Moroccan Bliss - Conclusion

Good day everybody!


I hope you’ve enjoyed my very small offering of Moroccan Architecture and Design. Today I’ll continue and conclude by sharing on three very beautiful, in my opinion pieces of art; Zellige Tilework, the Wedding Blanket and Fabrics.

Promise, after this post I’ll stop subjecting you to my Moroccan obsession… Or rather, I won’t for a while ;-)


Zellige, Zillij or Zellij Tile work


It is Terra Cotta tile work covered with enamel in the form of chips set into plaster.

It consists of geometrical mosaics used mainly as an ornament on walls, ceilings, fountains, floors, pools, tables, etc.



google.com



theglamourai.com





Fes Morocco - Pinterest



Moroccan Wedding Blanket

These blankets were hand made from sheep’s wool and cotton in the berber villages in the Atlas Mountains. It was a tradition that a future bride and her family would sew each sequin by hand and present it to their future in-laws. It was also believed that the blankets possessed powers and would protect the owner of such a blanket from evil.

Pinterest

The blankets are very prevalent, especially in western interior design and are used as rugs, wall art or throws. Fabulous!!

bohemianhomes.tumblr.com



morrocanmaryam.typepad.com



Moroccan Textiles

For hundreds of years, Moroccan women have composed fine embroideries and rugs using intricate designs that have been passed down through generations.

Women of wealth were taught to embroider at a young age and, over the years, they accumulated many pieces to be displayed or worn at special occasions.

In the embroideries of Morocco, the freedom with which the motifs are arranged, the variety and elegance of the compositions, and the exquisite color sense they reveal are evidence of their absolute originality.

Read more here http://africa.si.edu


Berber Rugs and Kilims below:

Hand made Kilim - casablancamarket.com

Vintage Beni Ourain - casablancamarket.com

casablancamarket.com

Thanks for reading... Chat tomorrow

Ciao :-)

Elize

A few extra pictures!

Please indulge with me?

Moroccan Bliss - Part 2 (Architecture)

Good day people!

Let me first say how much I enjoyed doing research for this post. I am now even a bigger fan of Morocco and what they have to offer in terms of Architecture and Interior Design. I have learnt so much... Tomorrow I'll have to do another installment of "Moroccan Bliss".

Here's some of the new things I've learned about while doing my research. Information extracted from Wikipedia.

Moroccan Architecture - The Riads

A riad is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard. The word riad comes from the Arabian term for garden, "ryad".



Riad Myra



The style of Riads has changed over the years; as being the case with most Architectural styles, but the basic design is still prevalent even today. Also, most of the orginal Riads were restored and is now used for Hotels and Restaurants.





Riad Noir d'Ivoire

Open Roof Courtyard of Riad Laksiba



Casablanca Cathedral  

Facade of Casablanca Cathedral

Casablanca Cathedral is a former Roman Catholic Cathedral located in Casablanca, Morocco. It was built in 1930. It ceased to function as a church in 1956, after the independence of Morocco, and became a cultural center and is open to visitors. The cathedral was designed by French architect Paul Tournon, using the Neo-Gothic style.

Below is a picture of the former residence of Painter Jacques Majorelle (1886 - 1962). 

    

In 1937 the artist created an ultramarine blue that was both bright and intense: known as Majorelle blue, he used it to paint the walls of his workshop, and then the entire garden transforming it into a living tableau which he opened to the public in 1947.



Morroco is all about intricite design and detail; Beautiful, bright and calming colours. Tomorrow I'll post what I've learnt about The Wedding Blanket, Art of Zillige, opulent materials, etc.

Thanks for reading

See you tomorrow!

Ciao :-)

Elize  



Moroccan Bliss - Part 1

I am a huge fan of Moroccan design, fabrics, furniture, art, food; well everything. I think because I’m so attracted to hand made items and most of their products is crafted with the hand. There is a certain honesty, heart and purity that come with handcrafted items.

At times I find myself wondering what the creator of the item was thinking whilst weaving a beautiful pattern on a piece of fabric or putting together the little ceramic pieces to form a stunning mosaic urn. 

I even dream of one day losing myself in the exotic sights, smell and colours of spices and beautiful rich fabrics you find in their fabulous markets.

When visiting The Royal Elephant Hotel in Centurion a few months ago, I had the opportunity to indulge myself in the beautiful Moroccan and North-African inspired Interiors.

