There are 10 great reasons to love global style design. 

One of my favorite reasons is that Global style design celebrates unique art and the artists that create it while telling your story. 

Tell Your Story

Global style tells the story of your life and adventures with things you have collected in your travels and local adventures. Highlighting unique, colorful, and beautiful art and crafts is a wonderful way to create your perfect space.

Each piece tells part of your story while creating a rich tapestry of color, texture, art, and history.  And you get the added benefit of supporting local and international artists and their communities.

Show the World What Moves You

Art is very personal. The art you select to show the world reflects who you are and what moves you.

If nature is what inspires you, select art that brings the outside in and represents nature in its theme or materials. Consider purchasing eco-friendly art that will be healthy in your home.

For example, in the Edesign I did for this Bohemian style living room I was inspired by nature and used art to inspire the design. I created my own fractal art called Bioluminescence which was inspired by the beauty of that in the ocean. The pillows have nature-inspired prints and colors. The decor on the table highlights plants and birds. Here are some of those products to get the look in your own home. These and others below contain affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission for sharing if your purchase, at no additional cost to you. 

Buy Handmade

Global style art is often handmade by local craftspeople in areas that you travel to. These items are beautiful and tell a great story not only about your travels but about the artists who created them.

Buy Eco-Friendly Art

Global style art is often eco-friendly and made from natural and sustainable materials. So buy art you love, it’s good for you!

Support Artists

The artists you select to support by purchasing their work make a statement about who you are as well. Do you support local artists rather than buying art from a big box store? Do you purchase from local artists while traveling to support those communities? Every community usually has some extremely talented artists inspired by the place they live.

Ready to Celebrate Art in Your Home?

Learn more about Global style design in my article, Tell Your Story with Global Style Interior Design.  Curious about what Global Style might be right for you? Take the quiz below. Ready to try to get the look in your own home? Try one of my Edesign packages.

Check out My Fractal Art Studios

Call 907-362-0065 today

 info@northernlightsstaging.com

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Examples may contain affiliate links, meaning I may get a small commission for sharing them with you if you buy something, at no additional cost to you.

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There are a lot of reasons to love Global Style Interior Design. One is that it is all about you, and telling the story of your life, adventures, the things you love in your space. It is a total expression and celebration of you. Does that sound selfish? It’s OK, it is your house. Of course, it is about you!

Each piece tells your story. Celebrate your treasures, old and new. modern and vintage, from various parts of the world.

Create a rich tapestry of color, texture, art, and history. 

In a previous article, I talked about 10 reasons to love global style design.  Let’s talk about my favorite reasons in more detail, which is the magical lighting!

I love the lighting in global style designs. Much of it is handmade with intricate cutouts in metal that create magical patterns of light in a room. See examples from different global styles below, and learn more how to create magical effects with lighting by layering in my article How to Make Magic Happen in Your Home with Lighting.

Bohemian Lighting

Bohemian style combines many of the specific styles from different cultures noted below, and often includes modern colorful and artistic lighting options. Go wild!

Moroccan Style Lighting

The magical lace-like quality of traditional hand-sawn brass allows many Moroccan lights to cast captivating patterns of shadow and light across the room.

Indian Style Lighting

Indian style lighting can have traditional Indian design prints as some of the lamps below, or try something fun like the lotus-shaped chandelier.

Greek Style Lighting

Greek-style lighting can be simple and often uses the color of the sea, the Greek key pattern, or labyrinth pattern that comes from Greek mythology.

Mexican Style Lighting

Mexican style lighting often looks more rustic and folkloric, and uses wood, iron. pierced metal or ceramics.

Turkish Style Lighting

Turkish style lighting often has pierced metal or beautiful colored glass.

Ready to Add Colorful and Exotic Design to Your Space?

Learn more about Global style design in my article, Tell Your Story with Global Style Interior Design.  Curious about what Global Style might be right for you? Take the quiz below. Ready to try to get the look in your own home? Try one of my Edesign packages.

Call 907-362-0065 today

 info@northernlightsstaging.com

Download my Brochure

Terms of Service  |  Privacy Policy  |  Disclaimer

Prices subject to change without notice.

Examples may contain affiliate links, meaning I may get a small commission for sharing them with you if you buy something, at no additional cost to you.

