statement of modernity.
But there’s such diversity within Japan, China and Korea, as well as India and Indonesia, that many of those countries’ traditional designs have not been fully explored.
That fact, along with two current trends in home furnishings, signal a new appreciation for Asian style.
A desire for something different has triggered one trend, a taste for ethnic furnishings and accessories, according to Michelle Lamb, editor of The Trend Curve, an industry newsletter published in Minneapolis twice a year.
“There’s also a return to formality,” said Lamb, addressing the second trend. “When we see that, we see an increase in shine, lacquer and chinoiserie.”
Formality, however, needn’t be translated as shiny, dripping with decoration or too dressed up. Milling Road, a furniture company noted for innovation, demonstrated that with the introduction of a handsome collection called Asia last October at the High Point, N.C., furniture market.
The Asia collection, which numbers 20 pieces taken from Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, (East) Indian and Indonesian examples, explores the more subdued, rustic looks inspired by antiques crafted from pine and teak.
Simplicity and strength
One such design is a striking pine Korean altar chest adapted from an 18th Century piece. The low-slung chest, 24 inches tall, 56 inches wide and 16 inches deep, has a framed top with beveled edges and sits on square straight legs ending in stylized hoofed feet. Two long drawers are adorned with handmade iron hardware.
The simplicity and purity of the chest’s design and the strength of its scale and proportions add enormous appeal. The chest, which retails for $2,253, could move from the foyer to almost any room of the house, adding a mellow but elegant note.
The same appealing combination of rough-hewn with refined is reflected in a cabinet-on-stand, which in form has the familiarity of an armoire.
Inspired by a 19th Century pine piece from Thailand, the cabinet is slanted or canted from top to bottom and from front to back. It’s adorned with a molded cornice and a carved stylized floral frieze that’s typical of Thai design. Its base is heavily molded and its legs also are canted. Brackets are crudely shaped, and mounts are made of steel and brass.
The cabinet’s light color makes it as decor-versatile as other pine pieces that suit country living so well. With hints of embellishment marked by carving and metal work, there’s enough detail to allow a wide range of mixing with furniture styles, from traditional to contemporary and even as a counterpoint to more formal.
Good mixers
Practicality also distinguishes the original piece, designed in two parts for easy mobility. This feature remains attractive today, where break-down allows a tall piece accessibility in tight spaces. Further, the interior has been updated for the 1990s, designed for entertainment use with stationary and adjustable shelves, lower trays and wiring for electronics. The piece measures 52 inches wide by 22 inches deep by 70 inches high and retails for $6,082.
“One of the reasons Oriental furniture has been collected,” said John Black, design director for Milling Road, “is that it’s simple and straightforward. Classic forms go with classic forms, from High Georgian traditional to very clean-lined modern pieces. And the warmth of woods brings a sense of comfort to what could be hard-edged.”
Among Asian collectibles, antique bamboo furniture is highly coveted. Much of the good-quality bamboo was imported from Japan. Today, bamboo and bamboo-style furniture comes from a variety of sources. Chairs, tables and etageres are especially sought as accents, and many of the designs have been adapted from antiques.
A vintage desk seen by a Pennsylvania House designer in a shop in England, for example, shaped his plan for a half-round desk with drop leaves. Part of the P.S. Collection, the wicker desk, which looks like it’s edged in bamboo, actually is constructed of solid pine and pine veneers. The writing surface is leather. The designer thought the desk’s style and materials would suit a range of interiors.
In addition to one middle drawer, the curved secretary boxes contain a drawer and four pigeonholes; they’re removable, should you need more work surface. The desk sells for $2,550.
A borrowed feeling
The Asian-English connection style also is hinted at in a collection of fabrics and wall coverings from Osborne & Little. Its Voyage collection features lattice designs, large-scaled florals, a detailed gazebo, Asian landscapes and Eastern maps.
One pattern, though Eastern in feeling, takes its shape from the designer’s view of cut hedges in an English garden.
