Exeter Express and Echo
IF you’re brave enough to throw away the decor rule book and embrace a profusion of colour, pattern and exotic accessories, you could be ready for the hottest interiors trend this autumn – Moroccan style.
Vibrant textiles, tiles and sensual textures are key ingredients, and are an instant way to add warmth and personality to a space.
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Best of all, to achieve this visual feast in your home, you don’t need to dig out your passport. Inspired by the North African kingdom, designers have brought ‘souk style’ to the high street.
There’s no greater enthusiast for this look than Maryam Montague, author of the brilliant Marrakech By Design.
“I fell in love with Moroccan design ten years ago and I’ve never looked back,” she says, as she takes me on a tour of her home in Marrakech.
It was built by her architect husband in a modern Moroccan style with domes, a spiral staircase and a small casbah-like tower, and is named Peacock Pavilions after the exotic pets that roam and screech in the garden.
“In a world filled with beige interiors, Moroccan decor seems the perfect antidote,” Montague says with a smile.
“It’s a refuge for addicts of saturated colour, and a haven for devotees of intricate pattern. This decor is not for the minimalist, but for the modern-day maximilist. Lovers of the plain and simple might as well go home.”
Comfort is never sacrificed and her living area features cosy banquettes – low-slung couches – piled high with embroidered cushions. Beside them sit tea tables made from hand-etched trays.
Lanterns hang in clusters from the ceiling, casting intricate patterns onto the tiled floors below, collections of pottery in shades of turquoise and jade gleam from every corner, and there’s added interest provided by items discovered in the souks.
“The beauty of Moroccan style is that it’s attainable. It can suit any setting yet it’s exotic, practical yet mysterious, and a little splash of it goes a long, long way,” says Montague.
“Rooms with a fusion of Moroccan and other influences are probably the most interesting. Mid-century modern furniture is a perfect match for decorative carpets from the Atlas mountains and a pared-back room can be enlivened with lavishly embroidered cushions.”
Follow Montague’s style recipe for a magical Moroccan interior.
PATTERN POWER
Picking up on pattern is essential, with Moroccan rooms boasting different patterns on walls, ceilings, doors and furnishings.
“Creating a wall of vibrant, decorative tiles is a fantastic way of introducing some mood-enhancing colour and an exotic Eastern touch,” says Leila Roberts, tile category manager at Fired Earth.
“Think about combining patterns and colours to create a warm, tapestry-like effect. If you’re not sure about tiling an entire wall, then a tiled panel with painted walls either side can be a great compromise, acting as a dramatic backdrop to furniture and accessories.
“You could secure the tiles onto a free-standing panel rather than straight onto the wall, displaying them like a picture.”
Source souk style: Handmade, hand-decorated Marrakech tiles (11.8cm square) from Fired Earth are suitable for floors and walls, and come in Honey and Turquoise, £4.82 each, and monochrome patterned Targa, £9.95 each.
EXOTIC SANCTUARY
Bedrooms are particularly suited to an infusion of Moroccan style. “For those who prefer bedrooms of the dramatic and mysterious type, use patterned plush rugs, Bohemian day beds and walls saturated in colour to create a sensual boudoir,” says Montague.
“If that’s a little too rich for your taste, simply intersperse calming layers of soft whites and ivories amidst the richly patterned furnishings.
“Paint walls in creamy beige and taupe and focus colour and pattern in a wall hanging.”
Other touches she suggests are hanging a pierced lantern from a ceiling, so it casts patterns over walls when lit, and using an Eastern-style carpet instead of a headboard for a bed.
Source souk style: Dress a bed with exotic cushions, such as a Moroccan lime and ruby red velvet cushion, £30, from Rockett St George. A hand-painted Moroccan table in burgundy, £86, from Maroque, would make a beautiful bedside table.
Plunder Dunelm Mill’s home collection which features a Moroccan pendant shade, £24.99, and a daisy-shaped bevelled mirror, £69.99. For atmosphere, conjure an exotic scent with the Moroccan Spice tinned candle, £3.99.
