Adding a Moroccan feel to your home is a wonderful way to make it feel more inviting and to inspire a feeling of warmth. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to add a touch of the exotic and to create a look that you definitely won’t see replicated in any of your neighbour’s homes!
If you want to create a Moroccan feel in your home, there are a few things you can do.
Stick to warm colors
Using warm colors that have an earthy tone will echo the way that many Moroccan homes are decorated. Try using terracottas, oranges, reds and golds and accent with contrasting colors like turquoise, silver or green.
If you’re planning to use a lot of color in your furnishings, then you can paint your walls more neutral colors and add the colors in through your choices of furniture and decorative items. It can be really effective to use a whitewashed wall if you are taking this approach.
Paint your ceiling
If you want to create a warm and cozy feeling that is evocative of the warmth of Morocco, you could try painting your ceiling as well as your walls.
Use a color that is lighter than the color you choose for your walls if you want to create an illusion of space and one that is darker if you want to emphasize coziness.
You could even think about making your ceiling a feature by using stencils to create intricate patterns reminiscent of those you might see in Morocco.
Tadelakt
Traditional homes in Marrakech are decorated using Tadelakt. If you’re wondering what is tadelakt, then don’t worry, a lot of people don’t!
Tadelakt is a decorative plaster that is indigenous to Marrakech, and so if you want to create an authentic Moroccan feel, then it’s a great way to this. Tadelakt is decorative, but it is also waterproof, meaning that it works well in any room of your home, including kitchens and bathrooms. It is lime-based and can be applied in a variety of different colors so that it suits any color palette.
The unique thing about Tadelakt is that it leaves a smooth surface with a satin sheen, reminiscent of natural stone.
Mirrors
Mirrors can be used to great effect in a Moroccan inspired room to create a feeling of space. An effective way to use mirrors is to frame them in cooler colors to contrast with the rich color palette that you have used elsewhere in the room.
Using nothing but warm colors can appear overwhelming in some spaces, and breaking it up with something cooler helps get the balance right.
Add tiles
Of course, when most of us think of Moroccan style we think about gorgeous patterned tiles.
Moroccan style tiles are often intricately patterned, which some people worry might look fussy or out of place in a more contemporary setting such as a modern kitchen or sleek bathroom. In fact, adding Moroccan style tiles can be just the thing to bring a touch of elegance to any room.
Try using brightly colored Moroccan tiles to add contrast to a white or plain colored room. Adding just a small section of Moroccan tiling is a relatively inexpensive way to create a Moroccan feel in a whole room, and it’s much less time consuming than redecorating completely!
Rugs
A Moroccan style rug can create a whole new feeling in a room, and you don’t necessarily have to put it on the floor. If you have a gorgeous rug that you can’t bear to see people walking all over, then think about hanging it on the wall as a piece of wall art.
In Moroccan decor, it’s common to use rugs as a wall hanging to bring extra texture to the room and a sense of luxury.
If you want to hang a rug from the wall, you can do this by using a strip of muslin to create a kind of tube on the back of your rug, which you can use to thread a wooden rod through. You can then use the wood to hang your rug as you might do with a picture. Just be sure to get the placement of the rod right so that it is at the top of the rug. Otherwise, your rug might flop down over itself.
Cushions
A particularly effective Moroccan accent you can add to a room is large floor cushions around a low table, perfect for serving up coffee or snacks for your friends.
You can even make your own cushion covers out of fabric that complements the rest of your decor so that your room is perfectly tied together.
