Living between cultures
How My Experiences Shape Interiors
By Giulia Richter
August 25, 2025
Photo: Delfino Sisto Legnani
Having lived in eight countries, I’ve come to see that interiors are more than just furniture and colors, they’re a reflection of the life you’ve lived, the places you’ve been, and the people you’ve met along the way. Every move, every city, every culture leaves a mark on how I approach design. For me, creating a space is about carrying those experiences into a room and seeing how they interact.
Learning from Craftsmanship
Two places in particular have shaped my sense of detail and texture: Guatemala and Italy. In Guatemala, I was struck by how much a piece of fabric could carry: history, community, identity. The handwoven textiles aren’t just patterns, they’re stories, and the process of making them is slow, intentional, and deeply human. I try to bring that same intentionality into the spaces I design: how something feels under your hand, how textures layer, how small details matter.
Italy, in contrast, taught me the quiet power of precision. Watching a craftsman carve wood or polish marble is humbling. The patience, the focus, the commitment to doing something wellit leaves a mark on your approach to design. There’s a subtle rhythm to Italian craftsmanship that I love translating into interiors: the balance between clean lines and warmth, function and detail.
Blending Without Forcing
What excites me most is seeing how these influences like Guatemalan warmth, Italian refinement, and everything in between can coexist without feeling forced. For me, it’s not about “mixing styles” or following trends. It’s about listening to the materials, to the story behind each object, and letting them find their place together naturally.
Living between cultures has given me a sensitivity to this. I notice things others might overlook: how a color makes you feel, how a texture changes a room, how a pattern speaks to memory and emotion. My goal is to create interiors that carry these layers of experience not as a showcase, but as a quiet reflection of life lived across different worlds.
Reflection
I often think about how our own spaces could change if we allowed them to hold multiple cultural references. A Guatemalan textile next to a sleek Italian console. A Japanese-inspired lamp casting light over a Latin-American rug. To me, that tension and dialogue are where interiors become personal, not just beautiful.
For me, design is less about “style” and more about life. About curiosity, observation, and letting the places I’ve lived and the people I’ve met leave their mark on what I create. That’s what makes a space feel real. That’s what makes it mine.
At the end of the day, every space I create is a reflection of the journey I’ve lived, the cultures I’ve embraced, and the stories I want to carry forward.
Kind regards,