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People often struggle with creating a great color scheme.   In my recent series of blog articles we discussed how you could take your favorite color, blue for example, and create different color schemes. We explored monochromatic, analogous, Complimentary, Diad, Triad, Tetrad, Split-Complimentary and Double Complimentary.

Today, lets talk about using black, white and shades of gray.  

To catch up on these other color schemes see my articles Celebrate Your Favorite Color- Go Monochromatic and Create a Harmonious Color Scheme- Go Analogous,  Opposite Colors Attract, Go Complimentary and Great Paint Color Schemes- Do a Diad, Great Paint Color Schemes- Try a Triad ,  Great Color Schemes- Try a Tetrad and Great Color Schemes- Try a Split Complimentary and Great Color Schemes- Try a Double-Complimentary.  See examples of those color schemes below.

Technically, using black, white or grays  is really a monochromatic color scheme and could be done with any color. If you take the color and adjust it’s chroma or saturation level to the lowest you can go, you get white. If you adjust it a little higher, you get shades of gray. If you adjust it to the maximum it becomes black.

Most people do not think of black, white and gray as actually being a color. Many people like to work with these colors as they think it is a very neutral color palette.

Let’s play around with a design I created that uses mainly black, white and gray home decor items where I mainly changed the wall color or treatment to create drama or highlight different things.

Design

 In this design I created maximum drama by using black walls which a striking due to the color, but I also used shiny wall tiles which also add texture and reflect light. The dark walls recede, giving a feeling of being cocooned and enveloped within the color. The color also highlights the black design in the area rug, making it pop.

In the design below, I used wall paper in white with a gray diamond pattern. The wall, although it still has texture and interest due to the pattern, disappears with the light color, putting more emphasis on the view outside.

In the design below, the gray paint color feels cool and elegant, and creates more of a connection with the furnishings and decor of the gray sofas and the accent pillows.

Shop the Look

Check out  the pieces I selected for this design. Some include affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission for sharing at no additional cost to you.

My design also incorporates some of my unique fractal art from my “Spring” Collection. 

Design Ideas to Highlight More Gray

Here are some additional ideas to highlight more grays in your design.

Design Ideas to Highlight More White

Here are some other ideas to highlight more whites in your design.

Benefits of A Black, White and Gray Color Scheme

• A black, white and gray scheme is fairly easy to put together. It is best if you keep you black, white and grays all within the same color family so they are harmonious.  
• A black, white and gray scheme can be really dramatic or relaxing based on the saturation and placement of the colors you choose. Dark gray and black walls are more dramatic than white walls.
• A black, white and gray scheme really highlights any other colors that are used, or the colors of the views outside.
• Very nice for living rooms, dining rooms and areas that you like to entertain.  

Create Beauty with Color in Your Space

Each moment in life is YOUR choice. surround yourself with BEAUTY, color and positive energy now.

Or not, it’s up to you.

Everything in life is easier when you love your space.When your space is better, you are better. When you are better, the world is better. 

What is Your Global Design Style? Take the Quiz

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Click on the picture to find out more about the best training class on color available, the Four Pillars of Color!.

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People often struggle with creating a great color scheme.   In my last few blog articles we discussed how you could take your favorite color, blue for example, and create different color schemes. We explored monochromatic, analogous, complimentary, diad, triad and tetrad color schemes. Today, lets look at a Split-Complimentary!

A tetrad uses four colors  which include two complimentary color pairings. It can be difficult to balance  if you use all four colors in equal amounts it may feel like too much. You can use one to three colors as dominant colors and and let the rest be more subdued. By subdued, I mean you can use less of the colors proportionally.  Or you could use less saturated versions of the colors so they don’t stand out as much, but color schemes tend to look more harmonious if you are using similar saturation or chroma levels. Here are some examples.

Let’s create a split-complimentary color scheme with the blue we have been working with in the last several articles. You can see this blue in the sofas. 

To catch up on these other color schemes see my articles Celebrate Your Favorite Color- Go Monochromatic and Create a Harmonious Color Scheme- Go Analogous,  Opposite Colors Attract, Go Complimentary and Great Paint Color Schemes- Do a Diad , Great Paint Color Schemes- Try a Triad ,  Great Color Schemes- Try a Tetrad and Great Color Schemes- Try a Split Complimentary.  See examples of those color schemes below.

