Decorating Inspiration From Around the Globe

For those of us who are unable to find time to transport ourselves to distant lands, we can bring the tastes and feels of the orient to our living room. Vivid, spicy reds are reminiscent of Africa, India, and China – use warm wools and soft cottons to offset the glamorous shimmer of silks for a sumptuous and dramatic scene to drift off into everyday after a long hard time in the office.

If you want to keep the look fairly low key, stick to furniture, walls, and floors in plain, subtle shapes and materials. For a contemporary room, for example, white walls and a relatively plain white sofa pair well with a simple metal and marble coffee table. Base this simple base look with a natural wool carpet, creating a neutral background that allows touches of bold color and texture to be seen at their best.

What to go bold at the base? Add color and texture to the floor of the room by using an extremely colorful bright rug with a three-dimensional pile for a subtle detail on a high impact piece. It would be best used in a fairly large, uncluttered room alongside a few bold, ethnic accessories.

Looking for a different option to such a bold move? Try a needlepoint rug in an orange spice color. The stitched surface of a needlepoint rug or the textured surface of a braided area rug is a good alternative to the fluffier texture of the cut pile rug.

Living in an apartment or just looking for something different? Instead of using boring paint on the walls, hang fabric, or wrapped fabric panels, to create depth in the space. Inexpensive silks can be found in diverse neighborhoods in cities. Located too far from the city? Check out local flea markets for interesting fabrics and patterns in vibrant colors. No luck? The internet is a limitless universe and it is very easy to order large amounts of fabric from one dye lot. The benefit of this is that the fabric is all exactly identical in color and pattern.

Add eastern style piles of floor cushions to make a modern and relaxed statement to the space. You can use remnants of those fabulous fabrics you found here and there for the walls and couple them with fresh trimmings: ribbon, raffia, sequins, rows and rows of buttons, and even feathers. Simply link them by color, shape and graduating size. Each cushion can be made from two or more types of contrasting material. Combine sari fabric with natural cottons or red velvet with burlap to create exciting and interesting designs for your floor cushions.

Your choice of accessories will help shape the style of the room, whether they are oriental red lacquer boxes, embossed brass trays from India or wooden African masks hung across the walls.

Additional objects that make all the difference: clear, rectilinear vases, bone white ceramic bowls, and natural fiber details. These basic and simple details allow the vitality of the other objects in the room to take center stage.

Pair with artwork of images from faraway places, statues of African carved gourds and a bonsai tree for good measure and you will have transformed your own living room into your everyday worldly adventure.