West Indies architecture with a nod to the U.K.

The lure of the palm tree, the freshness of the sea breezes, the magic of almost constant sunshsine–the Caribbean has it all. And as the British colonized large parts of the West Indies they left a lot of their style influence behind–rice carved four-poster beds, some tea on the veranda, printed fabrics featuring local flora and fauna. Even much of the architecture in the Caribbean seems to borrow elements from Georgian times.

The palm tree has become one of the major iconic symbols used in fashion and home decor products to capture the British Colonial look. Sometimes, those palms can house mischievous fauna–monkeys! Fabrics with monkeys are all the rage…they can be as playful as you’d like. Pair those monkeys with coconuts/bananas/fruit/palm trees, and you’ve got Caribbean style down pat! The palette for our Antigua holiday is centered on greens (many different shades) and white, with neutrals added in for balance.

Palms dominate the fabric and paint board.

In putting together a bedroom with Antigua style, it helps certainly to have a carved four poster bed. But really, any dark wood will do as a foil for the palms to suggest British heritage. Our more modern bed is dark enough in its rich ebony finish to carry off this look. We’ve paired it with the perfect palm pattern bench, two palm frond pillow shams, a palm print hatbox, and a light weight cotton blanket in that all important green tone. It isn’t necessary to totally redress your bed to capture Caribbean style. Just add some accent shams, as we’ve done here, coordinating with the year-round duvet cover you’ve got.

A contemporary bed in a British Colonial mood.

There is so much product to be found with palms on them, that we had fun deciding where to stage our second mini-vignette. How about in a closet? Closet shop merchandise–storage boxes, bins and totes–featuring palm patterns can take your ordinary, rather boring linen closet and make it unique for very little outlay of cash. Every time you open the door to take out fresh towels or sheets, you’ll smile remembering the wonderful time you had on your Caribbean cruise with all its ports of call.

A memory of Antigua inside your linen closet.

Adding a breath of the the West Indies to your home is easy, as we’ve seen. But now it’s time to depart from the West (Indies that is) and head to the East (Indies). Next stop–exotic Bali, home of Indonesian style, thanks to the Dutch wax prints and batiks.