In today’s world full of excitement and opportunities for excitement, people are venturing out for trips and expressing a strong desire to bring back their stories by incorporating elements of their experiences. They begin to imagine how they can take refuge in a place when they are able to remember the things they love and be surrounded by an environment that brings them joy—with both physical and emotional memories, in their home.
In an interview with HT Lifestyle, interior designer Poonam Kalra, Creative Director, I Am The Center for Applied Arts shared, “Just like travel, architecture and design take us beyond the physical world—it engages the senses and interacts with emotion. , transcending time and space. Flow of Places is willing to take a thematic turn to bring people closer to their travel experiences—whether it’s a memory of the past or a dream for the future. Such travel-inspired themes speak for vagabonds with a musical rendition of travel scenes that evoke the feeling of a certain place.” He suggested:
- Setting music to compositions
An experience is predicated by a narrative composition. It can be considered with direct elements, such as the interior setting of a specific destination. A stay at the hotel of the past can be remembered with a hotel-at-home atmosphere with an extraordinary indoor pool, sauna and other relaxation points along with the luxury hotel spa. On the other hand, it can be seen that outdoor spaces with resort-like amenities evoke a sense of sanctuary at home – outdoor spa and fire pit area, oversized, hand-crafted swings come together to create an idyllic destination. Inside your own backyard wall.
Down memory lane, international experiences such as a trip to the Italian countryside can be cited outside of farm-to-table experiences with a relaxed dining set-up, charming dining pavilions and an elegant greenhouse conservatory – these subtle details create one. A seamless flow from a backyard microfarm somewhere in Italy, to an alfresco dining-room table in a metropolis. In contrast, an urban, NYC-inspired design can have a more industrial feel—a mix of exposed brick textures, metal accents, Edison lightbulbs, modern artwork, and new and vintage decor pieces. This theme can be brought together in a monochrome theme – a straight black and white base with hints of pop colors like red or yellow.
Tuscan interior design is a beautiful and sophisticated style. When referring to this design we are not referring to your mother’s “Tuscan-inspired” kitchen from the early 2000s. No, true Tuscan-inspired design is much simpler and more sophisticated. Tuscan designs often feature warm colors, large tile flooring, dark wood, stucco, and exposed beams.
- Spell excitement on moodboards
Moodboards paint a picture of travel experiences. Creating a mix of exciting colors – either inspired by adventures or complementing them – can bring different elements of a space together under a common theme. For example, a beach-inspired palette can recreate the feel of a coastal getaway with sparkling blues, exquisite beiges, light pinks and soft yellows. Since the goal of a coastal getaway is to make you feel like you’ve been transported to the beach, beach-inspired homes can go for a very light, airy and comfortable vibe in theme, with hints of beachy colors and light-hued distressed wood. To set the tone. For decor, instead of going for a vintage souvenir event with heavy seashell decor and anchor prints, the space can make room for wall art depicting peaceful beach scenes or other nautical themes.
Bringing another aspect of travel memories are the earthy color palettes, moss greens, cedar browns, light grays and terracotta that revive the mystery of forests and mountains. An interior styled as a mountain cabin design can go straight for natural materials like wood and stone. The color scheme can generally be neutral, with an emphasis on bold colors like grays and creams to bring out the feeling of a mountain retreat. Here, decorative elements can include matte black hardware, leather furniture, and traces of elements found in nature, such as horn or rough-edged wood.
Escaping to the tropics is equally exciting. Transforming a space into a tropical retreat can be as fun as a Hawaiian vacation—the space can be all green with bursts of fresh colors like apricot oranges, deep-sea blues and sunshine yellows inspired by tropical lands. Décor character can be highlighted with handcrafted pieces in natural materials such as cane, rattan, jute and bamboo.
When in doubt, a good neutral color palette can always look purposeful and sophisticated. Neutral spaces can be styled with printed tapestries, embroidered throws, chimerical chests, dated consoles, memorabilia art and souvenirs with a generous mix of styles and memories that evoke glimpses from travel experiences.
