In 2013 Barcelona-based practitioners Dom Arquitectura completed the development of a charming project - 4 houses. Luxurious big house in the city boasts traditional Islamic architecture that has faded a bit over the years, surrounded by modern modernized buildings. We invite readers of Beautiful Country Home to discuss this property by visiting Jeddah, Saudi Arabia virtually.
The project provides for the reconstruction of the building while preserving the forms and ornaments characteristic of the Arab environment, emphasizing the beauty and mystery of culture and religion. According to tradition, buildings in this style have a complex structure, usually built around a courtyard.
Some deviation from customs is the installation of spacious windows, which was not particularly welcomed in ancient times. But during the construction of this building, they took into account that the building is intended for a modern person.
This compromise has led to the creation of protective screens that are used for both privacy and decorative purposes. The shutters are decorated with delightful carvings, which are an attribute of the Islamic home.
As a rule, the facade of the house is almost devoid of any decor, but inside - the interior is beautifully decorated with fabrics, a variety of colors, themed prints and furniture. In our case, much more attention was paid to landscape design. Decorative trees and shrubs are planted around the entire perimeter, they look great against a snow-white background. In preference were plants adapted to the local climate, which is aggressive to many species due to frequent droughts and scorching heat.
The first floor of the building is the foundation, the point of contact with the ground, it is made of two types of building materials - concrete and wood. To protect the interior space from high temperatures, the exterior walls are painted pure white, which minimizes sun exposure and keeps the rooms cool.
The main concept in development for the architects was the construction of an asymmetric facade to show from the side how attractive Islamic traditions look. But following the customs, modern qualities have not been left aside: attractiveness and functionality for the owners, who in turn will have a close connection with the environment of Saudi Arabia.
Mysterious, alluring, unique Moroccan style in landscape design, architecture, interior creates a completely unique atmosphere. Entering the house, made in the Moroccan style, you seem to find yourself in an oriental fairy tale, touching the African historical secrets of past centuries.
In the Moroccan style, the art traditions of Mauritania and Phenicia, France and Africa, Spain and Greece, various accessories of other countries intersect in an interesting way. This style contains the brightest colors, carved details and intricate ornaments. At the same time, the Moroccan trend continues to develop constantly, increasing its potential with new ideas in design art.
Architectural features for the Moroccan style are a lot of arched openings and simple and elaborate forms, colonnades and galleries, terraces and balconies. The land plot near the house is made in the landscape of the subtropical climate of the southern country, therefore, aloe and Kalanchoe bushes, cacti, palm trees and lianas will be appropriate:
Pedestrian paths in the yard are usually laid out with paving slabs or paving stones:
Clay, stone, tiles, metal are used as finishing and building materials for decorating the facade of a building, as in all ethnic styles:
No Moroccan-style home is complete without patios. This is an old tradition of Moroccan architecture. The floor covering is necessarily decorated with tiles; ceramic floor vases are displayed throughout the courtyard area. Comfortable and cozy furniture, ponds with fountains and an open hearth are conducive to relaxation in such patios:
Interior features in Moroccan style
Since this style initially involves a combination of other directions, designers, organizing the interior of the home in such an ethnic direction, boldly combine modern European trends and ancient folk traditions. This makes it possible to create a versatile, extravagant and comfortable interior in one room.
