Condo Living: Global Warming Trend

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INSPIRED INTERIORS ARE are a lot like memorable meals. In both cases, the most delicious ones mix and match a variety of ethnic influences, colors and textures. But it wasn't so long ago that if you wanted to inject your space with anything close to an exotic vibe, all you could do was plop down one of Pier 1's Papasan wicker chairs in the middle of your cookie-cutter living room.

But, thanks to globalization, we're now not only traveling to far-flung places, but those places are also arriving on our doorstep home design-wise via specialty stores and mass retailers selling everything from Chinese cabinets to West African masks and Swedish settees. The style sea change allows people to craft condo interiors that you might describe as trades wind chic — no stint in the Foreign Service required.

Take Pat Richardson, 45, who works for defense contractor Science Applications Incorporated at the Pentagon. In his 800-square-foot loft-like condo near U Street, he's combined mid-century modern classic furniture by Le Corbusier and Saarinen with exotic elements.

Think a Tibetan rug in his living room, a Japanese Tansu chest in his kitchen, and a Canadian weaving, French country armoire, Vietnamese pots and World War I recruiting posters in his bedroom.

"For years before I bought my condo, I rented an apartment in Mt. Pleasant from a guy who owned a design shop on F Street in the 1970s," says Richardson. "This is where I learned how to pull a place together. I started with clean-lined classic furniture and then layered in pottery, textiles and artifacts."

Like many Washingtonians, Richardson travels for his job and for pleasure — mostly in Southeast Asia, where he has purchased many of the accent pieces for his condo.

"I've also found wonderful resources in the city," says Richardson, who recently bought four 1880 Chinese carved screens at Dragonfly Design Decor, which just happens to be walking distance from his flat. When a Tibetan rug at Qi in Alexandria caught Richardson's eye but wasn't quite big enough, store owner Kevin Kosa called his sources in Tibet and got him the larger size.

"The key," says Richardson, "when you go out to find furnishings: Look at a potential purchase from the standpoint of beauty and function." And that's often not difficult with Asian pieces, since many were built as versatile storage vessels. Richardson, who finds space a critical issue in his condo, places his TV set on a 24-inch-high Tibetan prayer chest in his living room that he also uses to stash clippers and pruners for gardening on the nearby balcony. The Japanese Tansu cabinet in his kitchen stores pots, pans and canned goods.

Kim Hessler, who owns Dragonfly Design Decor — which specializes in Asian antiques — says, "Today's modern structures look cold and similar. When you mix in a piece from China, Africa or Europe with an imperfection or two, you add an element of surprise. The knowledge of where and how it was made and used makes it even more intriguing." Hessler advises "finding one piece that's attractive to you and building on it."

"If you find something special in your travels, bring it home," says Deb Sagerholm, owner of Marco Polo Treasures in Kensington, Md., (which sells furnishings and accents from Thailand, Indonesia, Tibet, Burma and Korea). Except, she adds, if it's a very large piece, you may want to think twice about it because of high shipping fees.

Whether you find treasure in Beijing or Bowie, though, Sagerholm says don't worry about what it is or how you'll use it. In her store, she points out an Indonesian jodang, a high-sided, 58-inch wide chest, traditionally used to hold a bride's wedding gifts. "This has no relation to any furniture we have in the states, so I tell customers to think creatively: Use it as a window seat, coffee table or put a cushion on it and use it as a storage bench at the foot of a bed." To blend such elements into your pad, you have to discard notions that dressers must be in bedrooms or dining chairs in a dining room.

"Far-flung finds personalize your home," says Sagerholm. But if you're wary of a big investment, you can also transform a room and conjure up another culture just with paint or a few accessories. Rusty reds, greens and bronzes call to mind the Far East; oxblood red, teal and gold convey the Kremlin in Russia. If the results don't resonate, grab another gallon or two.

Irene Whalen, who has sold Malinese mudcloth, Ghanese masks and South African tableware at U Street's Zawadi since 1992, agrees that mixing worldly goods into a room often means looking beyond an object's original purpose. "I see a beautiful old garment and think wall hanging; a decorative pot can be a stool and contemporary South African tableware, art."

When traveling in exotic locales, Whalen suggests, check out hotels and restaurants, which often host exhibits of local artists, for design ideas and inspirations. In a restaurant in Mali, Whalen noticed an ingenious use of a local material — slabs of salt that had been turned into lamps.