Everything is rich, warm and colourful – Everything is simply stunning.









Thank you for reading my share. Please do join me tomorrow for Part 2

Ciao :-)

Elize





The Accent Wall

What is an Accent Wall?



An Accent Wall is a wall within a room that is distinctively different and more dramatic than the other walls in the room. Normally the said wall is painted a darker or richer colour than the other walls and although painting an accent wall is the most common, it’s not the only option. Another favourite for dressing up accent walls is wall paper.



From Home Designers

Location and purpose of an Accent Wall

The Accent Wall is usually the 1st wall you see when entering a room. That’s of course no law and is purely an individual choice.

Accent walls help with defining a smaller area within a larger space, e.g. it will identify a reading area in an open plan house. It also assists with highlighting focal points like a fire place, architectural details on a wall, etc.

Decorpad

Typically accent walls are painted bright and bold colours, but that’s not carved in stone. Again, it is purely up to the individual. It is not practical to have very bright colours in bedrooms, because you would want a calmer mood in those areas. You can use darker hues for the accent wall, just as long as the other walls are contrasting enough.

I initially wanted two shades of grey in my bedroom, but there is a very rich creamy cupboard I believe will stand out too much and as a result, will look out of place. So, I’ve decided to go for either an offish white or a subtle cream that will harmonize with the cupboard. These colours are also warm, neutral hues that aids with boosting the function of the room - TO SLEEP!

Something like this:



Sarah Richardson

Thanks for reading!

Ciao :-)

Elize



Sarah Richardson



Off the Wall, Wall Treatments!

Good day everybody!

As you all know I am wanting to change my bedroom and bring a bit of personality to it. So, the 1st step to putting the whole thing together would be to decide on a colour for the walls. These days it's so easy to turn your spaces into anything you want it to reflect by just choosing the correct colour to paint them. There are almost a million different colours, textures you can choose from. It is also the cheapest option, especially for someone like me who is on a super low-low budget.

Here's a few pictures I have to share

Metallic Wallpaper - They are very trendy at the moment.

                                                    elementsofstyleblog.com

I'm a huge fan of the exposed brick look

Slap some chalkboard paint onto your walls and voila! A cosy study corner

I can't stay away from stripes!

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                                                             hgtv.com

Hope you've enjoyed the blog today. Tomorrow I'll reveal the colours I've decided on and why.

Ciao :-)

Elize







                                                   

Bathtub in my room - More pictures

Thanks for coming by a second time today :-) Like I promised, here's more pictures I want to share with you.

Although there is no space for a bath in my room, I'm definitely dreaming of one now. One day? Sure :-)

A bath AND fire place - even more welcome!

Clean and crisp

I absolutely love that nightstand!

That's having fun with decor... The furthest thing from boring.

Toooo cute!

Light and airy...



Please check out the blog tomorrow... I'll be posting about wall treatments.

Thanks for dropping in... again :-)

Until tomorrow.

Elize

Project Zhush My Bedroom!

Good mornin all!

Today's post is a continuation of yesterday's and I have a feeling it will be going on like this for a while. I've decided to do a whole series of posts that will be related to each other. I will take you through the whole process from start, right to the end. I will be documenting everything - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly... frustrations, new ideas. Yes, I mean everything. It'll be like a reality show. Hopefully a good one ;-)

So, yesterday I did a bit of research around, let's call it "Project Zhush My Bedroom" hereafter referred to as PZMB (haha). All the pictures I saw on various internet sites and of course Pinterest had my head in a spin. It feels like there's a tornado in my head! And I'm sure someone out there can identify with me? There's just so many options, styles, ideas, etc. Problem is, I only have one bedroom. So this is where I have to keep it together, call myself to order and get back into focus mode. Although it's impossible to have eeeverything you see in pictures and like, there is a way to incorporate most of it in your design. Well, that's what I'm thinking and that's what I'm going to try and do.

For now, here's a few images that caught my eye. I'll be posting more later.

Black, white and grey. You cannot fail. So clean and you can easily change the look with accessories and different accents of colour.

As you can see, I'm drawn to the neutral, clean colours. Love the ceiling too.

I think this is gonna be the colour I eventually decide on for my walls.

Those windows bring joy to my soul :-)

I DO love the colours... Another option.


Come by for more later on ;-)

To be continued....



Elize