Design, just like any other form of art, offers us another intimate reflection of who we are, where we come from, and what we value. It’s no wonder, then, that interior designers often find themselves acting as cultural translators when helping clients express their identity through spatial choices, materials, and decorative objects. Each detail can carry a historical, spiritual, or symbolic significance.
When we understand how different cultures express identity through interior design, we learn how to create our own space that feels personal and rooted in meaning and memory.
The Role of Design in Cultural Identity
Have you entered a foreign friend’s house? Have you noticed how it feels different? How architecture, spatial orientation, and decor all come together to give you a new feeling and te
ll you a different story. In many parts of the world, interiors are arranged not just for comfort but to reflect social structures, spiritual beliefs, and even generational traditions.
For example, in Middle Eastern homes, a majlis (a formal sitting area) symbolises hospitality and community, while in Scandinavian homes, minimalism and utility reflect values of modesty and harmony with nature. Cultural identity shapes the very foundation of design. And designers need to be attuned to the nuances to help us honour the deeper layer of a space’s identity.
Architecture as a Cultural Signature
Probably one of the clearest visual signatures of culture is architecture. Japanese, for example, is rooted in principles of balance, impermanence and natural integration. You can see that clearly in their use of timber, sliding shoji panels, and elevated platforms. Moroccan architecture, on the other hand, presents us with enclosed courtyards, hand-carved details, and vibrant tile mosaics that symbolise infinity and divine perfection. And in the Nordic countries, the architecture champions clean lines, light-filled rooms, and a quiet celebration of simplicity.
So, if you look closer, you’ll easily see how each culture’s built environment serves as a mirror of its philosophy and priorities.
Textiles as Woven Stories
Textile is known to carry some of the richest expressions of identity. Across India, vibrant hand-block prints and embroidered fabrics are embedded with regional motifs to represent deities, folklore, or local flora and fauna. Peruvian weavers use centuries-old techniques to create geometric patterns in alpaca wool, often echoing stories of the Andean mountains and sky gods. In Ghana and other parts of West Africa, Kente cloth is woven in patterns that indicate clan, status or life events.
When designers take inspiration from patterns and incorporate textiles into interiors, they aren’t just adding colour but introducing narrative, heritage, and artistry.
The Language of Colour in Global Design
Colour is profoundly symbolic and its meaning shifts depending on cultural context.
For example, in China, red symbolises luck and joy, making it popular in festive interiors. In Western contexts, however, red can evoke romance, urgency or aggression. Similarly, white is associated with purity in Europe but is linked to mourning in parts of Asia.
Therefore, designers must be sensitive to these associations when they work in multicultural spaces. A colour isn’t just a colour. It’s a message.
Fusion Design: Cross-Cultural Influences
Globalisation has led to some beautiful hybrid aesthetics, like Japandi (the blend of Scandinavian and Japanese minimalism) or Mediterranean-boho interiors mixing North African and coastal European details.
But fusion, as wonderful and beautiful as it is, should be approached with care. Designers have a responsibility to avoid pastiche or cultural appropriation. So, sourcing should be done authentically, giving credit to craftspeople and learning the context behind a motif or layout. When curated with respect and collaboration, fusion design can be a way to celebrate global interconnectedness and identity expressed in design beyond borders.
Diaspora Design: Interiors as a Bridge Between Cultures
Migration is another factor that helps create new design languages—ones that blend memory, nostalgia, and adaptation. For individuals and families living far from their cultural roots, interior design often becomes a way to stay connected to home. A London flat may feature Turkish kilims, Filipino capiz-shell chandeliers, or South Indian brass lamps. Each item carries emotional weight and a sense of continuity.
At the same time, these elements must adapt to new architectural contexts and lifestyles. This blending of old and new, east and west, results in spaces that are layered, intimate, unique, and deeply personal. For designers, understanding diaspora design means recognising that identity is not static. It evolves, travels, and sometimes reinvents itself. Just like the people it represents.
Modern Homes Rooted in Heritage
Many contemporary homes are finding ways to blend innovation with ancestry. For diaspora clients, interior spaces can be an emotional bridge, combining modern aesthetics with artefacts, fabrics, or design elements from their heritage and past. A minimalist kitchen might incorporate hand-painted Portuguese azulejos together with modern neutral wall art; a London flat might house a carved wooden daybed from Kerala together with boho decor.
Design can help people express their dual or multifaceted identities by curating a space that feels forward-looking and deeply rooted in memory.
Designing for Identity and Belonging
Design is art, it is function, it is history, modernity and a dialogue between people and place. When we take the time to understand how cultures express themselves through space, we honour more than aesthetic tradition. We honour identity, memory, and meaning. And as designers, we don’t just shape rooms. We help shape belonging.