No matter how social you are and how much travelling you do, the final destination that you seek is your home. Whether you live in a big mansion or a small apartment, home is a safe place of refuge.
The UK home décor market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% by 2025. Access to multiple and affordable options is the biggest growth driver that compels people to give a new look to their homes.
I personally believe that the space we inhabit should resonate with our personality, style, and preferences. Moreover, the interior décor items you select for your home should be a testament to those who live beneath the roof.
This is where you can give a culturally inspired look to your living space. Culture is an integral part of our lives and can be infused into our home furnishing as well. Possessing artistic pieces and decorating with cultural artefacts is a way to express ties to a specific culture and its beliefs.
But today, giving an old-style touch to homes is a new interior design trend that balances modern and traditional elements.
Eight tips you should follow to add a cultural appeal in your home décor
Don’t know much about interior design? Well, we are here to give you some culturally-inspired secret design tips that will boost the aesthetic appeal of your home.
1. Wall art
The starting point to add cultural influence to your home décor is beautifying your walls with art. You have endless opportunities here. You can hang group framed photos of a cultural trip or use a painting depicting your ancestors.
Many people are fond of retro Chinese wall art, including paintings and artwork that instantly provide a luxurious feel to the environment.
The Chinese dragon has been a symbol of the Chinese arts and crafts. The dragon-based wallpapers and frames offer a rich sense of heritage when they are incorporated in living rooms.
Place a pastel colour sofa just below the black dragon art and uplift the room’s appeal.
It’s not easy to find a perfect piece as a naïve, but once you start, you can become extremely addictive. Plus, you can mix up your different media to enhance your interior design style. Create a collection of posters, magazine covers, paintings, and framed photos.
Wall décor is a free space for you to play with. With wall art, you can instantly inject personality into your interior design and enhance the style ratings without affecting the budget.
2. Create ethnic cushions
Colourful tribal prints and patterns on bedsheets, decorative cushions, and rugs can be a way to pay homage to people belonging to a specific culture. But it is also a great way to emphasize your ties with your ancestors.
Here I am showing you two unique examples to take inspiration from.
In the first picture, you can see Egyptian-style cushions printed with images of Buddha statues placed on a simple chair sofa. You can recall the beauty of the fertile land of Nepal, which is based on warmth, peace, and mindfulness.
In the second image, you can see vibrant colour cushions in a Southwestern style. The traditional colour palette highly resembles the colours of the earth, such. The oranges, yellows, and browns reflect the desert, while the blues and turquoise indicate the sky. These vibrant colours activate the soul as the combination is extremely pleasant to the eyes.
3. Add a wooden swing
There are several types of swings you’ll see in the home décor markets, but a wooden swing goes well with every home setting, be it contemporary or traditional. Adding them is a great way to enhance the value of your rental property.
The wooden swings are found in almost every South Indian and Asian home but have made its place in modern-style homes. Placing an ornamental swing into your living room or garden can add a touch of glamour and artistry.
What could be more relaxing than converting your swing into a comfortable at-home reading nook?
If you are a book lover, you can utilize the swing to create a comfy book nook and take your reading to the next level. Pick a peaceful point in your home and decorate the area with plants, pottery, handicrafts, and lamps to elevate your mood.
4. Add drama to your door with knockers
Door knockers are still more common in England and Italy than any other part of the world. These door hangings came into existence several thousand years ago in Ancient Greece. People back then were a bit conscious about who is visiting them, and it was considered a serious violation of etiquette to enter someone’s place without warning.
Today, we have doorbells, and everybody is comfortable with it. Adding a door knocker doesn’t mean that you have to detach your doorbell. You can have both.
Installing an iron stud known as a door knocker will make your home decorative and functional. You have a great opportunity to add them to your entryway and stand out.
There are many designs that you can find online easily. Most popular ones are stylized with the head of a man, lion, or dragon fitted through a ring and serve as a symbol of protection from the evil eye.
5. Hit the nearby antique market
Designing modern spaces with antique pieces is a successful approach many interior designers and homeowners promote. A lot of times, you find a distinctive ornament that’s such a show-stopper. You have the opportunity to use it as a centrepiece without blending it with other elements- it should make a statement.
Antique stores are an effective source of material culture and storytelling. You can buy brown antique furniture, decorative plates, and Middle Eastern-inspired copper and brass teapots for your home.
You need to do independent research and find vendors and footpath shops around the city selling such copperwork pieces and glowing metals for sale. If you are a dedicated home designer, then you can also check out online auctions that sell hidden gems for true antique lovers.
6. Add heritage furniture
Buying old-style furniture – up to 70 years old – is quite different from buying completely new brass ornaments. The American-style vintage wood tables have continued to be a part of the interior design segment since its inception. They can be a great addition to your living room or kitchen, where you can display your favourite serving pieces.
Chippendale is an American furniture style created by Thomas Chippendale, a cabinet-maker from the 16th century. This dark-coloured wood furniture is characterized by four legs and influenced by Queen Ann and Chinese design, but has been revived multiple times since it became popular.
According to a study by Dissertation Assistance, Chippendale aesthetics are still widely part of modern furniture design and truly represent American history.
7. Create a serene scene
One of the most eclectic ways to incorporate plants into your home is to infuse them with contemporary designs. There are multiple health benefits of indoor plants. Adding greenery into your home design and even outdoor holiday decoration make residents feel calm and relaxed even after an exhausting day.
Fortunately, almost all cultures love natural beauty, but the way indoor plants are placed in homes differ from culture to culture. Check out the Japanese-style interior design, and you’ll see many small wooden or ceramic bowl containing traditional Japenese plants such as bamboo or bonsai.
These bowls are used as an accessory in Japenese homes and offer a cultural touch.
8. Coupling Cultures through décor
It’s not necessary to keep up with a single cultural theme. If you have a partner from a different cultural background, then you have a great opportunity to mix up things and bring attention to more than one culture.
In this case, highlighting artefacts from both cultures is a way to represent the couple in a true sense. It’s also a good way to start a conversation with family and friends how you drew to each other.
Plus, design inspired from two separate cultures becomes a storyline to your family’s history.
Conclusion
Decorating with the cultural factor in mind allows you to express your beliefs and values. With these above-mentioned tips, you can celebrate culture by adding various elements to your home design that define your cultural roots.
Avoid overdoing it as it will make it odd. Make sure you diversify your home décor by injecting culture at specific focal points. Putting too many centrepieces and design elements in one room will diminish the unique appeal of everything.
Author bio
Amanda Jerelyn is currently working as a Blogger at Crowd Writer, a perfect place for students to request to write my dissertation for me at low prices. She is a true environmentalist and actively blogs about interior design tips for commercial and residential spaces. In her free time, she likes to try new food recipes.
1. Wall art
2. Create ethnic cushions
3. Add a wooden swing
5. Hit the nearby antique market
6. Add heritage furniture
7. Create a serene scene
8. Coupling Cultures through décor