For top interior designers in British Columbia, a passport is as essential a tool as a sketchpad. Wandering cobblestone lanes in Italian villages, getting lost in Istanbul's bustling streets, and exploring the history of England's manor houses are more than vacations; they are vital sources of creative fuel that directly influence their projects back home in Canada.
The Transformative Power of Travel on Design Thinking
Two celebrated B.C. design professionals, Ami McKay, founder of the full-service firm Pure Design, and Jim Toy, principal of False Creek Design Group and architecture firm Ratio, emphasize that international experiences fundamentally reshape their perspectives. For them, design inspiration is a global pursuit.
Jim Toy identifies two major impacts of travel on his architectural and design work. "It's habit breaking," Toy explains. "We're so used to thinking a certain way. When you go to a setting outside your normal day-to-day experience, it invigorates you and forces you to pause and rethink convention."
Secondly, extensive travel reveals that core design principles are borderless. "It's really about spotting universal needs," he adds. "Shelter, belonging, community, and aesthetics are global. Those basic human needs are firmly entrenched everywhere. Once that's in your mindset, the things you spot influence you in subtle ways, not through direct duplication."
Bringing the World Home: A Designer's Creative Process
For Ami McKay, travel has always been central to her creative process. Drawing firsthand inspiration from diverse cultures, materials, and lifestyles shapes her aesthetic and ensures she pioneers trends rather than follows them.
McKay recently returned from leading a design tour in Southern Italy, a trip brimming with inspiration. "Every time I go to Italy—or anywhere in the world—I get so inspired and I bring it back," she says. She actively seeks out unique work by local artisans during her travels.
"I get so excited when I see somebody making something with love, seeing them put their energy and life force into whatever they're creating. It's pretty hard not to get excited about it," McKay shares.
From Italian Villages to Ancient Caves
Her Italian tour included visits to small villages in Apulia and the iconic hilltop town of Ostuni, known as 'the White City' for its whitewashed historic center. A profound experience came in the Basilicata region, where her group spent time inside the ancient cave dwellings of the Sassi di Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited settlements.
For McKay, this was a powerful lesson in how history and modern design can coexist in unexpected and beautiful ways. These global encounters, from Australian coastlines to Turkish bazaars, are continually translated from memory and photograph into the mood boards and finished interiors of clients across British Columbia, proving that the best design ideas are truly born from a world of influence.
