Global Inspiration For Modern Home Design

Whether they are breezy seaside dwellings with expansive sea views, or country cottages perched atop hills in misty valleys – these homes encourage you to look at the landscape through them, and bring you closer to nature through their creative trellised pillars and inlayed fashion. Each of them practices creative living through doorways embellished with corbels or jali ironwork as witness on classic Indian furniture.

Global decor is among the most versatile of styles and can be embellished in many ways: layers of textiles, wood accents, earthy colours and patterns for floor cushions or poufs can all be incorporated.

Color Palettes

Greens – blue-greens especially – and earth tones of all kind are the perfect shades for global style. Anything from the tropical rain forests of South America to the sparse desert expanse of the Americas, or the snow-capped mountains and jagged coastline of Scandinavia will work. A natural colour palette will delight.

Different shades of eucalyptus, olive and clover are naturally channelled into home decor ideas for this earthy aesthetic, while warming up wood finishes and rattan furniture can add a balanced touch of neutrals for a pleasing end product.

This look is also conducive to warm climates, and again, brown paint colours work well here, too. Nimbus Gray by Benjamin Moore and Farrow Ball Cromarty are muted tones that look good with both wood and stone accents.

Patterns

Home decor styles have become increasingly influenced by globalisation and an increased ease of travel; contemporary home design draws more cross-cultural influences than ever before into interior design, for example rattan bedroom furniture from Southeast Asia or light-coloured timber from India.

Cultural heritage has also played an important part, whether through evocations of the Japanese mottainai, a sense that one should not waste, or Native American teachings about how ‘waste not, want not’. Moralities about what is good and beautiful – from and in a particular human context – save the planet.

Cultural patterns can not only help cultivate ecologically friendly habits, but also lend modern interiors some visual interest. Caricature may be in vogue today; however, simplified shapes (square, circle) and deliberate asymmetry will accent the modernity of the interior and avoid kitsch. Visual layering can be achieved through decor items with interesting textures, such as woven textiles, rough stone and weathered wood.

Architectural Elements

Modern homes are as defined by their innovation and functionality as they are by their aesthetic appeal. From Scandinavian modern homes to cabin and bungalow homes, home models are as infinite as they are varied and never-ending in their reinvention to meet contemporary living needs.

A modern house has an opened space, a generous glass windows for abundant light and the usage of recycled materials that blend well the bedroom spaces creating an open floor plan, in harmony with the surroundings, to activate or even creating a dimensional landscape painting. Recent strategies have been designed to create a flow between living zones and saving of energy resources.

Minimalist and midcentury modern architecture prioritise functionality and clean lines over ornamentation and maximalism. Modern design embraces multifunctional spaces that serve more than one purpose in the same space.

This is not only true for the practical aspects of local styles. One exciting consequence of globalisation is an eclectic cultural cross-fertilisation of building forms. Classical ornament – in the form of elaborate carvings from colonial furniture or elaborate Islamic tile work – is just one of a range of inspirations, which designers mould into new ideas, for their personal take on traditional styles in an modern age. This is now a wonderful expression of individual styles – an extra layer of personality to go alongside colour combinations, fabrics and furnishings that come together to create characterful spaces.

Focal Points

Focal points provide visual anchors, drawing the eye in and creating a sense of balance in any given room. Focal points may be natural elements like fireplaces and large windows, or designed elements such as an accent wall or statement piece of furniture – they serve both functions well in communicating an overall design scheme while stirring emotional responses from guests.

Globalisation and travel mean that modern home-interiors are receptive to a much wider variety of cultural influences than in previous eras: African textiles and tribal arts; Japanese furnishings and Asian art – homeowners are helping all of it along but, at the same time, they are integrating it too.