How to bring a touch of the tropics into your interiors
English interior design has always been influenced by the rest of the world, from Indian chintz to chinoiserie and Japanese lacquer. We live in a somewhat grey and temperate world up here, and import our colour, pattern and vibrancy from wherever we can find it. The sultry, sweltering world of the tropics broadly understood has plenty to offer, even in quite a traditional country house. Cane and rattan furniture, woven chik blinds and towering palm and fern houseplants are a great place to start, and work wonderfully to bring the outdoors in. If the literal materials of a tropical climate don't feel quite right for your interior, try interpreting the idea a little less literally, with palm and banana leaf prints in your fabrics and wallpapers, or bamboo motifs in your hardware. We've gathered our favourite ideas from around the world to prove that the tropics can be a welcome addition wherever you live.
1/11A judicious use of fabrics can bring a bit of sunshine into any interior. Beata Heuman has used her own ‘Palm Drop’ fabric in her London house, with the abstract palm print in green bringing a hit of colour and life to the scheme. The grasscloth wallcovering also has a distinct tropical feel, as does the white plaster sand dollar light, ‘a favorite of mine since working for Nicky Haslam,’ says Beata.
2/11The cultural fusion of English country house style, tropical Brazil and German Bauhaus makes for a heady cocktail and it is this mix of styles that is both the foundation and the inspiration of Nina Litchfield’s design company.
A tropical exuberance permeates her own London house and, as is often the case in Brazilian houses, nature seems to have been brought indoors. A huge green leopard-print curved sofa welcomes you in, there is a palm tree by the window, and a vast photograph of a bird of paradise flower by artist Anna Skladmann hangs above the chimneypiece.
Michael Sinclair3/11If it's not too on the nose, simply bringing some house plants of impressive scale into a room is instantly transportive. The twin palms in this London house by Maddux Creative help to bring the outside in, while the ceiling in ‘Classic Gold’ from Charles Roberson Liquid Metal ‘adds a bit of sunniness’ to Little Greene’s ‘Salix’ on the walls.
Lauryn Ishak4/11This Singapore apartment has been transformed by Elizabeth Hay into a jewel box that takes you on a trip round the world – each room filled with colourful character inspired by the owners’ cosmopolitan tastes. Bright colours mingle with natural, woven materials for a look that feels very modern tropical. In the sitting room, woven panels are set against a seagrass wallcovering from Stereo. The chairs were found locally and resprayed in a vibrant shade of blue.
Boz Gagovski5/11Chik blinds and bamboo handles make subtle references to the tropics in the small kitchen of Lucy Mayers' London house. The chik blinds were handmade in India, and the bamboo-motif handles are from Beardmore.
James Fennell6/11Having sold their house in Wiltshire, Charlie and Tweenie Wrey decided on a whim to move to southern Sri Lanka, where they have built a calm, comfortable house in the local architectural vernacular and embraced a relaxed way of life. Cane furniture, mosquito nets and Buddhist artworks situate this house firmly in its Sri Lankan context.
Tim Salisbury7/11Scenic wallpaper and murals, while undoubtedly an investment, are a brilliant way to immerse a room in a different environment, with tropical scenes a favourite choice. In her own Brisbane studio, designer Anna Spiro has used a wallpaper she designed for de Gournay, named ‘Island Garden’, which features a tropical landscape with a hand-drawn geometric border.
Jake Curtis8/11Large scale leaf prints, such as the Robert Allen example on the chaise in designer Stephanie Barba Mendoza's London house, are a relatively understated way to refer to hot climates and jungle surroundings in an interior.
Rupert Peace9/11Her experience of living in bland rental houses in south-east Asia left Alice Crawley with a craving to use colour and pattern. Her London house tells the story of her time in Hong Kong and Vietnam, and the fun she had with colour when she returned. Bamboo furniture is one of those things that both recalls the tropics but also looks perfectly at home in an English house. Pairing the Vietnamese chairs with a block-printed tablecloth and chinoiserie wall panels enhances the feeling that we might be somewhere quite far from London.
Paul Massey10/11Conservatories and glasshouses, open to the outdoors and filled with plants, can (on a sunny day) recall warmer climes like no other design feature. This Georgian house with interiors by Ben Pentreath is blessed with a steel-framed conservatory by Serres d’Antan, containing rattan ‘Wengler’ chairs from Sika-Design and a vintage linen table runner.
Nick Mele11/11Cane furniture, seagrass flooring and wall to wall stripes: we can't think of a more attractive scheme for a tropical interior. This is the Villa Filipponi, the first Palm Beach project from interior designer Mark D. Sikes, featured in Vendome's new book Palm Beach Living. The blue-and-white stripe covering walls, windows, furnishings, and pillows in the family room is a fabric by Fermoie, a textile company started by the founders of Farrow & Ball paints. The ottomans are covered in a Peter Dunham paisley. The wicker trays are from Hive, a nearby interior design shop, and the seagrass rug is from Frank’s Cane and Rush Supply.
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