The living room can combine traditional style accents (mosaic walls, floors, marble details) and modern comfortable furniture:
Another important element for Moroccans in the house is carpets with the most intricate patterns and bright colors. Carpets decorate the floor in the living room, and in the bedroom, and in the dining room:
Color palette
The color scheme of the house in the Moroccan style can be described as an extravaganza of rich bright colors. Dominant colors - blue, turquoise, blue. Purple, lilac, red and their shades can often be seen in interiors:
Yellow, orange, golden, brown, terracotta are used as typical colors of the African desert:
White color is given special meaning as a symbol of purity and longevity. The ceiling and walls or furniture can be made in this color:
Decoration Materials
For interior decoration, in addition to ceramic tiles and traditional stone, various types of textured plaster with a smooth or grainy texture are great:
Mosaic tiles, elements and wood are perfectly combined in one room:
A lot of forged and carved wooden elements distinguish the Moroccan style from other African destinations. Curly balustrades enclosing a spiral staircase and a balcony inside the house look bright:
Traditional furniture for relaxation in the Moroccan style is wooden, with intricate carvings, without sharp corners. Soft fabric upholstery, usually satin or velvet:
It is worth noting that the Moroccan style is divided into simple laconic (rustic) and lush, luxurious (palace). In one room, pieces of furniture of these two directions can be harmoniously combined. For example, wooden islands, chests of drawers and sideboards with a brushed effect look great in the kitchen:
And in the dining room, an expensive granite or marble finish is made, the furniture made of expensive wood species successfully contrasts with the rough plank flooring:
Decor details and accessories
Ceramic dishes decorated with paintings or mosaics, metal jugs and trays, painted chests and caskets, wrought iron chandeliers are the main attributes of the Moroccan interior:
Jacquard textiles are more recent additions to the Moroccan style, but they are great for each other:
An exotic panel made of natural stone with an intricate shape and an amazing plot highlights the originality and unusualness of the interior:
In conclusion, it is worth saying that the eclectic Moroccan style is suitable for people with creative impulses who love variety, space and bright colors.
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B95 is a private home project in Calgary, Canada by Beyond Homes and Building Bloc Design. The residence attracts attention with its individuality and bright colors. The facade of the building has a contrasting cladding.
The central units are finished with black and gray corrugated metal siding and are interconnected with wood siding. During the construction and decoration of the premises, natural eco-friendly materials were used, including quartz, metal, Moroccan tiles, and various woods.
Moroccan style and modern minimalism are organically intertwined in the interior of a modern two-story house with an area of 260 square meters. On the ground floor of the house there is a spacious social area. High ceilings up to 3 meters, large windows throughout the wall make the rooms bright and sunny.
White walls and ceiling, warm wooden floor contrast with a dark metal wall with a fireplace, bringing dynamism and depth to the interior. The bright color of the sofa, a lot of colored pillows, designer lamps make the interior colorful and festive. An elegant staircase, closed with an openwork metal grate, leads to the second floor, where a private area is equipped.
The abundance of decor items that fill the atmosphere with African and Arabic motifs - handmade carpets, various wooden figures, an animal skull, original textiles - bring oriental harmony to the interior, create sophisticated exoticism.
Morocco is a country with an ancient and distinctive culture. Due to the geographical location and the colonial past, special cultural traditions have been formed there. We offer you to find out what should be the Moroccan style in the interior.
Moroccan style in the interior: Background
The Berbers are the original population of Morocco. However, for thousands of years, local life and culture were influenced by the Romans, later by the Arabs and the Spaniards. In the first half of the 20th century, Morocco was under the protectorate of France.
All this has left its mark on local arts and crafts and traditional interior design. It mixed southern European, Berber and Arabic traditions, which ensured the exceptional identity of the Moroccan style.
Moroccan style in the architecture of a private house
Do you want your private home to be admired? Choose Moorish style. It involves the use of many arches as decorations, mounted on graceful columns, often twisted. Window openings should also be lancet or arched.
One of the characteristic features of the Moroccans is the desire to hide their private lives from prying eyes. In this regard, in the houses of Moroccan residents, windows overlook the courtyard. This isolation also has positive aspects. In particular, it provides excellent sound insulation and comfort to all who are in the premises.
When creating the exterior of a Moroccan house, forged decorative elements should be actively used, as well as lamps with colored glasses in the traditional style characteristic of North Africa.
patio design
In the courtyard, according to traditions that came to North Africa from Spain, a pool or a small fountain is usually arranged. It is customary to surround it with large tubs with orange or other trees.
Particular attention is paid to the entrance doors. For centuries, their main function was to protect against uninvited guests, so the doors should be wooden, massive, double-leaf, in the shape of a truncated oval. Massive metal fittings and forged ornaments are used to decorate them.
Moroccan style features
Moroccan style in the interior of a modern home is the choice of those who love ethnic design. It is quite eclectic, since, as already mentioned, it is a mix of interior design traditions inherent in various peoples inhabiting North Africa and the South of Europe.
Curtains and carpets in Moroccan style
Curtains in the Moroccan style are designed to create cool twilight in rooms and protect from heat. As a rule, for their tailoring I use fabrics of saturated colors: ocher, brown and red.