In a double complementary color scheme, you use a primary color such as our blue, its compliment yellow, and then the pair of complimentary colors of one of its neighbors on either side such as blue/purple and yellow/green or blue/green and orange.

Double Complimentary Color Schemes Illustrations by Camp Chroma, the Best Color Training Ever!

Design 1

With a Double-Complimentary scheme we are working with 4 colors, or two sets of compliments. We have a large variety of tints, tones and shades to play with within those colors, but it is always most harmonious if you work with colors with similar chroma (saturation).  In other words it looks best if you are not mixing rich, bright colors with pastels. You can get dramatic or keep it more neutral based on the colors you choose.  I find adding rich color to the walls creates drama, while using a more neutral wall color feels more relaxing.

In this design I used the blue/yellow compliment pair in the sofas and the beautiful area rug.  I used the green/yellow of the neighboring compliment pair in the area rug, pillows and my fractal art.  I decided to bring in purple in small amounts as an accent, and used plants with purple flowers to highlight that color.  

In the examples above, I created drama by using a more saturated shade of  blue for the wall color. To create a more neutral look, I created a second version below where I used the same color but with very low saturation so it is almost gray.

Shop the Look- Design 1

Check out  the pieces I selected for this design. Some include affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission for sharing at no additional cost to you.

My design also incorporates some of my unique fractal art from my “Spring” Collection. 

Design #2

In this second design I used the blue/yellow complimentary pair again but this time worked with blue/green and orange. I found a beautiful area rug as an inspiration piece that has the blue, blue green, orange and a touch of yellow to tie everything together. I highlighted the orange in the 3 poufs. I used the blue/green in the pillows, the wall color and in my “Jenna” fractal art collection. The yellow I used as a small accent with flowers or flower vases.

Shop the Look Design #2

Here is a closer view of my fractal art collection called “Jenna” which I created in honor of Jenna Gaidusek of the Edesign Tribe when creating something for her office with her favorite colors. In my design, the art is on canvas prints, but they are available framed or on a variety of materials as well as on other home decor in my store at Society 6.

Benefits of A Double Complimentary Color Scheme

• A double complimentary color scheme is easy to put together using 4 colors.  You can give all colors equal weight in the design for more drama, or make one or two colors more dominant based on the mood you want to create. The challenge will be trying not allow too many strong colors to compete with each other. Vary the saturation or better yet, the amount of the colors showing by making 1-2 colors as accents.
• A double complimentary color scheme can be really dramatic or relaxing based on the saturation and placement of the colors you choose. Very nice for living rooms, dining rooms and areas that you like to entertain. You could try the more relaxing color combinations in a bedroom or office.

Create Beauty with Color in Your Space

EACH MOMENT IN LIFE IS YOUR CHOICE.

YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH beautiful color RIGHT NOW.

OR NOT, IT’S UP TO YOU.

EVERYTHING IS EASIER WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR SPACE.

What is Your Global Design Style? Take the Quiz

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Click on the picture to find out more about the best training class on color available, the Four Pillars of Color!.

People often struggle with creating a great color scheme.   In my last few blog articles we discussed how you could take your favorite color, blue for example, and create different color schemes. We explored monochromatic, analogous, complimentary, diad, triad and tetrad color schemes. Today, lets look at a Split-Complimentary!

A double-complimentary scheme uses four colors  which include two complimentary color pairings. It can be difficult to balance  if you use all four colors in equal amounts it may feel like too much. You can use one to three colors as dominant colors and and let the rest be more subdued. By subdued, I mean you can use less of the colors proportionally.  Or you could use less saturated versions of the colors so they don’t stand out as much, but color schemes tend to look more harmonious if you are using similar saturation or chroma levels. Here are some examples.

Let’s create a split-complimentary color scheme with the blue we have been working with in the last several articles. You can see this blue in the sofas. 

To catch up on these other color schemes see my articles Celebrate Your Favorite Color- Go Monochromatic and Create a Harmonious Color Scheme- Go Analogous,  Opposite Colors Attract, Go Complimentary and Great Paint Color Schemes- Do a Diad , Great Paint Color Schemes- Try a Triad and Great Color Schemes- Try a Tetrad. See examples of those color schemes below.

In a split complementary color scheme, you use a primary color such as our blue, and then the two analogous colors to its complement. In this case it’s compliment is yellow and yellow/red and green/yellow are next to yellow or analogous colors to yellow.  

