You don’t need to visit China or even a Chinese furninshings store in order to lend a little Asian flair to your home.

Remember that among the basics of Asian interior design is the removal of clutter and a focus on natural, earthy colors.

Whether you’re decorating your living room, litchen or bedroom in an Asian style, you’ll want it to evoke balance, harmony and tranquillity. You’ll want it to have a natural feel, to promote peace and make your living space a peaceful respite from your busy life.

Focusing specifically on colors, textures, and imagery from China and Japan, Asian Style: Creative Ideas for Enhancing Your Space presents a new look into stylistic elements that are often hundreds of years old. Covering texture, materials, architecture, and decoration, you'll find many pages of beautiful inspiration and historical detail.

Try incorporating materials like wood, metal and stone into your décor and choose those that are roughly hewn, rather than processed and finished.

Mix that with muted colors and textured fabrics and wall coverings. Texture is particularly important in Asian room design, since strong colors are generally absent.

So try finishing your walls in rough plaster, using an interesting grain on your hardwood floor and decorating with objects like woven baskets and loomed fabric wall hangings.

Highlight your textures with recessed lighting that provide just enough glow to give the room a naturalistic mood.

Asian Elements: Natural Balance in Eastern Design presents a sumptuous assortment of oriental textures and accents. The perfect choice for devotees of the austere oriental aesthetic, its presentation is divided along the lines of the five elements: earth (gardens, clay, stone), air (space, light, flow), fire (kitchens, metal, glass), water (bathrooms, waterside homes), and wood (furniture, textiles).

Hide even the most functional of your electronics and accessories, as they can seriously detract from the natural look of the room. Use the previously mentioned baskets and other containers to hold things like TV remote controls and magazines.

When displaying trinkets and collectibles, opt for those with an Asian theme and use them sparingly – remember that the key to Asian décor is to remove clutter, not replace it with “Oriental” clutter.

Try functional art like fountains that evoke serenity, rocks spread in a corner, or a small bamboo plant.

You might also try using bamboo to frame a favorite photograph or a mirror, or strapping a few rods together and making an interesting show curtain rod for your bathroom.

The 36 different spaces displayed in China Style, brilliantly photographed in New York, London, California, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore, have "China" written all over them. It shows how to look at design with balance, order, and harmony valued above all else, and gives tips on achieving a China-style look in your home.

Remember that Asian room design focuses on clean, horizontal lines, so avoid using a lot of moulding or décor that obscures the horizontal “flow” of the room.