DALLAS — Maybe it’s your budget that’s keeping you from skipping town — or perhaps your boss is to blame. Even without an out-of-town adventure or hotel overnight on the calendar, travel-inspired interiors you can get away from the daily doldrums.
Introducing elements from your favorite destinations into your home can help make every day feel a bit more like vacation — or at the very least, remind you of time when chores and the daily grind weren’t top of mind.
Here’s how some of Dallas’ interiors leaders are using design to take them places.
HEAD FOR THE (BEVERLY) HILLS
For a serious shot of old-school glam, consider a Hollywood icon.
The Beverly Hills Hotel may have made the Martinique Jungle Palm wallpaper a legend, but the legend can feel right at home in lots of spaces.
“The large-scale pattern of this banana leaf paper is the perfect solution to give an entry the illusion of height,” says Emily Johnston Larkin, who used the print in a Greenway Parks entry with an 8-foot ceiling.
And then there’s that wow factor of that punchy, tropical pattern.
“It’s a complete departure from something you’d normally see on the walls of a home in Texas,” she says.
THE LUXE LIFE
One of designer Abbe Fenimore’s favorite things about traveling is discovering unique hotels and lodging options.
“I love staying in hotels where each room has a different design and style,” she says. Fenimore looks for spaces that have unique elements that make it a memorable place to relax and crash after a long day.
To get the look the look of a luxury hotel suite at home, pile on rich linens, memorable task lighting and standout patterns and textures.
“Make it a relaxing getaway that’s rich in unique design elements to make it memorable,” says Fenimore.
PARISIAN CHIC
The trick with design inspired by other places is to incorporate it in a way that makes sense with the rest of your house, says Tara Lenney.
Want a French-feeling kitchen? “You can’t just plop down the kitchen from Ratatouille in the middle of your Dallas ranch house and hope it all works out!” the Dallas designer warns.
What you can do is make architectural tweaks for a more Parisian style that’s at once sophisticated and chic but also casual and effortless. Use a home’s exterior brick color in the kitchen to make it appear it was always an exposed brick wall. Hardwood floors in a European-style herringbone pattern and black windows add to the French ambience.
Really go for it with a copper vent hood over the professional gas range, “because nothing really says French cooking like copper,” says Lenney.
Bring it all together by incorporating artwork and cookware from France. “And of course, bread,” the designer says. “You always need bread.”
THE LIFE AQUATIC
Bring the calm and serenity of the ocean inside with a rich, neutral palette.
When designing a beach house on the Bahamian island of Exuma, Emily Sheehan Hewett really took advantage of its seaside location.
“We incorporated textured neutral fabrics with pops of soft blue for a tranquil and casual feel,” she says of the project.
Also consider nods to the sea and its nautical nature when layering in accent pieces, Hewett says. A porthole style mirror and decorative coral play up the theme, without going too cutesy.
But she let the ocean do the heavy lifting. “Because the focal point of the room is the electric turquoise water view through the window, we opted to minimize the colors and contrast inside the room,” Hewett says.
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