Every room you design tells a story. During World Heritage Day, we encourage you to look at your designs as a way to share your roots and where you’re from with the rest of the Redecor community. If you’re looking for tips on how to start, look no further! Here are some of the best ways to showcase your history through your designs.
1. Use Traditional Patterns and Motifs
Traditional patterns and motifs are a great way to incorporate your heritage into your designs. For example, you can use traditional fabrics such as batik or kente cloth for throws and pillows, as well as customary patterns such as paisley or floral designs on fabrics, wallpaper, or accent pieces.
2. Choose Specific Colors
Colors play an important role in many cultures and can be used to represent different aspects of a culture or tradition. A classic way to give a nod to your roots is through the prominent colors you’re using in your color schemes. Irish roots can shine through very clearly when the color scheme used has a green undertone, while people who grew up in warm, desert-like climates can use various tones of browns. This is where you can get creative, emulating the environment your ancestors had all around them or going down a traditional route of using common colors in the culture you’re drawing inspiration from.
3. Use Local Materials
Using traditional materials is another way to incorporate your heritage into your designs. The colors and patterns are not the only thing that says a lot about where you came from, but the materials themselves – whether it be wood, stone or metal – can help tell that story. An example for traditional woods could be teak or mahogany, depending on the culture your ancestors are from. For Asian roots, that could mean bamboo woods and artifacts or silk fabrics, while for middle eastern cultures you could go for papyrus-esque materials and more grainy woods.
4. Add Cultural References
Adding cultural references to your designs can also be a great way to include your heritage in the room you’re redecorating. This can be done through the use of symbols, images, or text that are significant to your culture. For example, incorporating traditional art or artifacts from your culture into your designs is a great option, as well as script and calligraphy for art pieces.
5. Create a Fusion
You don’t have to choose to go down a completely traditional path or steer clear of it altogether, but you can rather choose to incorporate elements of your culture with your current design tastes. Incorporating traditional materials into a contemporary design is easier than you might think – the trick is to use them as accent pieces rather than have them overwhelm the space. Find a balance between old and new that you feel comfortable with to let your design sense come through!
Let your own story shine through with the open canvases waiting for you on the Redecor app!
