Marrakech: and a tale of my house in Living Etc. Magazine

So very happy to see my house at Peacock Pavilions in the pages of one of my favorite British design magazines, Living Etc.  

I wanted to share a few shots with you.

I did these very pretty stairs in collaboration with Melanie Royals and the Peacock Painters.  And I stenciled the door myself!  You can buy the stencils right here.  

My great room at Peacock Pavilions with its beautiful octagonal dome with peep holes (thanks to my talented architect husband, Chris Redecke) .  I designed the lanterns myself.  You can find similar Beni Ouarain carpets in my Red Thread Souk.

The enormous advertising banner is Spanish and was purchased several years ago.  I have a second identical one that I horded because I love it so much (makes a huge, cool impact).  It is $925.  Contact me (moroccanmaryamATyahooDOTcom) if you would like to make it yours. 

Breakfast nook in my kitchen.  I designed the pillows in vinyl, to make cleanups super easy.  The floor tiles are from Popham Design.

My office where I write this blog!  The floors were done with a custom Modello and tell a little tale that I wrote.  My husband and I built the shelves, and I stenciled my file folder boxes.  I handmixed the paint color for the walls.

Pick up a copy of the current Living Etc. to see all the images, including the floorplans of our house!  If you would like to see more pics of our house (and many more Moroccan houses), puruse by book, Marrakesh by Design.

***********

Photography by the amazing Richard Powers.  Many thanks to Tiffany Burch Nichols for scanning the photos and sending them along.

***********

Note: Subscribe to My Marrakesh here.  Follow My Marrakesh on Twitter here.  Let's be friends on Facebook here.  

Moroccan design: a tale of red

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.

***********************************************************************************

 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:-)

Note: Want to receive My Marrakesh in your inbox?  Subscribe here.

Marrakech: and a tale of Valentine's Day in the Peacock Pavilions dining tent

Ah Lovelies, it's Valentine's Day. Could there be a better reason  for making things pretty? I think not.

I set our table in the Peacock Pavilions dining tent, in honor of the special occasion, with objects culled from around the house.  

A vintage sculpture study in porcelain.

Faceted vases made from Moet & Chandon containers. Branches from our own Moroccan olive grove. Porcelain leaves commissioned from Caroline Douglas.

Vintage German glove molds in porcelain.

Romantic antique Victorian porcelain figurines

Large vintage birds with long swishy tails and old Swedish Dirigold dessert spoons.

Happy Valentine's Day:-)  Here's hoping you're spending it  with someone you love.

***************************************

 PS The Instant Love photography retreat is at our place and I set this table just for them!  If you're a fan of Polaroid photography, their book is a must! 

Marrakesh: and a tale of my book, Marrakesh by Design

I didn't mean to fall in love.  No, I didn't mean to fall in love.  You see, prior to Morocco, there was Namibia.  A place where the sun was so strong that I had to squint to see the stretches of desert, colorless and stark.  The cities and towns were quiet and organized, neat and tidy.  Everything seemed to have its place.  Even the sand dunes were perfectly arranged.  

And then..... then came Morocco.  And with it, all of its gorgeous madness. All of its colors, all of its patterns, all of its textures. Its souks bursting to overflowing. Its houses opening to secret gardens and fountain filled courtyards.  Arches and tiles cascaded as far as the eye could see. Rooms were decorated with a kind of seductive loveliness that was as tantalizing to me as the endless cups of Moroccan mint tea    

And I wanted to share some of that with you, you see.  I wanted to give you some Marrakesh.  So you could put it in your pocket.  So you could take it home with you.  So you could add a little Marrakesh to your own living room or bedroom or kitchen.  If I couldn't lure you to Morocco then I wanted to lure Morocco to you.

So here it is.  Yes, here it is.  My book.  Marrakesh by Design, to be published by Artisan Books.  

Available now for pre-order.  At IndieBound.  Amazon.  At Barnes & Noble.  Please, oh please like it.  {I think you will.   I wrote it -- and photographed it -- with you in mind:-)}