Carpets also occupy a special place in the Moroccan interior. They can be either traditional Berber or Arabic. Arabic versions have a more attractive design and traditionally cost more. They are usually used when decorating a Moroccan-style bedroom or living room. As for the Berber carpets, they are laid on the floor in the hallway.
Moroccan style: tiles and other finishes
Moroccan style in the interior of an apartment or a private house can have different finishes, from the simplest to quite complex and expensive.
In particular, both simple wall plastering and natural stone cladding are equally acceptable.
The main facing material is mosaic or small ceramic tiles with a characteristic ornamental pattern.
Real Moroccan tiles are hand-painted with colored enamel, so they are quite expensive. It is made in the form of squares, octagons, hexagons, triangles, crosses and rhombuses. This allows you to collect entire mosaic panels from such ceramics with a rather complex and recognizable pattern.
The use of arches and niches will help emphasize the Moroccan style in the interior. They should have a silhouette that repeats the silhouette of the dome of the mosque. In a city apartment, you can make such decor with the help of plaster or marble pilasters, complemented by the same stucco arches.
To create an imitation of a deep niche, you can use decorative lighting around its perimeter and a contrasting finish on the inner surface.
Suspension inside a deep niche of a traditional lamp is widely used.
Moroccan style furniture
As you know, the famous Atlas cedars grow in Morocco. Their wood is used to make chic furniture with a traditional silhouette. First of all, these are low tables of an octagonal shape. They are inlaid with pieces of various types of wood, mother-of-pearl, cupronickel, etc.
Painted chests of drawers and cabinets are also known all over the world. One such product is enough to emphasize the Moroccan style in the interior of a minimalist bedroom or living room.
Chic handmade screens with lattices and carvings are even more in demand. They can be covered with dark or light furniture varnish or painted in a bright color. Such screens are ideal for zoning any room.
In particular, they can be used to separate the bath from the bedroom or the kitchen from the living room. In addition, they are mobile, so you can change the layout and geometry of the room in a couple of minutes.
Living room in Moroccan style
A Moroccan-style living room is a room that provides all the conditions for relaxing in a family circle. Traditionally, Moroccans have sought to turn their home into an oasis where they can relax after a long walk through the desert and a day spent in a bustling oriental bazaar.
Traditional option
As already mentioned, Moroccan-style tiles are always used in the living room. Since it comes in different sizes and designs, it is possible to finish any surface with ceramic tiles. It can be walls, floors, niches, etc.
Although the floors in the living room are usually tightly carpeted, a Moroccan-style laminate can be suitable. It has a light shade and a pattern that imitates an artificially aged surface.
In terms of furniture, a Moroccan-style living room should be furnished with plenty of sofas and armchairs. Preference should be given to options with intricate openwork carvings. Sofas with a soft seat are especially comfortable, especially if bright pillows of various shapes are laid out on them.
To decorate the living room, use chased copper products and lamps with colored glass inserts.
Modern living room in Moroccan style
Modern interior design trends offer eclectic design as one of the trends. In particular, Minimalism is in fashion, which is given originality and brightness with the help of ethnic accents.
For such a design, it is not necessary to use only authentic finishing materials. In particular, for pasting walls, you can choose wallpaper in the Moroccan style. Usually they have a pattern that imitates a mosaic. It is recommended to use this finish only for one of the walls of the room. Otherwise, the interior will turn out too lush.
In this case, you can use quite modern armchairs and sofas. To emphasize the Moroccan style in the interior of the living room, the use of bright pillows with a “carpet” print and an octagonal low table will help.
Bedroom in Moroccan style
Moroccan style in the interior is used to create comfort with ethnic accents.
There should be few pieces of furniture in a Moroccan bedroom. It is enough to install a large bed with a carved headboard and a low chest of drawers with inlays. Above it, you can hang a large mirror, which will allow you to do without a dressing table.
A characteristic element of the interior of the Moroccan bedroom should be heavily draped curtains. They are made from natural fabrics, including two-layer, lined. It is better to choose a wooden cornice, of a rather simple design. Its ends may look like spearheads.
Folding screens will help make the bedroom more comfortable. Behind them, you can hide a large hanger-rack, thus obtaining a kind of separate mini-dressing room.
On the floor you can spread an authentic Berber or Arabic carpet, preferably handmade.
