Bring Home Global Style

At Samovar, www.samovartea.com, in San Francisco, color consultant and paint specialist Barbara Jacobs created a riveting atmosphere with two paint finishes: a waxed troweled effect and a dragging technique. "The wall where Buddha sits is a dark chocolate brown with red layered on top and then waxed," she says. The rest of the space is done in a raw-silk-like finish created by dragging a big brush through a thick material. The resulting bumps and threads resemble the slubs and imperfections of silk. "I’ve done this technique in people’s homes and it’s a really beautiful sophisticated finish," says Jacobs.

As drinking tea has become a lifestyle choice, retailers are offering more Zen-like furnishings that provide a sense of peace and global flair, from rattan and wicker to wooden Asian stools — not to mention teapots in every possible style and color.

Mediterranean Style

Another lifestyle choice that is influencing design is the Mediterranean movement in cooking, says Taylor Hastie, director of design and trend analysis at Home Depot’s Expo design centers. "Ten years ago people didn’t have artisan or gourmet olive oils or balsamic vinegar. Now they’re very comfortable with Mediterranean cooking, and that has spread into the design of kitchens." The burnt orange, blue and white of the Mediterranean basin are popular as well as hues such as saffron, wine and indigo — spicy colors that Hastie calls "Mediterranean Napa."

International Inspiration

As part of her job, Hastie travels across the world to design shows, introducing Expo merchants to the international color stories and style directions for the year. Here are some of the ideas and trends she has picked up on her global adventures:

• Silk panels, sheer and iridescent, were shown in aubergine and burnt orange. "I also saw a lot of white-on-white in different textures," Hastie says. "In fact, I got some that actually look like silhouettes — like lace stenciled onto a white sheer. It is beautifully monochromatic with big bold shapes."

• Since tile is a big part of Expo’s kitchen and bath offerings, Hastie spent a lot of time being amazed by tiles from around the world. "Bisazza is doing black and white mosaic tiles that create a blown-up image [now available by special order at Expo]. And the mosaic tiles from Italy were amazing. I saw a lot of glass and tile sculpted into different shapes. Glass was everywhere, including countertops and walls."

• The variety and beauty of countertops captured Hastie’s fancy. "There was everything from wood lava stone from France that is made from actual lava to copper and a compressed paper/pulp countertop product called Richlite [actually made in the U.S.]." And countertops were in brilliant colors, she says: "I was in Spain at a kitchen and tile show and saw that they were doing orange solid-surface countertops with red and orange contrasts against white in the kitchen."

• At the Maison et Objet show in Paris, Hastie saw a style she dubbed Asian fusion feng shui. "Feng shui has been around for a while, but the European influence mixed in with the Asian is interesting. There are strong metallic charcoal colors mixed with what I call a Manchurian yellow," she says. Hastie loved the beautiful agate turquoise and persimmon colors influenced by antique pottery and ceramics combined with a charcoal black. "This isn’t a black black; it’s black mixed with white and provides a wonderful contrast," she says.

• Swedish Country Gustavian colors — a chalky bisque, a matte robin’s egg blue tinted with white, a mauve beige with bisque — all caught Hastie’s eye. "You see this look in Paris stores and European hotel styling. It’s a traditional European antique country look that’s clean and not cluttered. It’s very monochromatic but with a sense of country and romance."

Anne Krueger is the editor of HGTV.com's Decorating newsletter. She has written for In Style, This Old House, Martha Stewart Living and The New York Times.