Split Complimentary Color Scheme Illustrations by Camp Chroma, the Best Color Training Ever!

The Design

With a split-Complimentary scheme we are working with 3 colors. We have a large variety of tints, tones and shades to play with within those colors, but it is always most harmonious if you work with colors with similar chroma (saturation).  In other words it looks best if you are not mixing rich, bright colors with pastels. You can get dramatic or keep it more neutral based on the colors you choose.  I find adding rich color to the walls creates drama, while using a more neutral wall color feels more relaxing.

For example, below I created a split complimentary  scheme with our blue sofas as the base color.  I used red/orange in the rug, pillows and in the wall color where I used a very unsaturated, neutral tint of orange/red.

My design also incorporates some of my unique fractal art from my “Spring” Collection. 

The design, although using 3 colors still feels fairly neutral and calm with some pops of color for excitement.

Shop the Look

Check out  the pieces I selected for this design. Some include affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission for sharing at no additional cost to you.

I selected pieces of various materials with different textures and patterns within the 3 hue families. 

Design 2

 In this second version of the design, all I changed was the wall color, which is a more saturated or has higher chroma than the color I used in design 1. As you can see, it looks much more dramatic with the rich wall color.

Benefits of A Split Complimentary Color Scheme

• A split complimentary color scheme is easy to put together using 3 colors.  You can give all three colors equal weight in the design for more drama, or make one or two colors more dominant based on the mood you want to create.
• A split complimentary color scheme can be really dramatic or relaxing based on the saturation and placement of the colors you choose. Very nice for living rooms, dining rooms and areas that you like to entertain. You could try the more relaxing color combinations in a bedroom or office.

Create Beauty with Color in Your Space

EACH MOMENT IN LIFE IS YOUR CHOICE.

YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH beautiful color RIGHT NOW.

OR NOT, IT’S UP TO YOU.

EVERYTHING IS EASIER WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR SPACE.

What is Your Global Design Style? Take the Quiz

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Click on the picture to find out more about the best training class on color available, the Four Pillars of Color!.

People often struggle with creating a great color scheme.   In my last few blog articles we discussed how you could take your favorite color, blue for example, and create different color schemes. We explored monochromatic, analogous, complimentary, diad and triad color schemes. Today, lets look at a Tetrad!

A tetrad uses four colors  which include two complimentary color pairings. It can be difficult to balance  if you use all four colors in equal amounts it may feel like too much. You can use one to three colors as dominant colors and and let the rest be more subdued. By subdued, I mean you can use less of the colors proportionally.  Or you could use less saturated versions of the colors so they don’t stand out as much, but color schemes tend to look more harmonious if you are using similar saturation or chroma levels. Here are some examples.

Let’s create a tetrad color scheme with the blue we have been working with in the last several articles. You can see this blue in the sofas. 

To catch up on these other color schemes see my articles Celebrate Your Favorite Color- Go Monochromatic and Create a Harmonious Color Scheme- Go Analogous,  Opposite Colors Attract, Go Complimentary and Great Paint Color Schemes- Do a Diad and Great Paint Color Schemes- Try a Triad. See examples of those color schemes below.

There are three different Tetrads we could choose from that use our blue (which is a blue/purple). For this article, lets work with the first two.

Tetrad Color Scheme Illustrations by Camp Chroma, the Best Color Training Ever!

The Design

With a tetrad you are using 4 colors and have a large variety of tints, tones and shades to play with within those colors. You can get dramatic or keep it mpre neutral based on the colors you choose. 

For example, below I created a tetrad with our blue as in the sofas as the base color. It’s compliment is yellow. I chose to use yellow in the wall color, in a  a less saturated and lighter yellow than in it’s blue compliment to keep it more neutral. I also used yellow in the buff colored leather ottomans and an accent in the flowers on the coffee table.

The other pair of compliments are the red/purple and green. I used the red/purple in the area rug, and the green in the pillows, pouf and plants and the art.

The rest of the design I kept neutral with the white chairs, accent tables and lamps and plant stands.

Overall in this design the blue and red-purple are most dominant, followed by the green and with yellow mainly as an accent. 

My design also incorporates some of my unique fractal art from my “Spring” Collection. 

The design, although using 4 colors still feels fairly neutral and calm with some pops of color for excitement.

