The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. » Design

So just what is “chinoiserie” anyways?

Roger — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:06:57 +0000

While trolling around on the net, I came across this very nice blog post from Posh Living which does a wonderful job of explaining what chinoiserie is which is. A main staple amoung designers, chinoiserie design elements in a room are timeless and sophisticated. Since we have talked in the past about how chinoiserie screens are made, their post is a nice addition providing some historical background and is well worth the read.

“What most people don’t realize about Chinoiserie is that the style doesn’t come from China at all. As trade spread around the globe and Europe’s economy matured, more people could afford decorative goods. To keep up with demand for more ornate works, artisans created designs that were pure fantasy. Reading descriptions of Chinese scenes, European designers created their own versions. Often they are whimsical and even silly, and that makes them even more appealing.

“CHINOISERIE is a French word that means “in the Chinese taste”. It describes a European style of decorative ornament that was wildly popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and still looks great today.”

Why Chinoiserie at all? Europeans’ fascination with the Far East began in Marco Polo’s day, in the thirteenth century. At a time when few people traveled the world, exotic goods such as silk fabrics, carpets and porcelain reached Europe via a trading route known as the Silk Road, which carried goods by cart and camel across the entire continent of Asia.

For wealthy Europeans, owning artifacts from the Far East was a status symbol. With these artifacts came stories from the traders of the amazing temples and pagodas they had seen and the strange costumes and appearance of the Oriental people. Cultures from Persia all the way to China were called “Oriental” by the Europeans. They made little effort to distinguish one people from another, and the fanciful designs of Chinoiserie often blend Chinese, Japanese and Persian or Indian elements.”

Have a read of the full post here to learn more:

http://poshsurfside.com/what-is-chinoiserie

and when finished, the wikipedia page on chinoiserie provides some additional background:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

How to find 3d models of Chinese furniture.

Roger — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:52:56 +0000

Here’s a somewhat arcane post, yet one that’s incredibly useful for anyone who is either an interior designer, furniture designer or even just someone redecorating their home with one of the many 3d programs like Google sketchup. Which brings me to the topic of this post: where to find 3d models of Chinese furniture

So, here are a few suggested sites:

Free sites:

http://www.3dmodelfree.com/3dmodel/list425-1.htm

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/

Paid Sites:

http://www.the123d.com/furniture_collections/asian_furniture_kit.html

http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/330344

http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_search.aspx?id_category_0=0&search=Chinese+furniture

Can furniture get drunk? A look at the works of Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei

Roger — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:20:53 +0000

This wouldn’t a proper blog on Chinese furniture and culture without a least a mention of the Chinese contemporary artist Ai Wei Wei, who reinterprets traditional and classical furniture designs in unexpected ways. In one instance, “officials hat chairs” are carved from solid blocks of white marble (and with no joinery I might add). In another, a terra-cotta Han dynasty vase is emblazoned with the logo of Coca Cola. An excellent quote by Geoff Manaugh sums up Ai Wei Wei’s work just nicely!

“For “Grapes”, 2008, Ai partially merged ten stools; they force their way into the others structure, like mutant siblings slowly fusing in the womb. Here, several centuries’ worth of artisan furniture production have been hybridized to form something altogether new. In Ai’s Table with Two Legs on the Wall, 1997, a single table has been folded in half to rear up like a horse and rest its legs against the wall. It is cousins with the centaur: a mythic being trapped between two forms, two competing versions of itself. Another table – “Table with Three Legs”, 2008 – has been turned into a spidery mechanism, a low-tech machine of wood, its legs akimbo and stance slightly askew. Carefully poised, it seems so unsure of itself – yet strangely at ease with its unusual new form. Can furniture get drunk?, one might ask. “Table with Three Legs” offers an answer in its very geometry.”