Displayed on wall covering in muted shades of coral and biscuit, the pattern reads as a geometric, with stylized crosses and squares interlinked. The Box Parterre wallpaper pattern in that color sells for about $84 a roll. Pictured as a backdrop for a bamboo-trimmed maple desk topped with a classic covered ginger jar decorated with persimmon and gold butterflies, the mood is distinctly Eastern.
A companion fabric also is available, and the warmth and sophistication of the colors and pattern give it strength standing alone or used together.
The use of color and pattern also is a wonderful foil for the more casual and scrubbed hand-honed finishes. Introduced in textiles or in furniture, the pattern can be dramatic in an otherwise neutral setting.
Imagine the impact, for example, of a black-legged tray table with a red top in a cream-colored room with monochromatic furnishings. Brunschwig & Fils’ Spring 1995 furniture introductions included a table with a slightly scalloped shell tray on a faux bamboo base.
The tray top, which has a deep red base with a band of dark brown or black decorated with autumn leaves, is highlighted in ochre gold paint. At the corners are stylized shells that look like coral. The base is finished in a bronzed patina.
The table stands 32 inches tall, and the top measures 22 by 16 3/4 inches. Priced separately, the tray sells for $1,750 and the base for $1,395.
A new take on chinoiserie
One of the best examples of chinoiserie is a piece that shows how the Italians interpreted the lacquering technique. Patterned after a magnificent Venetian secretary of the 18th Century, Baker Furniture reproduced the piece in faithful detail in maple solids, lacquered in red with intricate incising.
The upper section has a raised crown rail and a pair of curvaceous doors that open to reveal pigeonholes, fitted drawers, vertical shelves and writing surface. The secretary stands on shaped bracket feet edged in gilt. Its retail price is $19,854.
If you like the look of such highly detailed motifs, you might consider fabric, which can make an impact but less of a dent in your budget.
Last spring, Brunschwig & Fils launched a collection of fabrics and wall coverings that evoke the tradition of ancient Japan. The inspiration is Japanese art and culture: the subtle nuances of haiku verse; the resplendent patterns of the kimono; and the charming landscape of the traditional tea garden.
Its Tea House cotton print, for example, was taken from a Tsutsugaki textile, a traditional Japanese “resist-print” technique in which the design was hand-drawn. Against the backdrop of temples and trees, rivers and bridges, the tea house and tea garden are depicted, as well as the utensils of the ritual itself.
The 54-inch-wide cotton print has a 30-inch repeat and sells for $36 a yard. Combined with solid colors, especially neutrals, the pattern can be quite dynamic, used to upholster a chair or ottoman, as a bedspread, drapes or pillow.
A broader base
The desire for Asian motifs has always been addressed in textiles. But the last time there was a significant showing of Asian-style furniture at the mass market was in the ’70s when several furniture companies, such as Century, introduced complete collections (its Chin Hua group still is being produced.) Then there were dozens of examples of gilt-on-black or brown chinoiserie cocktail tables, dining sets and bars.
Today’s streamlined cabinets, with their simple proportions and ideal scale, and ornamental painted pieces along with richly brocaded and embroidered fabrics from the East, team in a backdrop of color to broaden the base of Asian style.
John Black expects that Milling Road can add to the Asia collection for some time and that other manufacturers can share the wealth of prototypes.
“There’s a sense of history that people appreciate,” said Black. “Some pieces that are hundreds of years old look as if they could have been crafted today. That’s the real definition of the word classic.”
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Sources: Baker Furniture, 800-592-2537, or through architects and designers at the Merchandise Mart at 312-337-7144.
Brunschwig & Fils, 914-684-5800, or through architects and designers at the Merchandise Mart at 800-621-8244.
Geiger Brickel International, 300 W. Hubbard St., 312-644-1551.
Kevin Kopil Furniture Design, available at Sawbridge Studios, 406 N. Clark St., 312-828-0055.
Milling Road Furniture, 910-885-1800, or through architects and designers at the Merchandise Mart at 312-337-7144.
Osborne & Little, 203-359-1500, or through architects and designers at the Merchandise Mart at 312-467-0913.
Pennsylvania House, 717-523-1285.
