A colonial style of interior design references elements dating back to the 16th century. That’s when the first overseas colonies were established, introducing new styles of furniture in Europe. This style of home decoration is characterised by large, heavy furniture, simple, practical and made of dark wood, often teak.

The original teak wood comes from Southeast Asia. Teak varies widely in origin, colour, density and hardness. The wood is excellent quality, so it’s often used to build houses, ships, furniture and garden furnishings. In general, all types of teak wood are resistant to wind and rain, but teak from the island of Java seems to offer the best quality. If you’d rather not use teak, other types of wood are also an option: pine, birth, maple, walnut or cherry could also be used.

Besides dark wood furniture, the colours used in this style are very important to the overall interior design. Various shades of brown are usually included, and the walls are often painted reddish-brown, off-white or dark grey. Other colours that are sometimes seen in this style include green, yellow and soft blue.

Objects used to decorate a colonial-style interior are always calm and restful: from primitive folk art to natural stone sculptures, from various types of wood carvings to statues with Buddhist or Hindu themes.