For more on Ai Wei Wei see: http://phillipsartexpert.com/forums/7/597/ or http://www.phillipsdepury.com/exhibitions.aspx?sn=EXUK1009

Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

Roger — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:52:52 +0000

We have a fair amount of Tibetan painted furniture, though most of it is not genuine Tibetan antique furniture (despite what many claim). Most are either new or vintage, though we do sometimes find real antiques. In general, it tends to be a bit too bright and colorful for my tastes, though nevertheless, Tibetan furniture does have its place and if the designs and motifs are subtle, they make beautiful accent pieces.

A while back we had a few old door panels which went out in a container, and surprise surprise, I stumbled upon our doors, modified into dining tables and coffee tables on the website of J.W Kinsey’s Woodcraft (Cabinetry/custom furniture makers) in Modesto California. Looks like Josh Kinsey did a pretty nice job of both preserving the original items and turning them into something more functional in the home.

He did a nice job of solving the issue of how to mount the door on the frame without modifying it (notice the strut across the bottom of the door) . The table bases seem to work.

The rest of the photos are on their site at:

http://jwkinseyswoodcraft.com/jwkinseys%20woodcraft/projects%20portfolio/Portfolio.html

Dutch designer Maarten Baas in Shanghai: Interesting twists on Chinese traditional furniture designs

Roger — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 07:27:22 +0000

I stumbled upon this rather amusing post on designaddict.com which talks about Maarten Baas’s, recent Jully 2008 exhibition at Contrasts gallery in Shanghai.

While participating in Contrasts’ residency program, which brings Western artists to China to study local artistic and cultural practices, Baas became fascinated with traditional Chinese woodcarving; this exhibition is dominated by the results of this interest. His work pushes the boundaries of this time-honored Chinese craft, while also revealing the designer’s playful imagination.

Needless to say, these are some very interesting interpretations on Chinese furniture. The plastic garden chair in wood is just brilliant.

Personally, I like his smoke series in which wooden furniture has been burned with the remaining charcoal’ed pieces then preserved with a coating of clear epoxy.

Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

Roger — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:50:40 +0000

In this recent gloomy economic climate, it would be nice to add a bit of color and I though sharing some of the neat distressed finishes we have been working on, might brighten up the days a bit.

The hand rubber, distressed finish sky blue hutch adds some pleasantness to the room and may even pass as French Provincial, as does the lemon flavored traditional Chinese stool with a worn down finish for that “clean but aged look.”

Lacquer colors like Popsicle, Cherry Candy, Green Apple and Salty Licorice bring more to mind then just plain old furniture.

French country – Chinese country – whatever it is, its pretty cool. These pieces were on their way to new homes.

Even darker browns and “plain ol” black and white take on a new life with a bit of hand rubbing to add character.

The effect shows just nicely on this unusually shaped Chinese bookcase.

So? Why not brighten up your own rooms?

A look at this years international furniture trade fairs

Roger — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:05:02 +0000

For those furniture importers, wholesalers, trade buyers, interior designers or furniture retailers in the business who were unable to make it to this years Shanghai furniture fair, its worth heading over to our China sourcing blog to see what you missed.

Shabby chic remains a strong look and some of this years other nicer offerings included vintage Italian leather armchairs, upholstered furniture designed in Spain, leather trunks and french country style furniture.

To read the full article click over to
“The latest from Furniture in China 2008 expo“

Integrating Asian style furnishings: Practical ideas from real homes.

Roger — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:14:06 +0000

Any furniture retailer will tell you that, many times the “end all be all” for retail buyers will be just how the item integrates into their home space. Sure, comfort, durability and quality are all top consumer preferences but overall dimensions, depth and height along with usability all have a lot to do with furniture-buying preferences as well. According to High Point Market industry reports, “Foremost, you must understand that the typical furniture buyer is a she, not a he.” Which means “she” is probably not going to spend time attempting to fit a round peg into a square hole (Unlike “he” who will either just hammer it in, or pull out the tools and change the dimensions of the hole).

