Bring Fall Inside with Fantastical Design Elements
Mushrooms, Birds and Bees, even mermaids are all popular design motifs whose popularity stem from fantasy or fairy tales! These tales have enthralled readers for hundreds of years. The minute the Brothers Grimm began compiling their ancient folklore fairy tales, they grabbed the attention of popular culture! Where would Walt Disney be without those classic tales to use as inspiration?! Disney set a trend. Now we ALL access those fairy tales for creative inspiration and jumping-off-points for our projects. And not just in a kitschy, child-like way!
Here in America, we are specifically inspired by the German design culture buried deep in those stories. We like to mix the Bavarian rustic cottage ideas with romantic, storybook myth elements that promise a magical home! Think Hansel and Gretel’s gingerbread house, or Red Riding Hood’s Grandma’s cottage in the woods, or even Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage—all promise rescue, safety, and comfort. Let’s dive into the interior elements that combine to create this fairy tale feeling.
Hand-Painted Wooden Furniture
Hand-painted wooden furniture was a staple in German rural folk design—no dresser or chair would’ve been left entirely unadorned. Motifs of floral patterns, birds, hearts, and pastoral scenes would’ve been used. This elevated the humble materials and, at times, was used to mimic more costly materials! Large storage cabinets and chests were hand painted for wedding gifts with the couple’s names or initials. This tradition was even brought to America by many Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants and has woven itself into part of our American experience as well!
Exposed Timber Framing
This style of building dates back thousands of years. Originally the mortise and tenon joinery was covered by plaster to protect the wood. But now, we romanticize it by leaving the exposed wood visible. We can apply this concept to our own homes on our ceilings or our cased openings for a European touch.
Deep Forest Colored Botanics
Botanical motifs in deep forest color palettes: Prehistoric pottery has been found featuring flowers and trees or geometric petals dating back to 6200BCE! That’s right, humans have always used nature as an inspiration for design. The palette of moody forest colors is especially fantastical when combined with high-contrast lighting or light, blush pinks. This adds the romance and princess-of-it-all to the moody, spooky, forest story we’re telling with the botanical motif.
Warm Lighting
The safety offered in all of these fairy tales is probably what comforted us most as children. Coming out of the dark woods, or away from the scary wolf, and seeing the light shining out of the windows into the dark forest is exactly the feeling we want to evoke in our lighting design.
To complete the look styling with gingham checks, ceramic jugs, and candles lend that European farmhouse flair to a space. We’re inevitably influenced by the images we see in our books as children. Let’s tap into that knowledge and inspire creativity and play in our daily lives by giving ourselves a spark of nostalgia. Let’s celebrate our childhood and give our imagination more freedom in our daily life!
