A little Moroccan beauty, a little Marrakesh serenity, a little Red City inspiration....Such a lovely way to start off the week, courtesy of Architectural Digest. A private 18th century riad oasis deep in the city.....
Architectural Digest, former home of Chilean artist, Claudio Bravo. Renovated by Ahmad Sardar-Afkhami. Photography by Simon Upton
So it was Thanksgiving and we were in Morocco, of course. And rather than let the holiday slip away, leaving us with yet a more tenuous thread to the country from which we came............. we chose to celebrate with 20 friends and family.
Our Thanksgiving theme was the Wilds of Africa. {Because Morocco is in Africa, despite popularly confused opinion.}
This is a tale of how it went........
We got to decorating the Arabian tent at Peacock Pavilions. We gathered some of our crazy African loot.
African stools and old beads
Animal skulls and bones.....
A batik length of cloth from Mali, antlers, strands of African pods.
African antiquities, namecards with African porcupine quills.
Objects dressed up to look their African best........
A herd of antelopes and old bauxite beads.
Bunches or yellow roses in vintage Ethiopian tole containers. Gazelle horns.
Antique Tuareg nomadic bags and olive branches hung in the air.
Shiny Amy-- helping out at Peacock Pavilions for two months--took to the African madness with gusto.
And it all ended up looking like this....
We put out the horn and abalone serving utensils.
And the glimmery dishes.......
The menu was masterminded by Peacock Pavilions very own Michelle, with a 30 pound turkey sourced by the Four Seasons Marrakech and cooked by our friend, Kimo.
We filled our plates.
And we dug in.
Most importantly, we went around the table, and each of us gave thanks, large and small........
We ate and ate and gave more and more thanks......until some literally passed out......
Happy Thanksgiving. Today and every day.
I conjure up a lot of table settings at Peacock Pavilions in Marrakech and they don't have too much in common with the ones I see in Crate & Barrel catalogues. Rather, they tend to follow my own brand of ethnic chic, which often involves goods procured in foreign lands mixed with wild abandon.
Here the flowers from my own rose garden. {These roses smell sublime.} My vases: glass Spanish mineral water bottles.
Add in a very long length of nomadic handmade, hand dyed fabric (which is actually Mauritanian dress, worn a bit like a sari). Indian dagmar votives.
Place on top, hand carved lacy placemats/chargers from Indonesia. Custom embroidered peacock feather napkins.
More pattern? No problem. Bench cushions covered in the embroidery of the Moroccan city of Fez pattern.
Repeat in multiples, bien sur.
Setting: Arabian dining tent at Peacock Pavilions.
If possible, add in guests traveling from Tokyo, France, Brazil and the US.
When are you coming?
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PS Amy, this post is for you. Thank you for the good juju you bring. xo
Did you know that Marrakesh is known as the Red City? Named after the color of its walls, which glow a rich color when the sun sets. So it's all about red here today.........all about red.............
Snippet of a vintage Moroccan Boujad carpet.
Red wool hanging on the wall in the Dyers Souk.
Red sardine cans in the Dar Rumi kitchen.
Red tadelakt walls, floors and stairs in the Cafe des Epices in Marrakesh.
Red roses in a hand carved Moroccan fountain at Le Tanjia Restaurant in Marrakesh.
Red walls at Jawad Kadiri's house in Marrakesh.
Red sequined slippers and red calligraphic artwork at Dar Rumi in Marrakesh.
Artwork with former King Hassan II at the home of the designers of Zid Zid Kids.
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PS There's a whole chapter on Moroccan color in my forthcoming book, Marrakesh by Design -- so you can use this beautiful color palette (red and so much more!) in your home, no matter where you live:-)
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