Wall Decor and Buddha Statues for Asian Decor

Decorating our homes and apartments with statues or wall decor from around the World, especially the exotic and beautiful possibilities from Asia, is both inspiring and calming.  We need to let loose of our multi-tasking and relax in our habitats.  This can be aided by carefully adding artistic decor such as Eastern Religion statues and wall reliefs.  These can include bronze statues of Hindu buddhas, foo dogs which protected ancient civilizations, or representations of the Wheel of Life.  We need to escape the hustle and bustle of our daily lives  in order to reenergize our bodies and minds  and refocus our energies. Using Buddha wall reliefs, or more specifically Hindu or Thai Buddha wall reliefs, as invigorating home decorations for our walls and tables, we can regain the energies that we need to be peaceful and compassionate in our World.

Add Personality to your Home Decor

In choosing home décor accessories, mixing and matching textures, materials, and finishes can add visual interest and personality to your room.  Accents such as magazine tables, stools, and side tables of innovative materials and designs can greatly enhance your overall décor.  By carefully selecting small items such as wall mirrors, lamps, clocks, rugs, pillows and even bookends in shapes and styles that express your personality or interests, you will create a space in which your guests will want to linger.  Even your choice of telephones and accessories such as storage step stools or trunks helps to create a decorative style uniquely your own.

Choosing a Buddha Statue

When you are shopping for Buddha statues to accent your home or office, be sure to purchase them from a company that markets the statues in accordance with the principles and practices of Fair Trade.  Be sure that quality control is strictly monitored and that the company is a professional organization using profits to help the artisans maintain their traditional skills.  Buddha statues often come from villiage communities all over the countryside of Thailand.  There are many hand-carved, beautiful Buddha statues available for your selection that will artistically, historically, or spiritually enhance your home or office.

Large Buddha Statues to Grace Your Foyer

Mandalay did not grow from a smaller settlement, although a small village Hti Baunga did exist nearby. Mandalay was set up in an empty area at the foot of the 775 ft high Mandalay Hill. According to a prophecy made by the Buddha, in that exact place a great city, a metropolis of Buddhism, would come into existence on the occasion of the 2400th jubilee of Buddhism. Allegedly this is precisely what happened. This intriguing history comes to life when using Buddha statues as decorative items in the home. Large, elegant, and beautifully finished hand-carved statues depict either a traditional standing pose or a reclining Buddha in sublime repose. These works of art can add the perfect dramatic touch to your foyer.

Sitting Buddha Statues

Buddha statues have become a very popular decorative piece among designers today.  In the classical Mandalay style, Buddha is often displayed as seated in vajrasana (a Yoga posture designed to remove drowsiness, strengthen the spine, help digestion, and enhance meditation) with the right hand in the bhumisparsa mudra and the left lying in the lap. The uttarasanga (the upper robe of the Buddhist monastic garment, the “triple robe” or tricivara) is worn in the open mode and the sanghati (the outer robe of this garment) is folded decoratively on the left shoulder.  The Mandalay style of Buddhist statue was developed towards the end of the eighteenth or in the early nineteenth century. Mandalay was the last capital (1860–1885) of the last independent Burmese Kingdom before annexation by the British after the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. 

Decorating with Japanese Buddha Statues

Although, during the 6th Century, Buddhism was welcomed by the ruling nobles as Japan’s new state religion, it did not initially spread among the common people due to its complex theories. During the Nara Period of the 8th century, the great Buddhist monasteries in the capital city of Nara, such as Todaiji, gained strong political influence. This problem of politically ambitious and militant monasteries remained a main issue for the governments over many centuries of Japanese history. A Japanese Buddha statue used as a decorative accent or as the main focal point takes one back to those turbulent times.

The Majesty and Mystery of Thai Buddha Statues

Theravada Buddhism has been the predominant religion in Thailand since early recorded history. For over 2500 years the people of Thailand have followed the peaceful and self-reflective teachings of the Buddha, or “Dharma.”  These teachings evolved directly out of the “dharma” of Hinduism, which in that context is “the way things work”. They inform all parts of the society within the kingdom, uniting the Thai people into a harmonious whole.  The Buddha’s air of majesty and mystery can be captured to enhance your home decor in an expertly crafted statue.

Knight Figurines

Many home decorators are featuring statues of knights in armor as accent pieces.  The education of a future knight began very early with lessons in courtesy and manners at home.  By the age of seven or eight, he would be sent away to serve as a page in the king’s household.  There he would learn cleanliness, religion, singing, dancing, playing an instrument, battling techniques, and sometimes reading.  His duties as a squire included the care of the horses, equipment, and armor of the knight who was his master.  The knight was his tutor and the squire was expected to accompany him into battle.  When the squire’s training was judged to be complete, he could finally become a knight himself. 

Knight Statues for the Home

A pewter helmet, covering the whole head with just a slit for the eyes, conjures up images of chivalrous Medieval knights on gallant steeds who were brave in battle, always loyal, and ever ready to sacrifice themselves for God and their kings. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, knights were often poor; however, over time they became wealthier land-owners. Eventually, in order to hold this position, a man had to be nobility, meaning that either his father or grandfather had also been a knight. Even though they were the highest of class, they were still bound by the Code of Chivalry, the pact that every knight had to live by. It promoted courtesy, generosity, compassion, and most importantly, loyalty.

Match a Mirror

Plastic framed mirrors in vivid colors make great decorative bedroom accents that can be matched to your child’s bedroom theme.  If you are decorating your daughter’s room with a princess theme, a purple or pink crown-shaped mirror is a functional accent piece.  Or for your budding movie star, hang a silver, green, or blue star mirror on her wall.  Your child can be on television when he or she peers into a TV wall mirror complete with antennae and knobs.  Make your child’s bedroom into a fun and special place by decorating with colorful accents.