Imagine walking into the drawing room of another era - the mansion of a Vietnamese aristocrat, a palace in the Chinese Hills, a sitting room in old Kyoto. Now imagine this is your home today.

Asian decorating is all the rage. Why not take it a bit further by giving the trend a twist: vintage Asian style.

How to Decorate in Vintage Asian Style

First off, you are going to need some inspiration. Browse the web for beautiful images of yesteryear. You know how to use Google so I won't insult your intelligence, but just to get you started, some helpful keywords are those like "vintage", "retro", "antique", plus geographic names "Asian", "Japanese", "Chinese", "Thai", "Vietnamese", "Shanghai", "Tokyo", etc.

Some of the richest websites for inspiration are the websites of old colonial Asian hotels the Metropole in Hanoi and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. Another great resource is VintageAsian.com, which has lots of vintage Asian decor items, graphic design, music and video clips.

Make a mood board. This is how the professional interior designers do it. You can do this on the computer if you are skilled in graphics programs, or simply print out images and cut them out or take them from magazines and catalogs. Your mood board is just a collection of images that evoke the feeling you want to create in your room.

Mood boards are all about emotion and an overall feel, so no worries about showing what your room will literally look like. You can be very abstract. For example, if you want a tropical Asian feel, you can have photographs of lush jungles and bright flowers. Of course you are not going to turn your living room into a literal jungle, but you may use some of the colors from the flowers as inspiration for fabric choices later, for example.

Where to Source Your Vintage Decor Items

Asian antiques can be expensive! You probably do not have the budget to fill your dining room with Ming Dynasty vases. Luckily, vintage Asian items can be much more affordable.

Etsy is a great source. You will find tons of beautiful items from the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. The search box has an option for "vintage" so be sure to select that as you are embarking on your search for one-of-kind design details.

Reproductions are also easy to find. Vintage posters, especially vintage Asian cinema posters and advertisement prints, are readily available online. This can be a cheap and easy way to add vintage Asian character to a room.

Final Thoughts

Just have fun. Design does not have to be serious. Revel in freedom and creativity. You can meticulously research a point in space and time so that your living room looks just like 1934 Shanghai, or you can use vintage Asian elements in a very contemporary way. Let your decorating express your personality. Best of luck.