You can spend a lot or a little when decorating your home's interior in an exotic ethnic-eclectic style. Accessories are critical to this look. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Look for foreign tchotchkes that are woven, painted, carved, molded, cast or sewn by hand.
2. Browse through vacation souvenirs: pottery from Mexico, baskets from just about anyplace, masks from South America or Asia, etc.
3. Be creative. A silk kimono, Panama hat or embroidered tablecloth can accessorize a room.
4. Look for rugs with ethnic flair, including hand-woven flat rugs from Mexico, Turkey and India; Persian-style rugs; furry flokatis from Greece; animal-print rugs (zebra/tiger stripes, leopard spots), and coarse sisal.
5. Display tchotchkes from all over the world: brass cricket boxes from China; brass candlesticks from India; carved wood boxes; masks from Central America, Africa and/or Asia; and candleholders crafted from carved wood, gaily painted ceramic or wrought iron.
6. Dress the windows with natural bamboo matchstick blinds, woven-wood Roman shades, Mexican blankets and plantation shutters. If you go with more-conventional drapes, use fabrics with an ethnic pattern, such as Japanese or Chinese writing, bamboo prints, exotic florals or African mud cloth.
7. Treat the walls to bamboo- or rattan-print wallpaper, grass cloth, or an adobe paint finish. Deck the walls with maps, embroidered textiles and paintings, or drawings that depict foreign scenery, still lifes, etc.
8. Choose lamps with foreign flavor, including Mexican pottery, hand-hammered brass, terra cotta, rattan and ginger jar; palm trees, monkeys, elephants and lions in various media (resin, clay, wood, metal) are wonderful. Shades should be complementary, including woven rattan, beads, pleated linen, handmade paper and aged parchment.
Tags: carved wood, from Mexico, masks from, with ethnic
