Moroccan Inspiration

Moroccan Inspiration

August 17, 2014

Morocco is a magical place and definitely worth a visit. When you do visit, try to spend some time to find beautiful architecture tucked away in the many alley ways and narrow roads in the old cities. If you seek you shall find a kaleidoscope of Arab art, mosaics, tapestries, painted tiles and lots of arches which break a monotonous building design.

These unique Moroccan styles provide a rich, warm architectural lines and colours at the forefront of the ever growing popularity of Moroccan styled homes, it is easy to understand how this simplistic style can be so attractive to the budding renovators and decorators of the world.

With some of this year’s main trends falling ever so perfectly into the realms of the Moroccan and/or oriental style universe, the décor options and influences are endless as well as timeless. Rich and warm neutral tones that become your base for adding deep, bright accents of colour and layers of patterns and textures, edging clean distinctive lines with solid blacks; elegance and sophistication outlines the modern contemporary flare of urban Moroccan style in 2014.

You can easily achieve an interior design that blends a contemporary environment with eclectic Moroccan style, by mixing modern furniture with elements that you can make or acquire to achieve a unique environment to enjoy.

With a main focus on living spaces, the traditional Moroccan home is one of great open spaces flowing from one room into the next. This is due to the high temperatures in Morocco, which therefore calls for the homes to be simple and uncluttered to allow for the air to remain as cool as possible. Minimalistic yet cozy, is always the typical feel to the more modern and evolved Moroccan home.

3d rendering of the interior in Morocco’s style

There are a few key style elements and pieces that will define your Moroccan look;

Tiles – being one of the more commonly used décor pieces, it is hard to go wrong here. Ranging from either, eccentric floor tile designs and layouts, to bathroom and kitchen wall tile designs. One of the great things about Moroccan styled homes is that you can’t really go wrong with a bold choice in colour and design. Tiles being the more preferred choice for floor or wall covering in Moroccan styled homes is due to the seething heat – if you live in a hot country such Morocco and Saudi, it is a perfect choice to help maintain a coolness throughout your home’s living spaces.

You can also do some of this yourself by using white cement clay and cracked tiles or coloured stone sheets that you can pick up in most home improvement stores. You can do this either indoors or outdoors. Place the cement clay on a wall, be generous in laying it, and start laying the cracked stone sheets in a symmetrical pattern. Red is idea for outdoors whilst blue is great indoors.

mosaic from the coloured stone on a wall

Persian or Kelims rugs – not only do they add warmth to the rooms that tend to be rather spacious, but they bring colour, print and texture in to break the coldness of the neutral bases. Not only are rugs used on the floors, they are hung on the walls too on larger wall spaces.

Soft furnishings – these will mainly be in the style of ottomans and cushions. Bright, colourful cushions both large and small for scattering on the floors and couches are used in conjunction with bold statement ottomans as main décor features. Texture is just as important as colour in this case, so mixing up the textures in your fabric choices helps create a modern feel in a living space.

Other typical Moroccan style elements will include ethnic lighting, carved furniture pieces and ceramic vases, which all add to creating the typical Moroccan feel in a home.

If you have a particularly long corridor, it is wonderful to have antique lamps to line your route along your path, this approach is functional yet astatically pleasing. These laps can be controlled by a dimmer switch, so you can set the light to your mood.

Your styling does not have to be limited to the interior of your home. You can extend it to external areas such as your yard or even an estiraha. One way to make your out-doors estiraha more rustic is to use stone affect, giving it the natural feel and it will ensure the extreme heat, and surrounded by tiles which reflect the heat away.

Moroccan decor all in all is a blend of styles mixed from various cultural influences. Spain, Portugal, and France are combined with Persian, Islamic, and African elements to produce a unique and colourful style. This ethnic room decor is harmonized to create an opulent, multicultural themed home.