Globo-chic lets you travel the world without leaving home

You don't have to leave your house this year to have an exotic experience. You can have at it home with the new trend called globo-chic.

We're in a year that salutes global motifs, from India to Indonesia, Africa to Turkey to Uzbekistan. Especially important are handmade village arts. It's a fashion that mixes vibrant colors and wonderful textures to create a world-traveled look full of surprises, available from Kittle's to Calico Corners to Kohl's.

Monica Pedersen, host of shows such as "Designed to Sell" and "HGTV Dream Home" and spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Market Style File, says it's one of the hot trends for spring.

"Look for graphic patterns that evoke indigenous cultures as well as designs inspired by latticework, iron gates and Turkish architecture," said Pedersen, specifically naming ikats and suzanis.

Here are some ideas to help you speak the language of exotic:

Suzanis: Defined by earthy medallions and bright flowers with trailing vines, suzanis are tribal textiles made in Central Asia, especially Uzbekistan. Suzanis reflect today's growing intrigue with handcrafts and folk arts. Add suzani pillows to your sofa, a suzani print coverlet to your bed, an accent chair upholstered in a suzani print.

Mother-of-pearl boxes and stools: What's more fun than an eight-sided stool inlaid with a fanciful lacing of mother-of-pearl?

Animal prints: Look for leopard and zebra, animal hide, snakeskin and croc. There's a dramatic safari roaming.

Baskets. By definition, baskets are handmade, and that's the point.

Petrified wood. Ancient petrified wood (from such exotic climes as Mongolia) is sliced into tabletops or used whole as a pedestal.

Wood. Add natural materials -- wood, bamboo or seagrass -- to your decor to capture global inspiration.

Turkish, Moroccan and Aladdin lamps. Shed some light with hanging glass and brass globes right out of the casbah.

Kilim rugs. Known for graphic patterns and rich hues, flat-weave kilim rugs add casual style and youthful appeal to interiors.

Iznik ceramics. Named for the town of Iznik in western Anatolia, this is the cobalt blue pottery of Turkey. It's a folksier version of traditional Chinese blue-and-white Canton porcelain.

Ikats. Spin the globe farther east to Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia. The hippie era is back. Ikat is a dyeing technique similar to tie-dyeing, producing watery multicolored designs.

Batik. Batik is a centuries-old hand-dyeing process in the countries of Malaysia and Indonesia, often executed in indigo and white. Designs are drawn on cotton fabric, hot wax is applied, then the dye. When the dyeing is complete, the fabric is dipped in boiling water to melt off the wax, exposing the pattern.

The continuing thread throughout is village arts. There's charm in this new interest in global chic.

Sally Falk Nancrede is an Indianapolis-based home-decor writer. Email her athoosierhabitat@yahoo.com.