The Beauty Of Moroccan Decor

| Wednesday, April 11, 2012
By Owen Jones


Moroccan furniture is usually solid wood and stylish. Morocco is an ex-French colony, but it is very near Spain too. In fact, two small parts of Morocco, Melilla and Ceuta are still under Spanish jurisdiction.

This means that Moroccan furnishings and decor has Berba, Arabic, French and Spanish influences. These Mediterranean influences are prominent in traditional and modern Moroccan furniture.

If combined with Moroccan decor and colours, Moroccan furniture can transform your home. Walls are usually emulsioned plain white or cream and lightly decorated with old carpets or tapestries with one or two photographs or paintings hanging among them.

Reds and browns are the principal colours. Poignant writings from the Koran or other Arabic philosophers are often written out in bold script and framed.

Moroccan accessories such as lamps, lanterns, mirrors, benches, vases, mosaic end tables, ottomans, rugs and ceramics can bring that remarkable local flavour to the decor, setting off the solid timber or padded fabric furniture.

Pillows feature large in Moroccan interior and garden decor, but they also use settees and seats in the European fashion. Morocco is famous for its leather craft and leather is frequently used to cover chairs, sofas and footstools or poufes.

Scatter rugs are essential for sitting on and they are taken out and beaten every day to keep them clean as Morocco is a hot, sandy and dusty country when you travel a couple of miles inland from the coast. Camels are still used for transport in rural areas and camel hair is woven into rugs, blankets and wall coverings.

Moroccans like tiles and mosaics and Arabic style tiles are very distinctive if you would like to use them in your bathroom and kitchen. If you would like to dine in Moroccan style, they normally dine at a very low round table with the primary dish in the centre from which everybody helps themselves, although in a family, some members will feed others too.

Following convention and hygiene, you may only touch food with your right hand, although everybody will have washed both hands before coming to the table. Bread, rice and couscous feature highly in Moroccan food as does potatoes, carrots, lamb and chicken.Water is served during the meal and tea and coffee afterwards frequently with very sweet cakes sprinkled with icing sugar and syrup.

People take it easy at home wearing long, loose-fitting garments and lounge on benches or on rugs on the floor surrounded by cushions. In the evening, lighting will be low offered by low wattage bulbs concealed behind red and brown stained glass or cloth. Candles, scented or not also feature a great deal in living rooms and bedrooms unless someone wants a stronger light to read by.

Candles in wall sconces are popular methods to highlight special areas and light up corridors and some doorways. Often these sconces do not contain candles, but hold scented oil with a floating wick which is cheaper to leave burning between the hours or twilight and bed time.




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