Try to have no more than 2 types of different ornaments in the room. Otherwise, the interior will look tasteless.
In addition, psychologists say that the presence of a variety of details does not contribute to a good night's rest.
Moroccan style: bathroom
Moroccan style in the interior of the bathroom can be described as "chic". As mentioned above, luxurious ceramic tiles are produced in this country. With its help, anyone can implement the Moroccan style in the interior of the bathroom, creating a colorful and attractive interior.
It should be warned right away that colorful small tiles are not the best choice for a small bathroom. As a result of its use, such a room will become visually more cramped.
For a small bathroom, large tiles are suitable. You can also use a smaller one as a border along with a plain one.
Along with tiles, tadelakt can be used in decoration. It is a special plaster. In appearance, it is close to marble and allows you to create beautiful glossy surfaces. To add brightness to the interior, it is decorated with colored friezes made of small tiles.
A Moroccan-style bathroom can have a vintage flair. It is provided by using plumbing with an appropriate design. Faucets and faucets should have an "antique" design and not look new. Do not use chrome options.
It will be interesting to look at a sink lined with small mosaics.
Again, it is worth thinking about arranging niches. Both decorative options and options that perform utilitarian functions are suitable.
A large mirror in a copper frame is also suitable for decorating the bathroom. Ideally, if it is chased.
Moroccan style kitchen
Moroccan style in the interior of the kitchen can be different. Most often, we are talking about a mix of ethnic design with one of the modern styles.
This decision is explained by the reluctance to abandon the storage system with built-in appliances that facilitate the work of cooking.
Furniture for kitchen
For the arrangement of the Moroccan kitchen, both minimalist sets and custom-made Moroccan-style options are suitable. The latter should have wooden, artificially aged facades with bars, painted in neutral or one of the light shades of blue-green color scheme. It is permissible to use brass fittings and forged parts. It will also be interesting to look at the hood, disguised as a pipe of a clay oven.
Moroccan style in the interior of the kitchen: Decor
The main element without which you will not get an authentic Moroccan-style kitchen is an apron. It should be lined with a colorful multi-colored mosaic with an ornamental pattern. If the room is spacious, then you can repeat the pattern of the apron on the frieze located at the top of the walls.
If we are talking about a private house, use large wooden beams for decorating the ceiling, typical of the Mediterranean interior. They should be poorly hewn, and metal lamps can be hung from them. The latter can be round, oval or have the shape of an extensive polygon.
Now you know how to use the Moroccan style in the interior of your home. We hope this information will help you in arranging the house or apartment of your dreams.
In today's Morocco, a lot of housing is being built, everything is of the same type - four-story cinder-block houses with a small, but patio-well. Driving along the highway, I saw plots prepared for construction - rows of small bedside tables are growing neatly on wastelands, at first I took them for tombstones. In fact, these are the conclusions of communications - in each bedside table there is an electric cable and sewerage and water pipes. I haven’t seen centralized gas supply here, everyone has cylinders.
Like everything else on this beautiful land, if a bedside table is well watered and looked after, it grows into a full-fledged house - and houses are built here without any breaks, wall to wall, leaving only narrow streets - driveways over which hang balconies. There are almost always bars on the windows, high deaf railings on the balconies - I still don’t understand why there are bars on the fourth floor, perhaps so that children do not fall out of the windows. The ground floor usually houses some kind of shop or workshop; residential ground floors are rare in the city. On the second and third - a kitchen and several large rooms with a TV, where the whole family has lunch, while benches with soft seats, like our banquettes, will definitely stand along the walls. On the fourth floor, the whole family sleeps on the same banquettes, it happens that the head of the family has a separate room with a huge bed, where he sleeps with his wife, sometimes with a younger child. Guests are laid on the same banquettes, in any case, all three nights at registration in Moroccan houses I slept on just such a bench.
But I have not met the female and male halves, it is convenient - you do not have to be separated from your fellow traveler, everyone sleeps nearby.
Outwardly, houses can be almost the same, but inside they are arranged differently - sometimes it is something like a townhouse, when all the floors of the house belong to one family, from the first to the last. There is also an option with apartments, inside the house there is an entrance and from it an entrance to different apartments, as we are used to in Russia. For example, a house for everyone is located in just such an apartment on the fifth floor. a feature of our house is normal wide staircases in the entrance, in townhouses, due to space savings, they usually make the stairs narrow, so that you can’t climb through with a backpack on your shoulders. 
