Chinoiserie decorating style is a timeless take on the exotic to suit any style. This romantic form of decoration is famous for captivating entire rooms with its presence and dreamy decorations, Chinoiserie is intriguing, alluring, playful, and glamorous, it has that special something, that invites closer inspection. And it is no passing fad. Popular since the cultures of Europe and Asia first began to fraternize centuries ago, chinoiserie still holds court today.

`Chinoiserie’ an interiors style that emerged in 1700s, it was a portrayal by explorers like Marco Polo of an intriguing and romantic fantasy land called Cathay. Where fiery dragons moved amidst palaces and pagodas that were inhabited by exquisite concubines and moustachioed mandarins . The legends of splendour and adventure fired the Euroepean imagination, creating a fascination for all things Chinese and a insatiable demand for vestiges of life in that mystic land.


Trade between East and West had always been sporadic, the land of Cathay was largely presumed to be a myth rather than a reality. When the port city of Canton opened to the West in the 17th century, merchant adventurers returned with cargoes of porcelain, silk, lacquer, tea and the promise of more resplendent goods to come. The growing demand led European craftsmen to attempt their own imitations of Chinese decorative styles, using any motif culled from the East whether it was Chinese or not. As more envoys visited Asia, greater authenticity did become possible but fantasy seemed to be more appealing to the European taste.


The French became devoted to the Chinese style, dubbing it `Chinoiserie’ which led to its popularity in other parts of Europe. The style `Chinoiserie’ is derived from `chinois’ the French for Chinese, it is a style that has been inspired by art and design from China, Japan and other Asian countries.