Luxury Glam for the Year of the Goat - Decor guru

It is the time of the year again where you will be seeing red (literally) all around.

Yes! Chinese New Year is just around the corner and in commemoration of this celebration, here are some helpful and fun décor tips to help you to create your very own beautifully designed living rooms or spaces.

And to achieve this, we sought help from Malaysia's very own décor guru – Dr Eric Leong, just in case you are seeking for that inspiration to redecorate your homes, in style and in line with the season.

Leong said Chinese New Year décor needs a lot of red and gold ornaments, where red represents celebration which is perpetually vibrant and bright.

The colour red also represents luck for the Chinese all around the globe and in term of Feng Shui, red is a Yang which depicts positive energy.

Gold is as gold can be, representing wealth and richness.

And for this auspicious year of the Wood Goat, according to Leong, décor trend for this year will exude the energy and display of the goat.

According to the Chinese zodiac, the goat is a harmonious creature, hence, you will see a lot of fresh cherry blossom decor, accompanied by dangling gold and red ornaments. Leong calls it Luxury Glam.

He has also listed out some do’s and don’ts for Chinese New Year décor

• Arrange ornaments in pairs as Chinese believe good things come in twos or pairs or even numbers ie: 2, 4, 6, 8, especially the number 8 as 8 also represents the abundant of wealth.

• Put out red money packet (angpow) filled with money or coin as for Chinese believes empty angpow represent the homeowner is poor.

• Use the colour of “happiness” or “yang” such as red, oranges, yellow and pink ornaments as all these colours represent the “positive energy” which is believed to foster good luck to the family for the entire year.

• Have fresh flowers to represent the arrival of spring. It is believed that this can create fresh energy for the house. Popular fresh flower for Chinese New Year is cherry blossom and chrysanthemum. Avoid white flower for it represents death and bad luck.

• Try to avoid sharp edges ornaments, as sharp edges will create bad or negative energy for the family.

• Display round edges or rounded ornaments to promote good energy in the house. Chinese also believe that Chinese New Year is the time for reunion and rounded, non-sharp objects depict and further foster harmony in the family.

• Mandarin oranges are one of the MUST HAVES item to be put out for everybody to see during Chinese New Year. It represents wealth and happiness and are usually arranged on a tray. When visiting friends and families, bring two or more mandarin oranges as a symbol of wealth wishes. The same goes with potted lime tree.

• The animal sign of the particular year of the Chinese calendar like the goat for 2015, should be posted up or hung in homes for good and better luck for the entire year.

When asked about his most nostalgic Chinese New Year moments, Leong who was born in Kluang and raised in Johor Bahru said that he misses the excitement of cleaning up the house with family members, “dressing up” the house with ornate décor especially the week before Chinese New Year.

“We used to use angpow to create the display ornaments but for this modern time we just buy those ornaments from the store instead of making them,” said Leong.

Leong who is famously known as Malaysia’s lifestyle guru is currently the Principal of The One Academy Penang (TOAP). He also heads the Interior Design School in TOA Sunway & TOA Penang as well as the Head of Interior Architecture & Design School in TOA Sunway.

An author, columnist, international speaker and product ambassador, Leong has coined the tagline Bold & Stylish which illustrates not just his flair and style of interior designing but also his persona.

With over 20 years of experience and passion in the design industry, Leong has come a long way from his debut on Casa Impian, a home décor make-over TV show in 2001 which was hugely popular nationwide.