Places are perhaps the most common sources of inspiration when conceptualising a home’s design. But one common trap that comes with having a site-specific frame of reference is falling back into tired, boring tropes. 

Take Asian-inspired homes, for instance. Your mind probably went straight to blue-and-white porcelain, Shoji doors, red lanterns and bamboo motifs. 

Things don’t have to be that way, though. As home to over half the world’s population, Asia offers a diverse range of design styles. In fact, where we are, in Southeast Asia, has a particularly rich playbook in the realm of aesthetics and craft.

Here’s a look at our favourite regionally inspired homeware, for a new twist on Asian-inspired home design.

Ong Shanmugam

Homegrown label Ong Shanmugam has expanded beyond clothing into other lifestyle products, including furniture. Among these is the Batik Pesisir Dining Chair, made of natural rattan with a batik-printed upholstered backrest and a machine-woven rattan seat. Rattan is a particularly hardy material in this part of the world, being able to withstand high heat and humidity.

Kulturë

The Amed room partition is an intricately carved wooden piece by Kulturë, a furniture brand founded in Singapore to celebrate Indonesian traditional crafts. Rendered in a stunning blue tone, the carving is particularly distinctive in daylight. Kulturë also creates other carved pieces, including decorative panels, headboards and mirrors.

District Eight

Ho Chi Minh City-based District Eight is a furniture brand focused on Vietnam-inspired design. Its Joss collection of sofas pays homage to traditional Southeast Asian architecture. The slight curve of the wood bases on each sofa are carried through in the plush seats, backrests and armrests; that breakaway from harsh right angles creates a softer, more inviting look.

Tiffany & Co.

Taking inspiration from archival designs by the late French porcelain artist Camille Le Tallec, Tiffany Batik references the Javanese wax-resist dye technique from which it gets its name. Here, a full set of tableware — embroidered napkins, tablecloths, baskets and candleholders — has been created, paying homage to Le Tallec’s work featuring the traditional craft.

Vincent Sheppard

With its woven seat and backrest set against dark oak, the Norma lounge chair by Vincent Sheppard calls to mind the peacock chair, which originated in the Philippines and gained popularity throughout the 1970s for its throne-like shape. With a lower-set back, the Norma is decidedly more modern, its perfectly round frame creating a sort of cocoon around its user.

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