Melissa Is In China!

Guangzhou Design Week Preview! As you read this I am navigating my way through an adventure of three cities in just six days half way around the world. I’m presenting the Top Western Design Trends to architects, developers, designers and homeowners in China. There is a new upper class that is looking beyond their borders for design inspiration and lifestyle. Opportunities abound!

Asian influence is everywhere! We all know the world is shrinking, borders are blurring, and we enjoy the privilege of global influence in all aspects of design. The biggest contributors to hot and now are China, Russia, India, Morocco and Africa. The Asian aesthetic in particular brings a timeless geometry to spaces bringing order to chaos and edgy to what otherwise might be dull. From Oscar De La Renta to Raymond Waites and Thomas O’Brian the effects of thousands of years of design history are front and center today.

Where do your influences come from? I have to say it was funny when the Chinese interviewed me for a feature in Modern Decoration Home. They had researched me well (I am an online presence!) And they questioned why I wore Chinese clothes (my jacket in many pictures has a Chinese collar), why my cats are named Yin and Yang, and why my interiors seemed to have a Chinese influence (this still confuses me as I don’t see it, but they did!) I’d have to say mine comes from a love of good tailoring (the jacket), a constant search for balance (the Yin and the Yang of life), and a delight in an interior that has geometry as a grounding force. Where do your influences come from? How can you share them for greater success?

Prospering by Design, YOURS!

MG