How might we expect the inside of Buck Pal to look? What might we anticipate to find inside a British country home? What can we take away from being pleasantly surprised at what we find inside buildings from around the world? Here, we look at some interior design strategies that work outside of their usual context.
Portugal
In the midst of a recession, Portugal has generated a creative boom and immersed itself in public art and a redesign of the cities. The capital’s young creative entrepreneurs have build design incubators out of derelict factories and have helped to style Lisbon’s shopping and restaurant district in a way that makes us question Barcelona’s status as the cultural and creative hub of Europe.
The streets of Porto are saturated in public art, much of which has made its way into the interior design of some buildings.
Image source: Apartment in Porto
Portugal’s affordability and warm climate has attracted creatives from abroad- lending it a reputation as a creative New Berlin. This has come with the collapse of traditional industries like Portuguese cork- leaving a surplus of materials for creative manufacturers to use cork in crafting fashionable furniture.
Image source: Alma Gemea Portuguese cork furniture
Turkey
Influentially located between the East and the West, Turkey has a lot to offer by way of design. It has a rich artisan tradition of which creatives can embrace and challenge. Its location on the map makes it open to both radical ideas and offers plenty of exotic materials.
Similarly to Portugal, Turkey’s capital is experiencing a buzz of a booming young economy that’s affordable for fresh graduates. With this, generates a young population with new, inspired ideas, who are ready to mark a change in Turkeys ancient style and design.
Traditional ceramic tiles are still widely in use but have now been utilized in combination with modern design techniques. Designer Yigit Ozer, has put a new spin on ancient ceramic patterns. In revolutionizing traditional ceramics, his wall tile collection allows for multiple interpretations of patterns and use. They’re so distant from the traditional styles associated with the ancient empire, yet clearly illustrate its influence on modern Turkey.
Image source: Yigit Ozer’s ceramic wall
Great Britain
With its relatively long history of style and interior design, Britain has somehow managed to remain uninfluenced by external cultural styles. By no means does this mean that you can’t find the unexpected in the interiors of what would seem to be quintessentially British architecture.
A contrasting design trend has taken the interior design industry by storm. Some interior designers are all for it and some are just confused. We’ll let you decide on this one.
What’s the first thing you think of when adding the finishing touches to your bathroom? A mat? A stone soap holder? Perhaps a new storage unit? Whatever justifiable ornament or furnishings you conjured up in your mind, I’ll bet an antique armchair didn’t spring to mind.
Dampness and maintenance issues aside, few of our bathrooms have the capacity to hold such a large chair. But when size is no problem, some have opted to have a cosy armchair in the warmest room of the house. And to be fair, it does give the bathroom an extra element of comfort and luxury. Thinking outside of the box you could even use it to hide radiator pipes.
Now, there are few rules when it comes to furnishing your bedroom. Especially storage cabinets. Only, one wouldn’t expect to see kitchen units in a bedroom. This hasn’t stopped those who seek the charming retro-themed look for their chamber.
Serving as a side table, storage or sheer decoration, they have proven to be a favorable choice. Their resilience to scuffs, spillages and breaking makes them ideal for long-wear use. Coming in so many styles, often in used kitchen condition, there is plenty on the market.
Perhaps the last thing one might expect to find in a bedroom is a bathtub. But it was the first thing on designer Gill Richardson’s mind when she renovated the spare room in her grade II-listed Bristol Georgian townhouse. The juxtaposition of the utilitarian tub and elegant chaise in the room sparks a welcoming vibe into an exciting room.
It seems that we should never assume the interior design of any building to live up to our own perception and personal stylisms. Join the movement and break the mould.