National and International Identity within High-End High Street Interior Design 

These chairs are only one example of the culturally rich interiors of Granada that mimic those found in La Alhambra, one of the worlds most famous palaces. 

While ambling down the tourist crammed streets of Granada in the south of Spain, I came across a dimply lit craft shop, filled with hand made furniture, perfect for those looking to spend the cash in order to take a piece of Andalucían Spain back to their homes.

It was here, as well as amongst the people I came across during my summer, where I discovered how much national and regional pride is reflected in modern Spanish interior design.

From discovering this connection between national style/ identity and design, I went to a high end fabric distributor in Valencia. Lola Vega, the owner of ‘LolaVega’, was kind enough to tell me her opinions on national identity. She explained to me the way British fabrics, although all individual in there style, often contain something that makes them ‘typically British’. The same applies to Spanish interior fabrics. However, this was something she was less capable of explaining to me, perhaps because it’s easier to explain a style to those looking from the outside in.

Do all Countries Have a Continuing National Identity?

Britain: Many of the currently and popular high end, high street interior designers contain waves of what has always been considered as ‘quintessentially British’; Floral, animal, British wildlife, realism within lots of detail.

Scandinavia: It’s is interesting to look at the way Scandinavian interiors have their own look while encompassing the styles and normalities of other countries. Their rooms hold a strong calm, a light elegance. They are powerful, yet gentle. So many paradoxes combine in a way that creates synchronicity.   

Could there be a difference between the high-end high street interior design that Scandinavian people choose to decorate their homes with and the design they produce and sell for production overseas?

It seems to me that the world’s idea of a modern interiors reflects similar traits. For example, light rooms and cool, elegance seem to be a popular styles cropping up in interiors all over the world. With this as a bases each country adds their own heritage and culture, subtler in some cases than others.

Is this all a quest to attract an international market? Are we loosing our national identities or simply becoming more internationally, and therefore open, minded? 


Caitlin Pharncote-Rowe