Shop the Look

Check out  the pieces I selected for this design. Some include affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission for sharing at no additional cost to you.

I selected pieces of various materials with different textures and patterns within the 3 hue families. 

Design 2

In this second version of a tetrad design, I once again used blue in the sofas and a soft neutral yellow paint color as it’s complement as in the first design.

 I added the blue green from the second pair of complements into a new area rug (which also ties in the deep blue, yellow and greens). I maintained the green pillows and pouf and added the red in with the two ottomans and the flower centerpiece on the coffee table. As you can see, this time the red is just an accent, where as the blue, blue green and yellow are more dominant.

The design, although using 4 colors still also feels fairly neutral and calm with some pops of color for excitement.

If you wanted to get more dramatic, you could pull in one of the 4 colors with greater saturation or chroma in the wall color as I did below. In this case, I used the blue-green and it changes the whole look and feel, even though everything else is the same.

Shop the Look- Design #2

Benefits of A Tetrad Color Scheme

• A tetrad color scheme is relatively easy to put together using two sets of complimentary colors.  The tricky part is determining which colors you want to be more dominant, and balancing the rest so it is not overwhelming.
• Tetrad color schemes can be really dramatic or relaxing based on the saturation and placement of the colors you choose. Very nice for living rooms, dining rooms and areas that you like to entertain. You could try the more relaxing color combinations in a bedroom, especially if you are using blues and greens.
•  You can play with this color scheme for different effects by how many colors you allow to be more dominant, and how much weight each carries in the design. Each color brings it’s own feeling to the space so highlight one over the others to get the mood you want.

Create Beauty with Color in Your Space

EACH MOMENT IN LIFE IS YOUR CHOICE.

YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH BEAUTY RIGHT NOW.

OR NOT, IT’S UP TO YOU.

EVERYTHING IS EASIER WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR SPACE.

What is Your Global Design Style? Take the Quiz

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Click on the picture to find out more about the best training class on color available, the Four Pillars of Color!.

People often struggle with creating a great color scheme.   In my last few blog articles we have discussed how you could take your favorite color, blue for example and create different color schemes. We explored monochromatic, analogous, complimentary and diad color schemes. Today, lets look at a Triad!

A triad uses three colors with the equal distance between all colors on the color wheel, causing no clear dominance of one color.

So, let’s create a triad color scheme with the blue we have been working with in the last several articles. You can see the blue in the sofas. To catch up on these other color schemes see my articles Celebrate Your Favorite Color- Go Monochromatic and Create a Harmonious Color Scheme- Go Analogous,  Opposite Colors Attract, Go Complimentary and Great Paint Color Schemes- Do a Diad. See examples of those color schemes below.

To create a triad with our blue (which is a blue/purple), we will add  reds and greens. 

The Design

With a triad, you are using 3 colors and have a large variety of tints, tones and shades to play with within those colors. You can get dramatic or keep it simple based on the colors you choose. For example, below I created a triad with our blue as in the sofas as the base color and incorporating reds in the rug and pillows and greens in the pouf, lamps, art, plants and wall color.  I used saturated colors from each of the hue families. The deep rich wall color creates a more dramatic look.

If drama is not your thing, you can tone it down by changing the saturation of the wall color. Below, the only thing I changed was the wall color, which is still green, but with such low saturation levels it is approaching a gray. This more neutral colored wall creates a more serene atmosphere.

My design also incorporates some of my unique fractal art from my “Spring” Collection. 

Shop the Look

Check out  the pieces I selected for this design. Some include affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission for sharing at no additional cost to you.

I selected pieces of various materials with different textures and patterns within the 3 hue families. 

Benefits of A Triad Color Scheme

• A triad color scheme is relatively easy to put together. Pick your favorite color and find 2 neighbors, equal distant apart on the color wheel.
• Triad color schemes can be really dramatic or relaxing based on the saturation and placement of the colors you choose. Very nice for living rooms, dining rooms and areas that you like to entertain. You could try the more relaxing color combinations in a bedroom, especially if you are using blues and greens.
•  You can play with this color scheme for different effects by having one color as the dominant color and the other 2 as accents, or give all colors equal weights. Each color brings it’s own feeling to the space so highlight one over the others to get the mood you want.

Create Beauty with Color in Your Space

EACH MOMENT IN LIFE IS YOUR CHOICE.

YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH BEAUTY RIGHT NOW.

OR NOT, IT’S UP TO YOU.

EVERYTHING IS EASIER WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR SPACE.

What is Your Global Design Style? Take the Quiz

Pin These

Click on the picture to find out more about the best training class on color available, the Four Pillars of Color!.

People often struggle with creating a great color scheme.   In my last few blog articles we have discussed how you could take your favorite color, blue for example and create different color schemes. We explored monochromatic, analogous and complimentary schemes. Today, lets look at Diad!

A diadic or diad color scheme uses two colors that are separated by one color on the color wheel.

So, let’s create a Diad color scheme with the blue we have been working with in the last several articles. You can see the blue in the sofas. To catch up on these other color schemes see my articles Celebrate Your Favorite Color- Go Monochromatic and Create a Harmonious Color Scheme- Go Analogous,  Opposite Colors Attract, Go Complimentary.

To create a diad with our blue (which is a blue/purple), we will add  blue-greens. We could always go the other direction and work with red/purple. We will try that in a future article.

The Design

With a diad, you are only using 2 hues, but you have a large variety of tints, tones and shades to play with. You can get dramatic or keep it simple based on the colors you choose, and highlight textures and patterns.

Below you can see the same design using various shades of blue/green paint and then “white flour”. The design is more dramatic with saturated wall colors and more relaxed with a neutral wall color.

Shop the Look

Check out  the pieces I selected for this design. Some include affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission for sharing at no additional cost to you.

I selected pieces of various materials with different textures and patterns within the 2 hue families. The design includes my own original fractal art, called “Night Dive”. I called it that because it reminded me of what it looks like underwater when diving at night, and the magical colors and textures of the water. 

Benefits of A Diad Color Scheme

• A diad color scheme is relatively easy to put together. Pick your favorite color and find it’s neighbor, skipping one hue family on the color wheel. 
• Diad color schemes can be really dramatic or relaxing based on the saturation and placement of the colors you choose. Very nice for living rooms, dining rooms and areas that you like to entertain. You could try the more relaxing color combinations in a bedroom, especially if you are using blues and greens.
•  Diads are simpler color schemes, similar to analogous schemes that offer opportunities to highlight more texture and pattern in your design.

Create Beauty with Color in Your Space

EACH MOMENT IN LIFE IS YOUR CHOICE.

YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH BEAUTY RIGHT NOW.

OR NOT, IT’S UP TO YOU.

EVERYTHING IS EASIER WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR SPACE.

What is Your Global Design Style? Take the Quiz

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Click on the picture to find out more about the best training class on color available, the Four Pillars of Color!.

Do you wonder how to make the magic happen in a room, where all the colors, textures and pieces fit together just right? Maybe you’ve tried it several times and somehow the end result was off, but you couldn’t figure out why? Did you spend a lot of money buying pieces you loved but were not happy with the way everything looked together? Is there some magic formula to make it happen? Why yes, there is!  Start with the art!

I may be a little biased, because I am both a designer and an artist, but it works for me! All designers have their own way of doing things and this is what I do. I start with the art and build my color palette and the rest of the room around it.

Start with the Art

So, what do I mean by art? It does not have to be what you typically think of. such as art you hang on the wall, although it could be. It could be a great rug, which is art for your floor. Maybe you have a fantastic view, which is built in art on your windows. It could be an inspiration piece such as a beautifully designed piece of furniture or a wonderful antique. Or even an architectural element such as a gorgeous fireplace could be the “art”.

Consider the colors, textures, the style and mood your art conveys. Take cues from the art to build the rest of the room to harmonize with and highlight the art.  Often,  I use more than one piece of “art” and work with the combination. Here is an example where I used three sources of art to build the design for this beach house.

The Primary Art- The View

In this Edesign, the main source of art is the view. The view is so beautiful and there is so much of it in the large expanse of glass, the view can not and should not be ignored. The view sets the color palette of various shades of blues, whites, and browns. It also sets the tone of a coastal style that is relaxed and peaceful. It adds texture, from soft and flowing from the sand and water,  to hard and angular from the rocks.

The Secondary Art

To highlight and harmonize with the art in the view, the next pieces I looked for were the rugs, or the art for the floor. The main rug pulled in the colors from the view with the addition of a light purple and a touch of green which expanded the color palette. The colors from the rug and the view were used to determine fabric colors for the furniture and the wall color. A second rug highlighted the dining area and used mainly blues.  

