When people travel to foreign locales they tend to come home with a lot more than a camera full of pics and a suitcase festooned with bedbugs. Many world travelers pick up pieces of their destinations and bring them home. For some people this could mean adopting a new style of dress or picking up trinkets from the local bazaar, while others will try their hand at learning the language or cooking traditional recipes when they return home. But one thing you may not notice is that visiting another country and culture has shifted your design sensibilities. So if you're looking for worldly inspiration before you start your home renovation, here are a few locales you may want to add to your travel list.
1. Rome, Italy. When it comes to stately architecture, you can't do much better than a visit to Rome to check out the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and Saint Peter's Basilica, just to name a few famous buildings. If you're looking for something stately and impressive for your own home, a Roman holiday could offer you just the architectural inspiration you need.
2. Vancouver Island, Canada. Although there are many reasons to visit this island off Canada's western coast, including charming, cottage-style homes interspersed amongst more modern buildings, the main draw comes not from the architecture, but from the beautiful, natural surroundings. Of particular interest is the Butchart Gardens, a one-time limestone quarry that Robert and Jennie Butchart converted into a massive botanical garden structure shortly after the turn of the century. The idea was to rehabilitate the unsightly mining pits and turn them into something beautiful, and what resulted was a truly miraculous transformation. With Japanese, Italian, Rose, and
1. Rome, Italy. When it comes to stately architecture, you can't do much better than a visit to Rome to check out the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and Saint Peter's Basilica, just to name a few famous buildings. If you're looking for something stately and impressive for your own home, a Roman holiday could offer you just the architectural inspiration you need.
2. Vancouver Island, Canada. Although there are many reasons to visit this island off Canada's western coast, including charming, cottage-style homes interspersed amongst more modern buildings, the main draw comes not from the architecture, but from the beautiful, natural surroundings. Of particular interest is the Butchart Gardens, a one-time limestone quarry that Robert and Jennie Butchart converted into a massive botanical garden structure shortly after the turn of the century. The idea was to rehabilitate the unsightly mining pits and turn them into something beautiful, and what resulted was a truly miraculous transformation. With Japanese, Italian, Rose, and