Paper lanterns, Oriental-style paintings, cheongsam – in red and gold -- take you to the Shanghai of the 1920s for the Chinese New Year celebrations.

The festive atmosphere starts a week before the Chinese New Year celebrations on Feb. 3 and traditionally last for 22 days, ending with the Cap Go Meh’s festival on the 15th day.

The celebration moment has inspired 12 interior designers to put a touch of festivity into homes and offices, as shown in their recent showcase at the Elite Grahacipta gallery in the Kebayoran Baru area, South Jakarta.

The designers are Agam Riadi, Anita Boentarman, Ary Juwono, Eko Priharseno, Fifi Fimandjaja, Hendramianto Syamsulhadi, Joke Roos, Prasetyo Budhi, Reza Wahjudi, Roland Adam, Shirley Gouw and Yuni Jie.

Call them bold, cool, fresh, elegant, classic, modern or even crazy. The designers brought in world-famous collections for the showcase, resulting in breathtaking dining rooms, living rooms, bedrooms, libraries and studies.

For the showcase, the designers were thinking outside the box, escaping the common ground and creatively applying certain designs to decorate the rooms.

Designers Hendramianto and Joke confidently put a 48-lamp Baccarat chandelier as the center point of a living room. The sparkling chandelier was set some 60 cm above the floor – allowing people to admire the crystals up close, not from afar as they were used to.

“This is probably only a display, but applying this interior idea to our house is actually doable,” Hendramianto says.

Young designer Agam Riadi presented a cheerful and stylish dining room arrangement for his work, titled “Shanghai Roaring 20s”.

A wall-sized painting of gorgeous ladies in classic cheongsam was a stunning backdrop for the dining room.

The joyful ambience of the Chinese New Year, which traditionally welcomes spring, was elegantly conveyed through the arrangement of tall foursquare vases filled with light green and yellow flowers, as well as the green cups of the chandelier.

“The lifestyle in Shanghai in the 1920s was very glamorous. That is why I set a bright and cheerful dining room for the elite people,” Agam says.

None would likely believe that such a beautiful backdrop painting was a reproduction of a poster he found in a Shanghai flea market.

“The ladies in the poster were said to be celebrities wearing the latest cheongsam design, which later became world-famous,” Agam says.

In another dining room, designer Ary Juwono changed the chandelier’s original black cups into elegant red. He contrasted the black chandelier with two red and yellow paintings of women wearing cheongsam, resulting in an ethnic and romantic atmosphere.

Ary said that to get the Chinese New Year ambience, homeowners did not have to completely change their interiors. He suggested they rather pay attention to decorative elements instead.

For instance, if homeowners wanted to decorate their walls, he urged them to use big paintings with Chinese dress or a reproduction of an oriental poster to serve as a center point.

If their crystal chandelier did not feature cups, hanging some tassels would become a smart option, he added.

“Focus on areas where guests will spend their time, for example, the dining room or the living room. There is no need to touch up the entire house, it’s too much.”

Ary said the simplest and most effective way to give a new touch to a room, such as in hotels and restaurants, is through flower arrangements. And if there is room in the budget, the management could change the pillow covers on the couches.

For the showcase, Eko and Reza collaborated to create a contemporary yet playful living room arrangement by drawing form many classic interior styles.

They combined strong and soft elements to match the personality of a dynamic male owner who lives the city life.

The base colors were black and crème, which were applied in the hand-made fiberglass wall decorations, furniture and parts of the chandelier.

The floor was decorated by many stickers depicting an upside down Fu Chinese character, which was expected to bring prosperity to the homeowner.  

Eko said that those who wanted to organize parties in their apartments or houses should go for decorations that last for a long time.

He said hanging white paper lanterns at different levels and sizes on the ceiling would give an elegant touch that could be enjoyed even after the Lunar New Year festivity is over.

Another option is to adorn a room with a high ceiling with Chinese umbrellas hung upside down. Transparent umbrellas could also be used as lampshades to change the room’s atmosphere.

“These two tools [the lanterns and the umbrellas] are very efficient and can be used again and again,” said Eko, adding that rabbit-shaped pillows could also serve the purpose.
Batik was not left out in the showcase.

Designer Roland Adam’s bedroom took “Chinese Blues” as its theme, which was reflected in the blue-and-white flowery Parang Kencana batik adorning parts of the white walls.

“Basically, I want to use batik. Besides, blue and white colors are also dominant in Chinese culture,” says Roland, smiling when revealing that the batik was actually a table cloth wrapped onto a piece of sponge.

With the festive spirit still in the air, smart decorations that last the whole year around or more will spread wishes for better fortune and prosperity. Happy New Year!

— Photos by JP/P.J. Leo

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