The roofs are flat everywhere, covered with tiles and high blank walls are made. As a rule, the roof is used for drying clothes, sometimes meat or tajine is cooked there on the coals - but this is not every day, but on holidays. And of course, there will be a satellite dish on the roof - even in huts made of sticks and rags in the desert there is a TV, this is a must. When you look at Moroccan cities from above, you see a sea of rooftops bristling with satellite dishes, thousands of dishes, all the way to the horizon. But not everyone has air conditioners, only in good European areas - TV is more important than coolness.
The house has a wonderful roof for everyone - you can get a haircut there, watch the moon, clouds and landing planes, look at the city and think about the future. Other residents of the entrance to the roof rarely go out, mostly during the day - to hang clothes, or at night - to smoke. It’s a pity that they still go out, otherwise it would be great to sunbathe or sleep on the roof, under the stars - but I forbid this so as not to shock the neighbors. And from the roof of the house you can clearly see the mountains for everyone, you can think how cold and beautiful it is now and how some climbers trample the snow on their way to the top.
There is no centralized hot water anywhere in Morocco, but many have gas water heaters, a cylinder is connected to them and you can enjoy hot water. It’s a pity that we don’t have such a device in our house, we have to wait until they call us or wash ourselves cold.
For all the time in Morocco, I have never seen a "toilet" type toilet in the form of a pit and a booth standing above it. In cities and towns in every house there is a sewerage system, in the village and the desert - shit around and buried in the sand.
I saw the original house in a small fishing village on the Atlantic coast - the house is built on a limestone rock on a coastal cliff, one room is scraped into the rock, as in Cappadocia, and the living room and terrace are built in the usual way, from cinder blocks. Right in the house inside there is a well, also drilled in limestone - water can be raised without leaving the kitchen. Electricity is from solar panels, in general solar panels are popular in the desert and in villages, central electricity is not available everywhere. But in some resort towns there are houses painted on the outside - this is very pleasing to the eye in the midst of a monochromatic brown despondency.
In general, it is cheap to build here: there is no need to deepen the foundation, the ground does not freeze through. The base is stones and gravel, rake and put the house directly on the ground. Communications can be carried out outside, because again, the water does not freeze. Heating is not needed when it is cool - they use blankets, for the same reason the walls are made 15 centimeters thick from leaky cinder blocks, you can kick through such a wall with a kick. In some places there are houses made of clay non-hollow bricks, but this is already history - this is how kasbah fortresses and fortified houses were built in the past, now cinder blocks rule the show everywhere. Wood is used minimally, only for floor beams, the floors are always earthen or concrete, tiled. In general, Moroccan houses remind us of a bathroom or a bath - everywhere there is a solid tile.
In the House for everyone, the finishes are standard - tiled floors, painted walls made of thin cinder blocks, if you want to drive in a nail, you will ruin the wall. Life happens on the floor - a table made of cardboard, a bed made of cardboard, some designers have a designer table made of a basin. Various propaganda materials were fixed on the walls with adhesive tape: the laws of the House for All - about cleanliness, about pious behavior, the rules of the house for everyone.
Since not everyone reads the laws, the main ideas are repeated on the signs painted by famous artists who visited the House - about the inadmissibility of going out undressed, about the need to throw paper into a bag, not down the toilet, about the need to replenish supplies. But there are just pictures for the soul - a photo exhibition of a Lithuanian citizen Alex Kirichenko, designed by Albina, is spread over a whole wall - photographs in original drawn frames, with quotes from Vizbor and other bards. 
Another wall is cartographic, here is a large map of Morocco, a five-kilometer route around Marrakech, a toubkal climb scheme, two maps of the city of Marrakesh - locally produced, and a meter by meter printout of a Google map, with all the lanes. Near the maps there is always a party: someone tells where he went, someone plans trips.
Various trifles are drying on the window in the girls' room - socks and so on. I think this lattice decoration pleases our neighbors. In general, the mountains are best seen from the window of the women's room, but worse from ours.
And more and more often I think about my house in Saltykovka, unfinished business and my friends and daughter who remained in Moscow - it's time to go home, there are 11 days left in Africa ..
