Balinese Decor and Interior Design Inspiration For Your Home

Embracing the guiding principles of simplicity, sustainability and nature, carefully selected Balinese decor allows you to bring the serene beauty of Bali’s natural landscapes into your own home.

By seamlessly integrating indoor and outdoor spaces, you can invite the outside in, through the use of natural and raw materials like bamboo and rattan, combined with plants and bright splashes of colourful fabrics and artworks depicting Balinese life. Creating an oasis of peace and serenity, discover how you can use the ‘art of simplicity’ along with traditional Balinese design materials and principles to guide your very own Bali interior design.

Bamboo

Bamboo is an important resource in Bali, having been used for millennia as a construction material, as well as a significant element in religious ceremonies, particularly Galungan and Kunigan. A popular ceremonial use for bamboo is Penjor, whereby bamboo is crafted into majestic poles adorned with coconut leaves and intricate decorations. Once complete, they are erected to line the streets and pathways to honour various annual Balinese events.

With its wealth of cultural and spiritual significance, you can instil the beautiful qualities of bamboo into your space and contribute to the Balinese aesthetic you’re looking for. Be inspired by The Ungasan’s villas, which are rooted in Balinese tradition. Making use of Sirap roofing, a traditional Indonesian bamboo split roofing, The Ungasan has been able to achieve a curvilinear design. They’ve infused each villa with natural beauty, standing as a testament to thousands of years of local craftsmanship. Whilst bamboo’s aesthetic is especially desirable, it’s also highly sustainable and durable and blends in lovingly with the surrounding environment.

Sundays Beach Club in Uluwatu also makes use of natural materials through its clever design, using bamboo to provide the structure for many of the beach club’s sections, partitioning its VIP areas, as well as a material for the roofs of the restaurant and bar. Sundays is able to seamlessly merge inside and outside, creating an open-air environment of barefoot luxury.

Consider bamboo baskets, chairs, benches, stools, lampshades and intricate headboards for your Balinese home decor. You can even use the material as a simple way to partition areas in an outside space, just like Sundays Beach Club.

Rattan

Dating back centuries, the weaving of rattan is deeply ingrained in Bali’s cultural heritage and renowned throughout Indonesia. Generations-old craftsmanship has seen rattan handicrafts produced using the stems of the vine-like palm to weave intricate baskets, furniture pieces and decorations.

In traditional houses in Bali, rattan is used as roofing, for walls and flooring, with its visual aesthetic creating a design that is natural and harmonious with the surrounding environment. Today, rattan is combined with other materials to create modern furniture and decor, forming intricate patterns, as well as symbolic designs.

Instilling your home with rattan pieces is a direct way to celebrate Bali’s artisanal legacy. With its versatility for both indoor and outdoor usage, it’s easy to create spaces that flow seamlessly from one area to the next. Together with other natural materials, you achieve a combination of different textures—think bamboo, teak wood and stone, which all adds to the tranquil atmosphere and aesthetic needed for your space to feel Balinese.

From simple rattan placemats to chairs, daybeds, pouffes, lampshades and baskets, rattan is durable and beautiful, allowing it to be combined with colourful fabrics and earthy, neutral colour palettes, to create a Balinese oasis. For beautifully-crafted furniture and homewares, Kabann Living in Seminyak offers a treasure trove of stools, lampshades, mats and countless other wares made from wood, rattan, bamboo and more.

Combining natural fibres and textures

Textures are the key ingredient in crafting the perfect Balinese-inspired space within your home. Together, they help you to create the perfect canvas for more design concepts and Balinese style to unfold. Wooden furniture including teak chairs and tables, or the spectacular suar wood—which captures the entire width of the tree—achieves this look of rusticity that reflects the varying natural landscapes of Bali. A simple way to incorporate this into your own space is through a central coffee table or a dining table and chairs.

