04 February 2026 | Heritage, Trends |
Storytelling in Interior Design Using Existing Visual Culture
What makes some interiors do more than simply decorate a space?
In my practice, I use storytelling in interior design as a design method. Not by adding stories afterwards, but by working with visual material that already carries meaning and making it usable again.
In a thrift store, I found a complete vintage collection of sugar packets. What caught my interest was not only the imagery, but above all the fact that it was a complete set. Different shapes, illustrations, and styles were brought together in albums. Through that coherence, loose, everyday objects turned into a readable visual archive. This discovery sparked my interest in sucrology, the collecting of sugar packets.
Scrapbooks and albums for sugar packets
Shared memories
For decades, sugar packets had a clear function. They were free souvenirs that showed where someone had been. Cafés, restaurants, and hotels used them to make their place recognisable. In the 1960s and 1970s, many people collected these packets in thick albums. At home, they were laid out on the table and looked at together. It was not about personal expression, but about shared places and experiences.
That system has changed. Younger generations hardly collect physical objects anymore. Experiences are captured in photos and shared immediately on digital platforms. Where tangible traces once remained, visibility now matters more. A moment gains value because it is shared, not because it is kept.
Dutch sugar packets
Design choices
Designers and producers make different choices today than they did in the past.
This shift is clearly visible in the visual language of sugar packets. Early examples used engraving-like illustrations of hotel buildings and city views. These images emphasised craftsmanship, status, and place-based identity. In the mid-century period, design became more graphic and colourful, shaped by mass consumption and optimism. Today, producers often choose minimal designs or generic layouts. The brand takes priority over the place.
Visual language changes
Transformism
At Maison & Objet, Transformism is currently a central theme. It is based on the idea that we do not need to invent something new; the world is already full of materials and stories waiting for a new “skin.” I do not see Transformism as a temporary trend, but as confirmation that this way of working fits the current design climate. For interior architects, it offers a path toward real circularity: not generic decoration, but spaces that speak through what was already there.
Scanned sugar packet
I take these sugar packets and transform them into panels for the interior. This is how I apply storytelling in interior design in a concrete way. By separating the images from their original context and applying them spatially, they gain a new function. In care environments, these panels work particularly well. Familiar cafés and bars invite conversation and the sharing of memories. In this way, imagery that lost its original place becomes a carrier of meaning again within a space.
Out and About
View the diptych Out and About.
This work is part of my Heritage line. In an earlier project, Flora, historical Zhostovo imagery was used as a starting point and translated into a nostalgic wall decor.
