Successful local interior design is beautiful and useful, suited to your lifestyle and personal needs. However, for a house to feel like home, it requires that unique fingerprint. Most often we talk about personal imprint: the use of personality, passions and personal values as inspiration for interior design. But each individual is part of a larger system, a community, and each house is located in a region.
In the field of interior design, the national, regional and local imprint is starting to receive more and more attention. Find out why this local-specific approach has become increasingly popular, but also how you can use it as inspiration for your home:
Globalization – glocalization in interior design
Globalization has led to uniformity in interior design. No matter what country or continent we are in, we have access to large pieces and decorations. Therefore, standardization of housing has become quite common. Whether we look at photos of new, modern homes in Athens, New York, London or Seoul, the strong trend towards uniformity in interior design is evident. In most cases, the interior is completely broken by local, regional or national specificity.
In the context in which globalization has had a unifying effect in many fields, a competing trend has emerged: glocalization. A term formed from the combination of the words “globalization” and “localization”, it refers to the simultaneous presence of universal and particular trends in different fields, such as social, cultural, economic and political.
Sectors such as design and construction, with a strong cultural and social burden, have not been protected from these influences, finding themselves at the intersection of globalization and localization trends.
OrganizeAre with specific local: from inside the house, to the outside of it
Initially, these ideas had an impact on architecture rather than interior design. The individualistic approach to building facades, colors and styles, without taking into account local cultural specificity, usually has rather unpleasant results from an aesthetic point of view. The Order of Architects in Romania has published some architectural guides for the classification in the local specificity of the rural area, see details.
Both in urban and rural areas, the need for architectural harmonization is starting to be felt, which can include more complex aspects, such as the conservation of historic buildings, or simpler ones, such as the integration of new buildings in the style of a mere residential neighborhood.
Traditional aspects should be used as inspiration, the aim is not to faithfully copy them. As explained by one architect“We believe that each region has architectural elements that make it unique and recognisable, giving it identity and character […] We do not aim to copy these elements, but to take them on creatively, adapt them, update them”.
These ideas touched not only the floor plan of houses and their interior appearance, but also their interior design. Unlike restaurants and guesthouses with local specificity, which often try to faithfully apply a certain style, in the case of accommodation the local imprint should be more subtle.
Set-up ideas that take into account local specificities
The accommodation inspired by local specificity does not mean copying the traditional homes of the area. On the contrary, the simple introduction of many historical and cultural elements can turn into a kitsch. The aim is not to put lots of interior decorations and local materials in your house, but to use those with which you feel a connection, and the history of your house will be connected to the history of the region or locality.
If you plan to fix up or renovate your home soon and are interested in including local or regional elements, but don’t know where to start, one idea might be to create an inspirational plan (so-called “Mood Boards”) representative of local or regional culture, history and nature. Then, you can select from this tab the elements, patterns and symbols you like the most.
Here are some reference points and ideas to consider:
The traditional Romanian port
Traditional ports are an important source of inspiration for interior designers. The materials used in traditional ports, such as linen and fur, can be a source of inspiration for stylish arrangements. The color range with local specificity can be used as a starting source in the arrangement of a room. Additionally, traditional Romanian motifs can be added to room textiles, from curtains and rugs to bedding and decorative pillows. However, these additions must be made with measure, an excess of such details can lead the camera into quite an area kitsch.
Building materials from local natural resources
Depending on the possibilities, specific local natural resources can be used, both as inspiration and as building materials. In some situations you can use natural materials, such as: local stones or wood to cover the walls or floors. When this is not possible, you can use small decorations inspired by the area where you live, such as decorative sand compositions or wooden statues in wooded areas in your decor.
Relief, flora and fauna
Local geographical features can become a source of inspiration in several ways: from beautiful natural landscapes specific to the region, to animals and plants that can inspire creative interior design. Examples of this are: photos, paintings or illustrations with the landscapes of the area (or similar to them), respectively with the fauna of the region, walls covered with botanical motifs, artificial floral compositions, vases upon vases or, why not, walls with personalized paintings. The possibilities are countless. More details can be found in the article: Biophilic interior design
History of architecture
How did the buildings in the area appear two centuries ago? But five centuries ago? The answer to these questions can be a starting point not only for the construction phase of the house, but also for its interior design.
The construction principles, the specific style of the buildings, the local materials used, the historical, decorative or functional architectural elements, all this can inspire the final appearance of the rooms of the house.
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