Inspirations blog
Perla Lichi Combines Travel and Design Inspiration
– Ibn Battuta
Perla Lichi loves to travel.
And this South Florida upscale interior designer shares wanderlust in common with many of her interior design clients who themselves are also world travelers. Perla loves to bring ideas she sees during her journeys home. And she often weaves them into some of her best design concepts.
“Wherever I go, whatever I see, whomever I meet—I am always thinking in terms of design. The world is rich with inspiration: the colors and shapes of things, architectural detailing from ancient times to the present. Unique and unexpected color combinations and even the spirit of each place—these and other aspects of what I see will often linger in my mind long after I return home.
– Susan Sontag
“So that I will not forget, I record each journey in a carefully detailed notebook. Each notebook is filled with my hand-written observations. They are fat with postcards and other mementos stapled, taped, or simply inserted between the appropriate pages. I refer to them when I want to recall my specific impressions at the time they were recorded in my mind. I highly recommend the practice of keeping notebooks of your travels.
“I have toured the Winter Palace, home of the Romanov Emperors in St. Petersburg Russia; strolled the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles near Paris. Africa, Africa, the Far East and all over the Middle East, Russia, France, India, Türkiye, Spain, Italy, Mexico, South America—all the experiences have fired my imagination. I designed a few things for a furniture company in the Middle East. And that led to a move to Dubai, where I had an office for several years while maintaining my practice in Florida. Those years led to experience with design of homes throughout many continents. It taught me many things, but mostly that people everywhere want the same thing. They want their home—be it large or small—to be a haven of comfort and beauty where they can enjoy the most important moments of their lives—those moments spent in intimate gatherings with family and friends.
This blogpost is excerpted from Perla’s new book, “You Can’t Make This Up! Oh Yes I Can!" For more information and how to purchase Perla’s Book, go to About Perla page.
