We all buy something to place in our living room or hang on our walls at some point but how often do we actually think of ourselves as “Interior Designers”? Designing our own interior is something we do on a regular basis with little in mind but the space in which we live. But cutting edge professional interior designers are starting to develop the inside of a home’s walls by first thinking of what’s going on outside.

Interior Design San Diego firm Navarra Hong’s Austin Hong says, “the first thing we do is survey what we see outside of a house and try to incorporate that environment into the house from both an aesthetic and utilitarian perspective.” “This means that if you live in the Midwest United States in a city where it frequently rains, placing Antelope antlers on the wall next to the door as a place to put your umbrella or coat is both consistent with that Midwest feel and totally usable. And if you want to get a little modern, then how about framing it with a sleek steel frame?” says Hong. “Just because you need to put your umbrella or coat somewhere, doesn’t mean it has to be an eye sore.”

But it’s just this type of thinking that is redefining both interior design and also the industries that feed it. Furniture manufacturers all over the country are starting to create coffee tables that pop up and out to become a table to eat and provide some storage space. These types of furniture reflect more urban exteriors where there isn’t a lot of room so every square foot of space counts.

This home in Tokyo was restricted by not only the restrictions in building in Tokyo but also the restrictions of the river and the road between which it was built. Developing the home with a design that allowed it to fit in such a restricted space due to the environment of Tokyo forced the interior to be designed in such a way that every part of the home had to be carefully placed.

So when you’re designing your interior, take a walk outside and look around you before you go to town with placing that furniture and hanging those pictures.