Quite small details and compositions in other houses can provoke brilliant ideas, even if the style of the house is completely different from your own. Decorator Benedict Foley mentions that ‘I’ve been working on a project in London where we were inspired by the particular way a collection of Safavid tiles were displayed in a house in Cairo. You wouldn’t really read the concept in a photo as they are on a staircase and there is a jumble of ancient fire fighting equipment hanging around, but transported to England and the wall colour changed for a dark one – suddenly the dramatic possibilities turn right up.’ Daniel Slowik, meanwhile, neatly explains how inspiration can strike in less tangible ways. ‘I’ve been working on a project in Rome, an apartment in a palazzo in the old Ghetto, and I had this idea that I wanted the walls to be something between the look of old vellum bound books I saw in a tiny chain library over the porch of Wimborne Minster and the sort of light that filters off the shaded back canals in Venice in the summer. The rooms are very high and needed a sense of movement and depth that only a specialist paint finish could create.’
Travel, which necessarily opens our eyes to new things, and makes us more observant than we would be in our home countries, is an essential way to garner inspiration. ‘My inspiration comes from many different places when I travel, including the architecture found in different countries,’ says interior designer Henriette von Stockhausen. “From a very early age our parents trawled us through churches, palaces and any other places of architectural and historical interest which certainly left a strong impression on me. But it’s not just that. Inspiration comes to me in many ways such as the colour combinations of delicious food, Moroccan tile combinations or just plain nature.’ Many designers will agree on this point. ‘Travel is a constant in my life, both personally and professionally, whether for sourcing or for projects abroad,’ says James Thurstan Waterworth. ‘We often travel to the South of France for sourcing, as well as to Italy and Morocco. One place that especially moved me was Japan, with its emphasis on design across all realms, far beyond what we might imagine in Europe. The architecture, museums, details, landscapes, and cultural nuances of these places seep into my subconscious, often resurfacing in projects years later.’
link