If you are writing fiction, you can go all out. There are no limits. Then describe the textures, colors, sounds, scents, etc. that make your story come alive. Just be sure to stay on track with the story and not get side tracked describing every little thing.
Writers today have an advantage with the internet. Use this source to help you feel the mood of your setting and increase the impact of your story. Whatever you can imagine, can be. Your character can look like Cary Grant or Robert Pattinson or whomever makes your heart throb. He can live in a gorgeous English house like this (William Morris's Kelmscott) or in a cabin in Alaska or a hut on a beach in Fiji and your descriptions will ring true.