When you're on vacation in Bhutan or just shopping at the World Market in Bethesda, don't buy something without "considering scale and proportion," says D.C.-based designer Nestor Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz placed a client's collection of African wood statues (formerly scattered around a room) on one high-tech steel-and-glass table. Cruz says the wood statues balanced the transparency of the modern table and ended up making a more powerful statement in a group than individually.

He'd do the same thing with, say, a collection of tribal rugs from Turkey. "Place several small earth-toned ones with colorful accents to cover the floor of a bedroom — they create a mosaic effect that's far more interesting than one large rug."

Loi Thai's aquavit-clear eye for Scandinavian design is always on the move as he travels and buys for himself or his Bethesda store, Tone on Tone, which showcases Swedish antiques. Thai's philosophy is that if you like something, it will work out somewhere, even if it's not the spot you originally intended. If you're just starting out, think small. Two items can make a collection, but how you display them matters.
Thai advises looking for some common element, whether it's shape, pattern, texture or color. For example, African mud cloth, Indonesian textiles and Indian baskets work well together because of similar patterns, texture and a "tribal feel." The colors in primitive American art blend with blue and white Chinese pottery as well as the blues and grays of Swedish furnishings.

Thai recently came up with a solution for customers who wanted to put their collection of Ming Dynasty porcelain on a mantel in a room full of modern furniture. He selected an antique bonsai marble planter for the mantel. Because of its clean lines, pale color and simple shape, the piece bridged the gap between Ming and modern.

According to Kansas City's Patricia Shackelford, who blogs about design at Mrsblandings.blogspot.com, one of the advantages of buying furnishings away from home is the freshness factor — and the low chane that you'll see the same thing you bought in someone else's digs. Also, picking up pieces for your pad on a trip means you end up with untacky (hopefully) mementos of the occasion — like a watercolor Shackelford bought in Florida that evokes memories of a great vacation there. "Get to know dealers, shop owners; talk to people and tell them what you're looking for," says Shackelford. "You can't do that at Pier 1."

Once you have the exotic decor bug, keep in mind that you don't want your condo to look like Epcot. A few well-chosen pieces — a Chinese gong, a Tibetan table and lacquered bowls —can create a space that feels both well-traveled and like a sanctuary to chill in at journey's end.

IDEA LIST:
Think Globally, Shop Locally

» Abaca Imports — Javanese teak benches, Chinese cabinets and Asian accessories (Buddhas, calligraphy brushes, teapots) star at this warehouse-y spot. 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria; 703-684-2901; Abacaimports.com

» Carling Nichols — Chinese antiques, from long, thin altar tables to curvy little painted stools, mix with contemporary art and accessories at this snug Georgetown boutique. 1675 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, 202-338-5600; Carlingnichols.com

» Cost Plus World Market — The prices at these home meccas are so low, we fear sweatshop involvement. But the hipster warehouses boast killer furniture and accessories like a capiz shell curtain or a carved wooden Chinese dragon to deck walls. Worldmarket.com for area locations.

» Dragonfly Design Decor — Bubbly owner Kimberly Hessler treks to China to pick up painted Tibetan cabinets, Chinese jades and unusual accessories — foo dog carvings, stacking baskets, vintage wooden makeup boxes. 1457 Church St. NW Washington, DC 202-265-3359; Dragonflydd.com

» Marco Polo's Treasures — Modern and antique finds (a contempo Balinese grass bench, an 18th-century Chinese Buddhist temple drum) mingle at this design den. 4263 Howard Ave., Kensington, 301-530-3420; Marcopolostreasures.com

» Pier 1 Imports — The granddaddy of the import chains holds everything from Indian curtains that look like saris to sofas, tables and chairs made of, yep, wicker! Pier1.com for area locations.

» Tone on Tone — Swedish settees, Danish mirrors and other Scandinavian antiques here cost a lot, but they’re close to museum quality and work in both modern and country rooms. 7920 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda, 240-498-0800; Tone-on-tone.com

» Zawadi — The U Street outpost for African art and accessories overflows with wooden stools, masks and textiles. 1524 U St. NW, Washington, 202-232-2214; Zawadidc.com

Written by Janet Bennett with contribution by Jennifer Barger/Express