By Melisa Ng | Jan 27, 2011

Chinese New Year décor tips from the experts

When asked about dressing up the home for the Chinese New Year, the following design experts shared a few common suggestions such as putting up beautiful wall decals which have symbols of luck and prosperity, hanging intricate lanterns, placing red throw pillows on your sofas, and decorating plants such as bamboo and pussy willow with red ribbons. In addition, they also suggested other unique yet easy ideas which you can use at home.

Here are some interesting décor tips on how to get your house ready for the upcoming festivity!

Tan Su Cheng, managing director of PDI Design and Associates
“Well, I rather not touch on the interior but place decorative items around the interior of the home. For table decorations, other than the red table cloth or red table runner, you can also be a little more creative by using gold or red wrapping paper to wrap the oranges or tangerines and place it on the table.

We have many beautifully designed red packets which we can use to form a Chinese motif on the wall. You can also decorate your main door with a red ribbon. I’m a fan of the Chinese cut-out paper designs. I think it’s an attractive piece of art – you can paste it anywhere – on doors or windows.

Another easy tip would be to tie some red ribbons around teapots and cups which you serve to your guests. This would definitely bring out the Chinese New Year mood. You don’t have to spend much and it’s easy to do it yourself.”

Kiat Tung, architect of T&T Architect Associates
“One of my favourite options would be to place red flowers in a transparent glass vase. Flowers denote renewal of life and beginning of another year.

If your house has figurines of horses, you can put a string of money around the horse or on top of it. As the Cantonese saying goes – “Ma Shiong Yau Chien” means “Have money instantly”. This is a Chinese belief for good wealth and prosperity. At the entrance of your home, a beautiful antique dowry chest with a gold nugget on will instantly give it an Oriental feel.

A simple décor tip which doesn’t need much effort would be to put mandarin oranges as a décor. You can place it anywhere around the house – on dining tables, coffee tables, side tables, or even in baskets or on a golden plate.”

Simple yet beautiful decorations: Placing red flowers in a transparent vase, using mandarin oranges as a décor, putting strings of money around horse figurines or even wall decals bearing symbols of luck and prosperity create a festive and joyful mood to the entire home.

Choo Gim Wah, principal of Choo Gim Wah Architect
“I would suggest changing the colour of fabrics around the house such as the curtains, throw pillows and table runners. Also, you can decorate your house with lamps and lanterns – they come in many different colours, shapes and sizes to suit your preference. I would suggest experimenting with a different colour scheme such as gold or pink instead of the clichéd red. You could decorate your house with accents of red in certain areas or walls, instead of the whole house.

For a temporary pop of colour, try a wall decal such as those sold at http://www.decorettestore.com/Chinese-New-Year/View-all-products.html. They have some specially designed for Chinese New Year such as a decal of bamboo, or cherry blossoms, which doesn’t go out of style even after the New Year. If you get bored of it, you can simply peel it off without leaving residue on your walls.”

Joey Goh, interior designer of JGiCONCEPT DESIGN
“I believe that the house should be kept as simple as possible. An oversized art poster of rabbit can be used to signify this year’s Chinese New Year. Having the traditional food baskets on the coffee table will be great for this occasion as it doesn’t clash with the modern contemporary design of the home.

If the colour theme of your house is off-white, bright red is the colour that you wanted to use to create the contrast and to highlight some important areas in your home. Cushion covers, decorative items, posters and curtains are some of the element that can be used and changed with accordance to the festive season.”

Aloysius Chan, head designer of The Arch
“Decorations are always needed when it comes to festivals. However, rule number one when it comes to decorating for festive season is to not overdo. A common mistake is where people put up the blinking colourful lights around their house; one or two dangling from the main door is attractive but too many will not look good.

Another favourite option is to hang red packets on your plants. It will not only present a festive and joyful atmosphere but it also beautifies your house. Some people will hang the red packet just as it is while others might hang too many you could hardly see the plant! (Laughs) For me, I would fold the red packet into a smaller shape and string it up. You could also cut it into unique shapes like lanterns or fish too.

You can also buy floor or table lamps that have red or wood elements. You can also opt for something different: treat your doorframe with an Archithrave (carvings or mouldings on the doordrame). You can add a layer of red coloured paper strips or of different patterns onto the doorframe which can be easily removed. Change your bulb colour into something more interesting like a reflection of red to highlight certain areas to address the festive mood. If you don’t like red, you can choose maroon or other bright colours.”

From left to right: A red table lamp is able to address the festive mood; Brighten up any area of your house with beautiful red and pink flowers; You can be creative by using coloured papers to stick on the oranges; These cute bunnies will definitely bring out the Lunar New Year mood this year.

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