Millennials' yen for a room of fine furniture

New homeowners eschew traditional aesthetics to go for more simplistic, lighter, western designs and brands from Japan

The preference of Chinese millennials for fine furniture has brought opportunities for interior designers and premium furniture brands, especially those coming from northern Europe.

As those born in the 1980s and 1990s get their hands on their first houses, the market has seen a seminal shift in taste. It has gone from predominantly traditional Chinese aesthetics - featuring heavy wooden furniture and dark-red floors made of expensive, sometime rare woods - to simplistic western styles.