Have you ever stepped foot into a restaurant and felt an immediate connection with the space? While we talk a lot about inspiration in interior design, sometimes having a sense of place is the most important aspect of a room’s appeal. It creates an ambiance that is instantly relaxing—a feeling that’s especially important as we set off on the last of our summer holidays. But there’s an art to translating one’s locale into an interior without becoming thematic. Three globe-spanning locations illustrate how tiles and touches of local flair can subtly reflect a destination.

On the eastern shore of Singapore, in the coastal suburbs of Siglap, you’ll find The Coconut Club, left—a canteen devoted to dishes made from its namesake ingredient. Among them, Nasi Lemak takes pride of place on the menu, with iterations offered throughout the day. “Nasi Lemak is like your three dollar breakfast food in Asia but [here] it’s done with a supreme level of cooking. It's about elevating everyday Singaporean food, which is lovely,” says the restaurant’s Singapore-born, London-based designer, Sacha Leong of Nice Projects. This dish is traditionally served atop a banana leaf, which inspired the restaurant’s green colour scheme, and is sometimes served with ketupat—steamed coconut rice inside a woven coconut leaf pouch—further inspiring the tile pattern. “It ended up being the DNA of the restaurant. We worked with matte encaustic cement and glazed, darker green clay tiles, handmade in Indonesia, to create the pattern,” says Leong. Local cane chairs and layers of custom rattan were brought in for warmth and a nod to area’s traditional roots—including nine oversized rattan pendant shades (1.8m diameter) that were commissioned from ByoLiving along with woven matting for the bespoke banquettes. “These are the things you can do in Asia because the craftsman are all regional. They have the skills, they’re up for a challenge,” explains Leong. “Our intention is, if you use natural materials that age well but have their own personality, it speaks of its place. It feels contemporary instead of pastiche or kitsch.”

In designing the new Casa Monti hotel in Rome’s historic Monti district, Paris-based designer Laura Gonzalez needed to look no further than the artisan workshops dotted along the historic district’s meandering streets. Just as the bohemian enclave is celebrated for its artists, ironmongers, glassblowers, and woodworkers, so too is the hotel a hub of creativity. In Casa Monti Ristorante, centre, that expression translates into a mix of materials and bespoke finishes that speak to the area’s trattorias with colours referencing the natural and urban landscapes. Warm earthy tones in the terracotta floor tiles, undulating bar tiles, and glazed column tiles (similar to our terra firma bricks) harken to Rome’s ancient villas and its golden hour (l’ora d’oro) while verdant green stone behind the bar and in the botanical fabrics reference its lush gardens. Even the tableware—made by Bitossi—speaks to the neighborhood’s craft heritage. 

Think of Miami’s South Beach and the iconic Art Deco hotels along Ocean Drive might come to mind, or glitzy stalwarts like the Fontainebleau further up the beach. But tucked along a pedestrian passageway a few blocks inland lies Española Way—a Spanish Mediterranean-style promenade that was once the playground of Al Capone and Desi Arnaz. The area’s rich architecture and spirited history served as the jumping off point for its newest hotel, the Esmé, right, designed by Jessica Schuster, who worked with Miami’s Historic Preservation Board in updating the c1927 building. “The details come together as a nod to this history while aiming to harmoniously weave those details in with the essence of contemporary Miami,” she says. Among the updates is a dramatic rooftop bar that’s lined with stripes of deep raspberry red Zellige tiles in contrast to a checkerboard of turquoise and white porcelain floor tiles. “The colour palette is focused around richness of hue and tones which connote opulence and glamour,” says Schuster, who also used clashing patterns as a way to add texture and dynamism.  “They add a sense of vibrancy and authenticity,” she says, noting the decision to tile the bar was an homage to the “Mediterranean cultural heritage of South Beach.”  

PS - If you find yourself in New York this summer, be sure to swing by Laura Gonzalez’ new Tribeca showroom, which opened in June and is bursting with bespoke ceramic pieces.

Photos: Lisa Cohen, Courtesy Nice Projects; Jérôme Galland, Courtesy Laura Gonzalez/Casa Monti; Christian Harder, Courtesy Jessica Schuster