Sometimes though even the most experienced sales people need some extra help. So what better place the photo sharing site Flickr to see just how real people are integrating items into their homes then on. Unlike glossy magazines like Better Homes and Gardens or ELLE DECOR these homes are real.

There is a article by Jim Green in the furniture industry publication Furniture Today entitled “Knowing Too Much” which touches briefly on this subject.

” A nightstand is a small piece of furniture, with or without doors and drawers, normally placed beside the head of a bed. It provides a surface to set a lamp or place a glass of water, a book, or pair of reading glasses. BUT…a nightstand might not be a nightstand at all. It may, in fact, be a chairside commode. It also may be a telephone table or a stand for a small 20” TV set.

Sometimes showing a piece in a unique way, suggesting a purpose for which it wasn’t originally intended, may give a customer an idea of how to use it at home. Transferring the piece to the clearance area is certainly easier, but in the end, it may sit for quite a while and ultimately be sold for much less.”

So with that said, the following are real examples (take from Flickr) from real photos of peoples homes.

This item was in a store… and they were considering purchase…

A great blend of European and Oriental style

Stools make easy plant stands…

One of my favorite ideas for a rustic farm table.

If you have more examples, please feel free to send them.

Whitewashed, bleached and lime finishes are all the rage in furniture

Roger — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:04:41 +0000

Recently we discussed the popularity of furniture constructed from salvaged materials like this reclaimed elm wood dining table and therefore it should be no surprise that the according to House Beautiful, the whitewashed look along with lightened wood, bleached finishes and limed finishes are growing just as much in popularity as well whether in Asian home furniture or European styles. Known in Chinese as “Shi ni,“ Lime, is a naturally occurring calcium compound which has a wide range of applications and used from livestock products to concrete.

Limed finishes as sometimes also called Cerused or “pickled finishes” and vary depending on the nature of the underlying materials. Reclaimed wood will generally produced a more rustic and “aged look,” whereas new materials will feel a bit neater – even if deliberately antiqued. A look at two sample below illustrates the differences seen in materials. Both have been given a limed finished.

The first board is reclaimed material. The second is new but “antiqued” to look more aged. The difference is even more pronounced when viewing whole pieces. A recent factory visit turned up these two examples. The first is a rustic farm table from ACF China and is constructed using salvaged materials. The second is a rattan chest on a stand from Four Hands and is from new materials. Both have pickled finishes.

Basic materials needed are usually just lime, wax and often some wood stain depending on the desired final color. The process (in brief) tends to be as follows:

In order to enhance the effect, the grain of the wood is exposed sometimes with a wire brush.
The surface is then dusted clean and color then applied is desired.
After any applied color is thoroughly dry, a coat of lime and wax is also applied and hand rubbed into the grain of the wood.
After the lime and wax is dried, any excess is removed and a final top layer of wax is applied.

For a more detailed overview of the process have a look at this page.

Its also worthy to note that limed and bleached finishes are a different then finishing effects achieved using lacquer like this antique sideboard which has a faux limed finish, achieved with white lacquer hand-rubbed into the grain of the wood.

Who is selling whitewashed furniture?
Lets look at a few nice examples.

Warrenton Tea Table from tomlinsonerwinlambeth

Low coffee table constructed from old doors from ACF China

Contemporary entertainment console from bungalowclassic.com.

Better examples? Comment them!

Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods

Roger — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:48:21 +0000

I was in the warehouse the other day looking over some pieces when I was reminded how much reclaimed, recycled and/or renewable materials are definitely a growing trend. A quick Google turns up a range of articles from Reclaimed furniture: Give trees a chance to buzz on various designer blogs. Even Furniture Industry trade publications are recognizing this trend which really started to take off last year. Furniture Today wrote an article entitled “Several sources introduce lines with reclaimed wood.” Another from FurnitureStyle Magazine is called “Las Vegas Furniture Market: Beyond Distressed.”

