Millions around the world will be celebrating the Chinese New Year, and 2012 represents the year of the dragon. What better way to get in tune with this than to add an Asian influence to your bathroom? Below, we cover some tips on how to decorate your Asian inspired bathroom.

Inspired by Nature

Getting an Asian influence ultimately depends on introducing a natural theme to your bathroom. A great way is to introduce green colours into the bathroom, and what better way to do this than via leaves? Use a stencil to paint an array of leaves onto the wall, or choose a fitting (such as a window blind or wall photo) in rich green or blue.

The year of the Dragon is inspired by elegant and mysterious black, dark blue and rich blue green tones. So don’t limit yourself, as the stencil can also be used to decorate the wall with Asian symbols. Remember, when adding symbols, dark colours are best suited, so ensure to keep all walls and tiles in pale tone.

Bamboo

Any exposed wood fittings also fit well with an Asian theme. Raw bamboo shoots can be added to any bathroom accessory. You can also get creative, and hang long bamboo from the ceiling to make a distinction between the shower area and the basin and toilet, or to cover an area of storage.
On wooden furniture, avoid any lacquered finishes and steer towards fittings which have a deep wood grain; to highlight the grain, paint all fittings with a good quality varnish.

Plants

All plants are essential to complete the theme, and a few soothing orchids perched above the basin would provide a complimentary finishing touch.

Khana Counter Top Basin, from BathEmpire

Don’t avoid the modern!

The Zen influence isn’t really conveyed through contemporary, ultra-chic units and shiny chrome – although including a few of these pieces in the final bathroom will not spoil the theme. The Khana counter top basin (left) from BathEmpire is ideal.

Counter top basins feature heavily in any Asian inspired bathroom, and you should always opt for a curved design and avoid harsh edges. There is no reason why you cannot add a chrome basin mixer tap to complement this bathroom basin, as long as all the essential design principles discussed are maintained.

Photo Credit: Nikisublime, Flickr.

Alot of you expressed an interest in this room, so I spoke to Tom Pickford at Surface View to find out more about their very unique product.

BE: I’ve tried to describe your products as sitting somewhere between paintings and wallpaper. How do you describe what you do?

SV: I like the succinct explanation that you’ve given, but we do offer alot more I hope. The ‘big idea’ behind Surface View is to bring dramatic imagery into interior graphics. Bespoke Murals, Canvas Prints and Roller blinds were quickly added to with Ceramic Tiles, Formica laminates and Glazing Films. All of which are available to be produced with the images we have sourced for our collections.

BE: Who are your products for?

SV: The products are for anyone really. We have a relationship with clients in the retail and trade sectors. The standard website products have been designed to allow customers to deal with the process themselves whilst maintaining the high quality product you would expect from an Interior Design Service.

BE: What designs are most popular at the moment?

SV: The new ‘Vintage Maps’ collection has only just been launched and has already proved very popular. Ongoing favourites include ‘Lady of the Orient’ from Hemingway’s Land of Lost Content collection, Stubbs’ Whistlejacket from the National Gallery as well as almost any of the Botanical range from our V&A collection.

BE: What’s been your most unusual project?

SV: Our projects are quite varied, but that’s due to the range of products that we can offer. So we can’t really call any unusual. From applying murals to the new Boscombe beach huts to adding the finishing touches to the entire Maternity Ward at Birmingham City Hospital, we usually have a solution for our clients.

BE: How are your products fitted?

SV: Depends on the products, but our murals are wet pasted just like conventional wallpaper, Canvas prints are hung on flush mount fixings as you may expect, and ceramic tiles are grouted in place. There’s no big secret to it I’m afraid.

BE: What advice do you give customers before they buy?

SV: Just to consider the options that we offer. There usually is an obvious solution to your graphic requirements but choosing the right image is up to the customer. We can advise, but it’s a personal choice really. On the technical side, re-check your measurements and make sure you can get that 3 x 3m canvas print through the front door.

BE: What question do you wish I had asked?

SV: I’m not sure, but we’re exhibiting at 100% Design (H74 : 23rd – 26th September) and Decorex (A26 : 26th – 29th September) this year, so would welcome people to the stands there. The launch of new collections and new products should be an exciting reason to visit.

So, there we have it! Personally I can’t think of a more original and stylish way to set off one of our mixer showers, than with a backdrop from Surface View. We strongly recommend you visit their inspirational website at surfaceview.co.uk