Supporting Art

And finally, I selected supporting art for the walls. The main art is the view of the ocean on 2 walls.  I created fractal art designs of the “Sea” for the third wall and for the accent pillows.  The colors and design match the ocean views and the blues in the two area rugs, tying it all together.

Shop This Look

The remaining pieces all harmonize with and support the “art” and of course the function of the room. Some of the products may contain affiliate links.

Get This Design as a Virtual Zoom Background

Do you like this design? Why not use it as a virtual background for your Zoom calls? Click on the picture to download it and submit a vote for me in the MYZOOMROOM contest! See more of my virtual designs in my blog article, Up Your Game and Look Great on Zoom.

Are you Ready to Create Some Magic?

Try my Service Edesign package, or my most popular design and color consultation today. Click on the pictures to learn more and purchase.

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Global Style Interior Design is all about telling the story of your life and adventures through your decor. Each piece has a story and becomes a conversation starter.  Treasures, old and new are displayed from various parts of the world and layered in a rich tapestry of color, texture, art and history. Here are 10 great reasons to love and try global style with some examples of decor items to get the look.  

One of the thing I love about global style Interior Design is the rich bold colors as in this Indian style bedroom Edesign I created. Colors of a particular country are usually based on their landscapes, plants, spices, symbols, national flags and more. They are rarely “neutral colors”. In this design of an Indian Style bedroom, the color scheme came from this beautiful handmade Indian rug and other decor elements based on the color of Tumeric, a common spice in India.

Global style is filled with interesting and unique art, reflecting the rich colors or cultural elements of various countries. This Bohemian style living room was based on my own fractal art to celebrate the rich colors and textures of Bohemian style.

I love that most global styles, are very connected in their colors and patterns to the natural environment. This Greek style living room I designed  or example, is a coastal style that is in tune with the colors of the sea, sky, rocks and native plants of Greece.

Global style loves mixing interesting textures and patterns. From soft silks,  to textured wools, carved wood, metals with intricate embossed or cut out patterns and beautiful cultural patterns on rugs, pillows and art. All these things can be artfully layered to create a rich and diverse design filled with interest wherever you look as in this design for a global style bedroom.

Global style is all about telling your story, whatever it is! Whether it is Bohemian or more streamlined, vintage or modern, colorful or neutral, tell your own story with global style elements that appeal to you as in this modern global style living room.

Global styles celebrates the culture and history of the countries they originate from. or it can combine elements from many countries. Try including decorative elements that are unique to a particular culture. An example is this design of a Turkish style living room. Turkey is known for their Kilim rugs and decorative coffee sets. Below are examples of a vintage Turkish Kilim rug, and a pillow made from a vintage rug from Kilim.com, as well as a traditional coffee set. Get 5% off anything from Kilim.com with code nls2019 at checkout.

I love the lighting in global style designs. Much of it is handmade with intricate cutouts in metal that create magical patterns of light in a room, such as in this Moroccan/Turkish living room. Beautiful lighting is also a hallmark of Turkey and Mexico. See these great examples of Moroccan lighting below.

Global style easily mixes new and modern materials with vintage decor or antiques as in this Vintage Boho Office. Often heirlooms like Moroccan rugs are passed down through generations. Mix historical or cultural artifacts and family heirlooms with modern elements to tell the story of your life and your family.

 I love the way Global Style Interior Design celebrates your adventures by displaying treasures you have found in your travels. An example is this Mexican style living room which highlights wooden masks, copper furniture and hand made lighting from Mexico.

Global style is very eco-friendly and primarily uses natural materials. There is an abundance of wool rugs, metal lighting and accents,  carved wooden furniture and wall art,  leather, rattan, natural stone and pottery. In this example of a Moroccan style living room, the focal point is a gorgeous traditional wool rug. Moroccan rugs are like a work of art for your floor. Learn more about the Magic of Moroccan Rugs in my blog article. Get 20% off these gorgeous, authentic Moroccan wool rugs below or any non-sale item at Atlas Weavers with code “northern lights” at check-out!

Learn more about Global style design in my article, Tell Your Story with Global Style Interior Design.  Curious about what Global Style might be right for you? Take the quiz below. Ready to try to get the look in your own home? Try one of my Edesign packages.

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