The Art Of Tropical Living
March 4, 2010 - Posted in sanur
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In the 1960’s all local houses consisted of very basic constructions, foreigners rented rooms in family inns (losmen). Shortly after trendy sanur was the first area that attracted more sophisticated buildings, usually under supervision of western designers and architects.
Around 1980 the situation started to be influenced strongly by western business people that came to Bali frequently enough to build their own house. These houses and villas somehow took some traditional Balinese essentials to blend with imported Western standards. Although there was suddenly the comfort of a western bathroom, the bottom line was usually a lack of professional competence in an overall architectural context.
Starting around 1990 the present situation started to emerge: Elements of Balinese architecture like thatched materials for the roof or carved doors are used in a modern context and in combination with the Western tradition of comfortable furniture and furnishings.
That is not a general evolution of the “Bali style” it is rather used as reinterpretation in a decorative and usually aesthetic way. Many Westerners have build their Balinese dream home based on a mixture of Western comfort and Asian styles.
The indoor-outdoor living style is dominant to express the best possibilities the tropical climate has to offer. Natural materials used are wood, alang-alang, bamboo, stone, glass and ceramics.
The traditional Balinese way to construct buildings followed very strict rules of shapes and sizes, also positioning and orientation was absolutely predetermined. Constructing a building is guided by religious motives not by practical or designer aesthetics. Therefore it is originally not an art form but religious ritual.
The latest development is however an extracting of Balinese designs to merge with new international styles in an artistic way, giving birth to a new Bali style.
Now designers are getting creative in an unpreceded way to redefine this so typical local art of tropical living in a new, internationally valid way that possibly will set the trend for years to come.
Dave Waldheim
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/the-art-of-tropical-living-93261.html
12 Responses to “The Art Of Tropical Living”
What kind of curtains for a tropical themed living room? Blinds+shades?
I’m having a decorating crisis. My living room has cream/off-white walls (can’t change them its an apartment), and these kind of dark, forest green couches (inhereted them & can’t afford new ones; can’t slipcover them they’re recliners). Decided to do the living room in sort of an exotic tropical theme to justify all that green. For example we have a little tropical houseplant in one corner, little wooden tribal figurine, (also wood endtables) etc.
What I can’t figure out is what to do for curtains. The walls are too light to pull off white, brown makes the room too dark, the beige we looked at was too blah, and there is already too much green in the room to consider it on the curtains. I’m thinking of getting roman shades in a cypress or bamboo material, but would that look stupid over the venitian blinds that the apartment came with? I want to let a lot of light in and still have privacy (in the other rooms we pull the curtains back but leave the blinds down). Help!! Thanks!
By cartmansmom on Mar 4, 2010
At Pier One we found roman shades in a dark red color that went well with our green furniture. And i think it sticks with the tropical theme and then I put a sheer gold valance draped over the top. I like it!
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By ShouldBeWorking on Mar 4, 2010
This is what I would do. I would find so fun bamboo or straw matieral shades that roll up. This would give you that tropical look.
As far as shades I would use a long bamboo pole holding up some fabric drapped around it. The fabric could be in a tropical print or just a one color textured fabric.
Hope that helps
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By elis81288 on Mar 4, 2010
cream/off white wall color goes great with dark orange you can’t go wrong with that. Because of the end tables and your sofa color the orange will be a great complement.
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By Ladybug on Mar 4, 2010
Get a rod long enough to go across the window. Then go to a fabric store and look for a bamboo / forest ’sheer’ fabric. Buy enough to go to the floor and ‘loosly’ across the top (usually about 10-12 yards).
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By GP on Mar 4, 2010
Funny enough, I have the same living room! lol! I have big flower curtains, that add color and pull things togetherbut they are big and thick, (WE like our privacy!), but we have lace, or shear curtains underneath, for letting in the sun. Just add another curtain rod an inch or two above or below (I usually go below) the ones that are there, and I usually put them about an inch inside the other set (at both ends,) and put your shear ones on that, that way you can open your big curtains, and they hang nicely over the lace or shear ones, and you dont have a peeky holes on the ends, it works for me.
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Me, life
By Vickie P on Mar 4, 2010
They make a thatch type blind but has the same color a bamboo. I can’t remember exactly what it’s called but they do look like roman shades but are thatch.
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By Heather M on Mar 4, 2010
Get some bamboo poles that are a bit longer than the window(s). find some curtain rod holders the bamboo will fit into. Get some sheer fabric (like mosquito netting they use in the rain forest) and drape it over the bamboo rod with a swag in the center. The 2 sides don’t have to be even and that looks more "natural" anyway. You can find a material called "gauze" that will look good and comes in many colors that are muted so it will add without overpowering the room.
I have used a similar thing in my house except I built shelves accross the top of the window and draped material from 2 hooks at each end attached to the shelves. This way we could "theme" the room by adding items along the shelf. If we wanted a change we just replaced the items on the shelf. We had blinds so the "curtains" were just for added framing of the window.
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My own quirky decorating style (I don’t like to follow what "everyone else" is doing) I like to create something no one else has.
By one_half_elf on Mar 4, 2010
My room is sort of a tropical / underwater theme, so my dad got some bambo blinds for my window, it looks so cool in the room, and goes with the tropical theme really well! And you said that you wanted light, but no onlooking neighbors, these bambo blinds are great! They give out so much light, and you can see right through them! Thats where I got worried and went outside to make sure that you could not see in, they are like tinted windows on a car, you can NOT see through!
Please be sure to answer my question too, it is in the same section as yours! Thanks!
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By kutesoccerchic on Mar 4, 2010
I like bamboo shades too.
http://www.ikea.com
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By treday25 on Mar 4, 2010
Maybe light bamboo blinds in a honey coloured wood, with sheer curtains that can be pulled to the sides. The sheer curtains could be big tropical flower prints, with some green in them to tie in with the sofa. Take the ventian blinds off.
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By ontario ashley on Mar 4, 2010
How about wood or even ventican blinds ? There are lots more combinations!
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http://blinds.articlekeep.com/articles/Different-Kinds-of-Blinds-and-Shades.html
By blueside on Mar 4, 2010