With origins in countries as diverse as Japan, Bali, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, an Asian aesthetic has taken root in the West. Many of the world's leading designers such as John Pawson, Christian Liaigre, and Anouska Hempel have been drawn to it, sharing a desire to create interiors with a sense of harmony and balance and reflecting the East's use of natural materials. You'll find fresh, distinctive decorating inspiration for indoors and out in the contemporary home, drawing out the fascinating link between materials and design, as well as the cultural and spiritual dimensions that underpin Asian thought. Appropriate for today's softened minimalism, the interiors are unified by a less is more philosophy, in which the use of wood, ceramics, natural fibers, stone, and water are stunningly showcased.