Stone can be used as a complementary element of Balinese home decor, which can be used to adorn spaces in the form of accents, flooring, statues, wall panels and garden features. Try arranging stones in patterns or place them around plants or foliage to recreate a natural Balinese beach scene.

Intricate wood carvings and sculptures

Carvings and sculptures within Bali home interiors can transform a space by creating a focal point. Often, wood carvings are crafted with deep cultural meaning, depicting deities, mythological creations, or spiritual symbols from Balinese culture.

The tradition of wood carving was introduced in Bali at the arrival of Hinduism to the archipelago in the eighth-century. For hundreds of years, they were produced purely as a religious endeavour, honouring Hindu gods, as well as being created for use at religious ceremonies. Whilst they still retain their ceremonial and cultural significance, it is only in the modern-age that wood panels and statues have been used as a method for decorating homes. The craft of wood carving has been passed down from generation to generation—from smaller pieces to more intricate and majestic sculptures, many Balinese wood carvings depict animals, deities and scenes from Balinese life, which reflects the ancient Tri Hita Karana philosophy—the harmonious relationship with the human, natural and spiritual world.

Canggu & Co carry a huge collection of beautiful handcrafted wooden decor and ornaments, from large figurines to wall panels. All are made to order, which only adds to their authenticity and tropical allure in creating a Balinese-inspired space. Standout pieces include their whimsical large tribal wooden standing figures and antique barong wooden head mask, that depicts a character from Balinese mythology.

Warm and earthy colour palette

A perfect Balinese-inspired home is one that successfully incorporates a blend of natural colours, creating a warm and calming space. Think whites, browns, greens and terracotta to mimic the same tones of Bali’s sea and rural landscapes. The key is to always remember the ‘art of simplicity’, creating a clean and minimalist space that achieves a seamless flow between inside and outside. White and brown are usually the overarching colours, whilst terracotta and green are used as accent colours to decorate and ornament.

The use of raw wood for flooring and furniture pieces, combined with terracotta and stone accents, as well as green foliage, is a solid canvas from where your Bali-inspired interior visions can come to light.

Greenery and foliage

A Balinese home decor essential. Infuse your space with leafy greenery for that luscious, natural setting plucked straight out of a Balinese scene.

At the very core of Balinese culture is the Tri Hita Karana philosophy, which focuses on the harmony of humans with the natural and spiritual realms. Honour this beautiful life concept with the addition of carefully selected plants and foliage to your Bali interior design. To achieve the most authentic island feel, choose bamboo, palms, a fiddle-leaf fig or a monstera—the leafier the better. Consider a Balinese-style al fresco dining area, or a spa-like bathroom that transports you to a tropical open-air setting.

Vibrant fabrics and artworks

Vibrant artworks and fabrics are a crucial element within Balinese design, whether to create a focal point, or for decorative elements and accents.

Balinese art is an essential part of the island’s storied culture, an island that still provides a haven for artists utilising the traditions of generations of skilled craftsmen and painters. Traditional Balinese artwork portrays stories of life in Bali, from the depiction of traditional dance through to a religious or mythological narrative. Paintings are always highly detailed and intricate, adhering to various styles of art, which depends on their location of production. Notably, Batuan paintings depict village life, including agricultural activities, whilst the Sanur style portrays the sea and activities undertaken on the shore.

Balinese artwork works beautifully as a central statement piece—consider placing it above a fireplace or above a bed.

Vibrant batik fabric is another great way to elevate your Balinese decor, adding texture and aesthetic appeal. Practised for over thousands of years, traditional batik involves applying wax to areas of a fabric in order to resist dye penetration, creating intricate patterns and designs. A highly symbolic craft carried out throughout Indonesia, batik often depicts cultural and religious scenes and motifs and is a vibrant way to infuse your space with Balinese style and honour this age-old tradition.

Consider a statement batik rug within your living space or accent pieces like throws, curtains, blankets, chair covers, sofa cushions, framed textile art and other upholstered items.