If you love to travel and explore the world, it’s a great opportunity to pick up ideas for some truly unique interior design. Pick up ideas wherever you go and remember to take lots of photographs.
Design and style in other countries will have evolved for many reasons, their traditions, their culture and also their weather. Some styles may not at first glance be easily portable to your home in the UK, but put some thought into it and you may well be able to adapt an idea, or use aspects of it in your own home. For example some friends of mine who live in Spain have an amazing outdoor terrace where they do most of their cooking. Of course it’s totally impractical to have an outdoor kitchen in the UK sadly, even if I had a terrace, which I don’t. But I have used some aspects of their terrace in my indoor kitchen. Mainly the terracotta floor tiles, and lots of potted plants. I couldn’t recreate the whole thing myself but I have managed to get a little of the welcoming relaxed feel of their terrace into my own kitchen.
Once you have it in your mind to spot design ideas, you can get inspiration from anywhere you visit. The relaxed warm colours of the Mediterranean transport well back to the UK to help create homely inviting living areas. Perfect for family kitchens where people gather to chat, eat and relax with a bottle of wine.
Or perhaps you’d like something a little more unusual for your kitchen. How about an American diner style kitchen, with bright blues and reds, chrome edged worktops and banquette seating?
Japan is an amazing country for picking up style ideas. You be able to get some great ideas for your the garden too if you visit some of the many temples and gardens that are all over Japan. Ideas picked up on the bright vibrant streets of Tokyo can be used to create a fabulous teenagers bedroom.
Don’t forget too to buy your accessories while you’re there. Interesting Japanese items will be hard to buy in the UK, and local artwork and handicrafts can be bought very cheaply in the country of origin but once they are imported to the UK the prices rocket when they are being sold in niche ethnic boutiques rather than on a street corner! Pick items you love and you have something to build your room theme around. Using items bought on holiday will help your room be more unique, and will also bring back those happy holiday memories.
Visiting museums and traditional art exhibitions will also help you get to know the history of the place you are visiting and there will be a wealth of style ideas you can pick up from the past. Traditional designs and patterns are timeless.
