A love affair with the East

The latest interiors are inspired by the Orient, and use pattern to create a decorative contrast to minimalism. Hester Lacey reports on the cherry-blossom

Sensual, opulent motifs from the East have long been a rich source of inspiration for Western designers. The Art Deco exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum features some fine examples of Oriental art, lacquer, sculpture and fabric. But you don't need to trek to the V&A to see evidence of the far-reaching influence of the land of the rising sun. Japanese style is a key trend in contemporary interior design, and there are exotic, florally-themed examples in many spring and summer wallpaper and fabric collections.

"Our whole Imari collection was inspired by Japanese art and design," says Anita Raben of Designers Guild. "Tricia Guild travelled to Japan and was impressed by floral painted porcelain, cherry blossom, camellia flowers, kimono design." The Imari collection, she explains, aims to offer a modern interpretation of the Japanese look. "We take something quite traditional and add a contemporary twist. When it comes to florals, it's nice to have something contemporary, rather than pretty-pretty; for example, big, bold prints are more stylish than small prints, and colours are easier to use in bigger patterns. As well as flower patterns, we have beautiful stripes, to make the look more funky, and cotton checks woven on a traditional Japanese handloom."

The current move towards florals is the next stage of a long-term love affair with the Oriental look, according to Elizabeth Ockford, design director at Osborne & Little. "We have had a strong period of minimalism, feng shui, rationalisation, all coming from the East," she says. "Now we are reacting against that plainness and patterns, textures and overlaying are coming back. Highly ornamental wallpapers, for example, are a knee-jerk reaction against the beige room. This is a natural progression, and aesthetically it's very pleasing. There is a beautiful rhythm to Japanese designs, and even though they are highly coloured they are not at all fussy. There is a wealth of fantastic imagery available."

Osborne & Little's Japanese-influenced range is called Sakura. One of its most striking designs, Kabuki, is a print that features hairpins, butterflies, teacups and fans; all the accoutrements of a geisha girl's dressing room. "I wanted to inject some colour, to go back to floral prints and co-ordinating patterns," explains Elizabeth Ockford. "There are smaller designs as well; not everyone wants big and bold." If you want to add an Oriental note without completely redecorating, she suggests adding some cushions in a striking fabric, or making a wall panel by stapling a couple of metres of fabric to a wooden frame.

Gillian Harding is design director for the Imperial Home Decor Group, which includes the Crown, Anaglypta and Shand Kydd ranges. She agrees that the new Japanese theme is part of a move away from minimalism. "This is a good way of reintroducing pattern," she says. "Years ago, everything was very decorative, wallpapers, fabrics, upholstery. Now we have moved towards laminate floors and plain walls, and the kind of pattern that is reappearing at the moment is more pared-down and simplistic. The Japanese are masters of pattern, and if pattern is coming back I think we will continue to look to the East."

A Japanese look can be equally attractive to both contemporary and traditional tastes, says Harding. To get the full effect, she recommends paying close attention to detail. "Throw away your tatty old slippers and get some Japanese mules. Add a single stem of flowers in a lovely vase. Put away your old ornaments and add some new accessories, simple ceramics, perhaps Japanese bowls. Just a few items can really change the whole feel of a room." A cheap way to get the look if you have plain walls is to add panels, she adds. "Ours are printed on worn paper to give texture and an authentic feel, and you can hang them together or separately."

As well as Japanese influences, the rich feel of chinoiserie is also very popular at the moment. The de Gournay company specialises in fabulously exotic Chinese wallpapers, fabrics and porcelain. "To the European mind, the Orient has always spelled fantasy," says de Gournay's creative director Tim Butcher. "When chinoiserie papers were first imported in the 18th century, these exotic glimpses of a distant land were an escape from the everyday." Today's rich florals, says Butcher, are part of a shift back towards ornament. "The spaces and planes of the modern styling we have seen so much of can be cold and impersonal. There seems to be a need for a feeling of richer decoration and comfort, a need which floral pattern has always fulfilled."

Chinoiserie is extremely versatile and sits happily in traditional or modern interiors – but you have to be bold, says Butcher. "When you are working in a large room and want to be dramatic, you take a colour you thought was too bright and then make it much brighter. In a more open environment, the patterns can be used to offset a spare interior by filling just one wall with a riot of pattern, possibly in a monochrome palette so as not to dominate – unless, of course, that's what you want. Juxtaposing open spaces and pattern can be extremely vivid."

And, to add the final touch, bring in some real flowers; peonies, cherry blossom, chrysanthemums. Habitat (which tips the peony as a "star" bloom for this spring), suggest using their range of terrazzo planters and a sheet of glass to "create a coffee table that doubles as an indoor garden", and planting it up with bonsai. If that seems too much like hard work, a single, perfect tulip in a simple vase will do just as well.

Anaglypta (01254 870 838, www.anaglypta.co.uk). Crown Wallcoverings (0800 458 1554, www.crown-wallcoverings.co.uk). De Gournay (020-7823 7316, www.degournay.com). Designers Guild (020 7351 5775, www.designersguild.com). Habitat (0845 601 0740, www.habitat.co.uk).

Osborne & Little (020-7352 1456, www.osborneandlittle.com); Shand Kydd (0800 458 1554, shand-kydd.co.uk).