Reclaimed & salvaged materials are environmentally friendly in that there are no new trees cut down to make the piece. Sources of wood may be old railroad ties, beams from old houses that have been demolished or even old doors. Old elm tends to be a favorite as Elm in fairly common in China. Pine is also an option as well. Other woods are also used like cypress, walnut or beech though these woods are much less common and not available in large quantities.

Since the material has been aged it tends to be more stable then new wood (which must otherwise be kiln dried and chemically treated before it can be made to be stable). In essence, pieces created from salvaged materials are antique in a very unusual way – as the materials themselves have their own story, rather then the finished piece. Finishes are less of an issue to as rather then spend time carefully creating the right distressed finish, the focus is on the already distressed natural appearance of the wood. Construction is typically using the traditional methods of tongue/groove and Chinese joinery.Reclaimed wood furniture tends to fall within either one of following three classifications:

Antique / Vintage: Often these are antique farm items which have simply been given a clean up. In other cases they have been stripped down and their original finish removed. Often traces of the original finish & color remain giving each piece its own unique “hue.”
Salvaged & Rebuilt: Old doors converted into tables tops with bases added are a good example of this. The prime element here is that a good portion of the piece is in fact antique and can be distinguished as so.
New designs from old materials: These are basically new pieces built with primarily reclaimed materials and its for this reason that the line between salvaged and new can become a bit blurry. The dining table below from ACF China Co as well as the “Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands are good example of this. The design on the Horchow table has clearly been updated for the western buyer as the bottom stretcher would not an original feature on a Chinese type of table.

So, where is it reclaimed wood furniture being sold on the web? What are the popular looks?

Here are a few nicer examples:

“Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands

Reclaimed Elm Table from Neiman Marcus.

Blue Wash Console Table from Wisteria

Reclaimed Elm Doorwood Coffee Table

From the The Olde Good Things Webstore. Looks so similar I wonder if it originally came from us?!

RECLAIMED WOOD FURNITURE from GreenTea Designs

The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. » Design

So just what is “chinoiserie” anyways?

How to find 3d models of Chinese furniture.

Can furniture get drunk? A look at the works of Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei

Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

Dutch designer Maarten Baas in Shanghai: Interesting twists on Chinese traditional furniture designs

Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

A look at this years international furniture trade fairs

To read the full article click over to
“The latest from Furniture in China 2008 expo“

Integrating Asian style furnishings: Practical ideas from real homes.

Whitewashed, bleached and lime finishes are all the rage in furniture

Who is selling whitewashed furniture?
Lets look at a few nice examples.

Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods

So, where is it reclaimed wood furniture being sold on the web? What are the popular looks?

“Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands

Reclaimed Elm Table from Neiman Marcus.

Reclaimed Elm Doorwood Coffee Table

Other nice pieces of reclaimed wood furniture out there?

Share them with us! Send them in or post the links here…

The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. » Design

So just what is “chinoiserie” anyways?

How to find 3d models of Chinese furniture.

Can furniture get drunk? A look at the works of Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei

Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

Dutch designer Maarten Baas in Shanghai: Interesting twists on Chinese traditional furniture designs

Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

A look at this years international furniture trade fairs

To read the full article click over to “The latest from Furniture in China 2008 expo“

Integrating Asian style furnishings: Practical ideas from real homes.

Whitewashed, bleached and lime finishes are all the rage in furniture

Who is selling whitewashed furniture? Lets look at a few nice examples.

Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods

So, where is it reclaimed wood furniture being sold on the web? What are the popular looks?

“Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands

Reclaimed Elm Table from Neiman Marcus.

Reclaimed Elm Doorwood Coffee Table

Other nice pieces of reclaimed wood furniture out there?

Share them with us! Send them in or post the links here…

To read the full article click over to
“The latest from Furniture in China 2008 expo“

Who is selling whitewashed furniture?
Lets look at a few nice examples.