Moroccan Furniture
The modern Moroccan living room is not the traditional Moroccan salon of the past. The younger generation has taken the traditional designs of the past and has brought them into the modern age. The classical salon has now turned into lush and relaxing environment full of rich colors, textures and patterns.
It is this Moroccan style decor that has been imported into the United States in recent years, appearing on decorating shows and interior design books. The style of artisan work coming out of Morocco has also been modernized and artisans are now taking their old traditions and bringing them up to date, expanding on the classical designs by introducing more experimental techniques. To sum it up, they are definitely creating pieces geared more towards the western tourist, yet at the same time maintaining their traditional roots. Therefore, when thinking about creating a Moroccan living room, you are free to mix traditional Moroccan furniture with any modern design you might already have in place. Because Morocco has expanded its classical artisan designs nowadays, you can easily blend the old with the new. The question really is what type of atmosphere you want to create. Because Moroccan artisan work is flexible, you have a myriad of choices to experiment with.
For example if you are looking to create a cozy and fun setting, consider using a Moroccan henna lamp. These lamps tend to be quite whimsical with their vibrant colors and exiting shapes. “Zouak” or hand-painted style pieces also bring in whimsy to a space as they are typically full of vibrant warm colors and their motifs are intricate, elaborate and lively. Zouak pieces range from tables to chairs and from chests, armoires to room dividers.
For a more traditional or rustic feel, consider using hand-carved wooden and inlaid camel bone pieces; Moroccan artisans are very skilled in these areas, working with all types of wood and utilizing camel bone to its full potential. Cedar is extremely prevalent in artisan work and will definitely create a more rustic mood; whereas thuya wood has a more sophisticated and refined feel.
Please feel free to post your comments!!
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:27 am
Very interesting article.
I watch a lot of interior design shows on HGTV and I have seen a lot of designers say that they are going to create a Moroccan theme, yet sometimes they do not use anything that is really Moroccan…they just say that they are doing something in the “Moroccan style” and often it just ends up looking Indian to me. Do you think that these shows are being deceiving? and why wouldn’t just use real Moroccan products? From what I have seen out there, the real thing is available and so much more beautiful.
I would like to hear what interior designers have to say about this.
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Hi there,
Thank you very much for your comment. I really do appreciate it. Yeah! you made a great point regarding what we see on home decorating shows, does not reflect the real image of authentic Moroccan furniture. In my view, I think that in those shows such “Design on a Dime”, they are more looking for bargains, which is very acceptable to me. They are trying to make their audience realize that Moroccan items are not out of reach, and they still can afford to add that mediterranean touch to their home for a fairly good price. At any rate, I am very grateful for what HGTV is doing for Moroccan furnishing businesses in general, which is free marketing for all of us that are involved in Moroccan decor items. It is awesome!! Thank you HGTV!!!!
One more thing, I want to let everybody knows that we have renewed our stock and brought some amazing new stuff that will dazzle more that one. Without further delay, please go and visit us at www.starofmorocco.com and let me know what you think. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Again, I invite anybody to add more comments and raise more questions that could be interesting to blog about. I am here to answer any questions you may have.