Global village

Art and sculpture from African and Eastern cultures will give your interior a rich diversity. Teamed with a simple but sophisticated decor, their colours, textures and motifs can add vibrant contrast and a sense of the abstract to your living spaces.

This striking apartment illustrates the ways in which you can achieve such a look. A three-bedroom home, it forms part of a new, stucco-clad high-rise, inspired by Southern European architecture.

In collaboration with his clients, designer Bill Stewart set out to create an environment that would work well with the owners' large collection of ethnic art, sculpture, and black and white photographs.

"The owners wanted a contemporary yet classical, clean-lined look. To keep the focus on the art, they didn't want a decor that was too expressive or fussy."

Keeping this in mind, Stewart chose a restrained colour scheme of browns, taupes and greys to keep the overall look neutral. The dark-stained walnut that highlights the floors has also been used to form the chunky trim found around the door openings.

"The dark wood reinforces the thickness of the walls, giving the home foundation, depth and a sense of heavy construction," says Stewart. "This tempers the apartment's new, modern exterior. Framed in wood, the doors provide a ceremonial feel from one room to the next."

The emphasis on natural materials is evident throughout the home.

"Rather than use decorative patterns to provide contrast, I've used honest materials that are rich and diverse, in both colour and texture," says Stewart.

Turkish ushak rugs in shades of brown and burgundy add a rich layer of texture to the dining room floors. In the library, another ushak rug, in chartreuse and persimmon hues, reinforces the space's cosy, intimate atmosphere. A chunky, brown leather sofa, teamed with two tapestry, pillows sits on a primitive patterned Tibetan rug in the family room. Grass shades cover the expansive windows in the main living areas; their delicate natural weave a subtle contrast to the grey painted walls. The shades also give the spaces a slightly Oriental feel. These Asian influences become more apparent in the dining room, where pieces such as a red lacquered antique cabinet have been mixed with an Art Deco-inspired dining table and chairs. Here, and in the foyer, Stewart has used silver tea paper to transform the tray ceilings into a focal point.

The technique, which involves applying pieces of silver leaf to paper and lacquering it to the ceiling, gives the rooms a sense of warmth, says Stewart.

"The metallic sheen also reflects the glow from the chandeliers at night."

In the kitchen, concrete benchtops provide continuity to the grey-stained wooden cabinetry. The hood's strong, geometrical shape, custom-made by Matthew Quinn of Design Galleria, is replicated in the angular lines of the island and walnut bar stools.

Contained in one wing of the apartment is the master bedroom. Here, a similar, neutral colour scheme courtesy of dark wooden furniture and creamycoloured carpet allows a dynamic canvas above the bed to stand out. In the same way, taupe travertine and wood in the master bathroom provides an understated backdrop to the vivid swirls of colour found in the painting flanking the tub. This contrast emphasises the home's interior design concept, says Stewart.

"Like the other spaces, the bathroom merges polish with the rough, new with the old, primitive culture with the sophisticated. As a result, this home has a strong personality and lots of flavour."

Story by: Trendsideas