- Adding character with layers
The connection to travel through a vehicle of design can recreate a sensational experience, regardless of scale – even a small gesture like the scent of a candle or the weaving of a basket can ignite emotion from experiences. These layers of decoration help bring back pieces of culture from places visited — original indigenous pieces, handmade works and more can reflect an era, culture or place. More modern influences are also gaining popularity in the form of collectibles, street art or individually commissioned pieces from local artists, which can be hung on walls or travel collections in dedicated, built-in niches. Similarly, for keepsakes with a more personal connection, the interior may have storage chests, allowing people to create a thread on their experience and save its details.
The concept of travel is plural, as are many memories and memoirs. This can be underlined with a rich layer of materials such as embossed metals, inlaid stones, engraved ceramics, appliquéd textiles and more that add character to a neutral space. Furnishings can be contrasted with mix-matched throw cushions made from native textiles or various wall plates painted with tribal art. These decorative pieces prompt conversation starters while giving people the chance to tell the story behind that particular piece of art.
- Exuding old world charm
Sometimes, a specific memento can influence a design element, a color scheme, or the desire to highlight the interior of the house – it is often the elements of the past, which have a special meaning for them. Incorporating old-fashioned details like pre-loved pieces and custom collections of clothing, dishes, art or books can create a nostalgic feel that can drive the space’s theme in a time-honored style. Old objects can also be brought to life such as a motif made from a metal door used as a wall hanging, a carved door panel repurposed as a coffee table or an antique cabinet made into a powder room vanity. Such a home can be where old pieces are reborn with the same old meaning, but in a new form.
In the bigger picture, parts of the house may look like something out of a 90s movie — with trussed ceilings, carved beams, colonnaded walkways and paneled walls that give a glimpse of a bygone lifestyle. Solid wood, genuine leather and other materials originally sourced during the travel experience can also add to the moodboard of the space and bring a bygone era to life.
Tangible traditions introduce a unique way of dwelling on old-world charm. A travel destination, no matter where it is—regional or global, can pave the way for indigenous jobs that will one day find their way home. A house or part of it can talk about globetrotting with elements that can be traced back to a particular place with ethnic edges such as rugs from Turkey, ceramicware from China, tiles from Portugal, among other traditional decorations. Composing these assortments in an essentially neutral setting gives enough room for the individuality of the pieces to stand out, without sacrificing the old-world charm that they share.
Ankit Ojha and Anand Ojha, Principal Designer, Anand Atelier Associates said, “The most amazing thing about travel is that it lets you explore the unexplored, it shows you the infinite possibilities the world holds for us. Travel gives us a different perspective on our lives. Not everyone can travel to where they want to be but you can definitely inspire their inner self to be where they want to be.”
Encouraging you to design your space in a way that inspires you, motivates you and allows your soul to be free and happy, they recommend:
There must be places you have visited and fallen in love with. Inspire your corners from those places.
Let’s say we want to have Goa vibes in our corner, we will immediately think of bright colors with visible wood texture furniture. The floor will be of oxide or printed tiles and to add we can have a little planter pot besides it and a stack of your favorite books around will definitely lock the vibe.
Similarly we can inspire our corners by picking little breasts and bits from any place we like.
Design your spaces with a theme. It can be a beautiful undertone theme for the space or it can be a warm theme with an earthy color palette. Deciding on a theme will make it easier to get the vibe of the place we want to be inspired by. Whether our theme is traditional or contemporary or minimalist or maximalist, deciding on these themes will guide us towards the selection of pieces, including furniture and artwork.
Mixing colors and prints is one of the easiest ways to bring light and airy interiors to a space. A pop mix of patterns, floral cushions and pastels in your living room will bring a bright and fresh look to the space. We can get our colors and prints according to our theme.
We can choose from bright colors like orange, sunny yellow, soothing green, calming blue. For the subtle we can choose from neutral tones, grays, and earthy shades that will bring a soothing atmosphere to your space.
When traveling to different places, details are something that cannot be ignored. Few places have solid furniture, they are all in straight lines and sleek designs, some places have large furniture while others have intricate carved details. The details of furniture made by craftsmen and artisans are inspired by their place. Bringing in these details brings out the whole vibe of the place.