Book Review: Marrakesh By Design

Go Global

Global decor is something that has always fascinated me, when as a little girl my Mom took me to Pier 1 imports for the first time. I remember she bought a beautiful Asian bolero to ‘dress-up’ a dress she already owned. (This was back in the day when Pier 1 sold clothing) Right then and there, after browsing their globally inspired merchandise,  I knew what I wanted my house to look like. I wanted beautifully embroidered linens with sparkly accents, ancient-looking bronze vessels, exotic knick knacks, intricately carved wood furniture and vibrant splashes of color everywhere! I wanted my home to look like a Middle Eastern Souk (without the snake charmers).

Marrakesh My Way

If you have been to my house you know that I am a huge fan of Bohemian and Indian Decor many because they are full of the vibrant color palettes, geometric patterns and various textures that I admire. I have added a lot of these fun features to my living room that you can see in my Living Room Tour.

Throughout the years (and several living spaces later)  it has taken me a while to find those pieces to give my home that ‘global’ look. I love so many elements of the many different decor styles yet I have found it difficult to incorporate them into my space without it looking like a collection of mismatched junk. The art of decorating takes a skillful eye, which seems to have passed me bye.

As most newly weds, we didn’t have a lot of money so we furnished our home with hand me downs and massed produced pieces from the local furniture stores. It was easy to find something that I liked but never anything that I LOVED that would help me achieve the look I was ultimately going towards. After 10 years of marriage we have finally installed internet into our home which in turn has broadened the amount of choices for home decor and furniture. I have found myself spending way too much time looking at decor blogs, ethnic online stores, Pinterest and Face Book decor groups. All of these resources have helped me find my own sense of style. Now that I know what I like I am attempting to find these items at yard sales and bargain stores.

The Book Review: Marrakesh By Design

Marrakesh by Design by Maryam Montaque  was every bit amazing as I imagined it to be from the cover images. The book started out with a overview of Morocco’s architectural history. At first I didn’t think I was going to like this but as I continued to read I found the background very helpful in understanding the origins of the different design features that I find so appealing.

The Colors of Morocco

The book devoted several chapters to key colors found in every Moroccan palette. It then divided up living spaces so one can easily zero in on ideas for particular rooms of choice (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc…). The photography was beautiful and featured many zoomed in, detailed pictures which I found to be very inspiring. My favorite photos were those featuring stacks of colorful rug and linens from the souks of Marrakesh and the stacks of beautifully hand painted tile. The author even includes a brief overview of a few of the local trades in her home town of Marrakesh.

DIY Inspiration

At the end of each chapter a inspiration page gives ideas on how the reader can incorporate the look and what type of items to use. The author includes a little of her story and inspiration for writing this book.

My only disappointment with this book would be the appendix and list of resources. I visited several online resources from the book and found a few to be non-existent and others to be extremely expensive. If you are like me and you love garage-saleing and a bargain, you are not going to find anything affordable using this books appendix.

If you enjoyed this review you may be interested in a similar book I recently reviewed, The New Bohemians by Justina Blakeney.

It’s A Keeper

I loved this book so much that I decided to leave it on my wish list (in anticipation for my up coming birthday).

I have had this book on my Amazon Wish List for over a year, along with a bunch of other interesting looking decor books that I have never read. Recently, I discovered my library can get any book I request so I decided to start borrowing the books on my wish list instead of having them sit there for years and wait for them to never be bought. 😉 If I find any I still want after reading through them, I keep them on the list.

Do you have any ‘must have’ decor books that inspire you? I am always looking for new books to add to my list. I would love to hear of any suggestions you might have.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.

Book Review: Medicinal Herbs

The Beginning Gardener

This past year was my first time cultivating a garden on our new homestead. I started off small, unsure of how the plants would handle the soil. Also, I was less than confident in my skills as a gardener. My husband likes to call me  “The Plant Hospice.” Back when we lived in New York I had a garden for three years before ‘throwing in the towel.’ My tomatoes caught the blight, my green beans were plundered by bunnies and  my cucumbers seemed to have a insatiable thirsts.

My recent discovery of natural and herbal medicine has set me on the path to growing my own herbs for teas, medicine and cooking. After buying dried herbs for several years I  know I can grow and dry them cheaper. The enjoyment I have received from performing the process from start to finish is also a reason I wish to continue perfecting my brown thumb.

The Review…

Medicinal Herbs By Rosemary Gladstar is a fabulous book not only for the beginning medicine maker but the beginning gardener. Rosemary covers the basics of herb gardening and medicine making techniques such as tinctures, salves, poultices and syrups. Each herb she features has several easy recipes whether for medicinal purposes, food consumption or beauty treatments. While the step by steps have enough details for the beginner I would have proffered to see a few picture tutorials. Overall, this was a easy read full of helpful information. I always find myself reaching for this book despite my large collection of herbal medicine making books.

A few of my favorite makes from this book were pickled garlic (great natural antibiotic), mullien flower ear oil (for ear infections) and Rosemary’s Famous Face Cream (the only face cream I use).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: The New Bohemians

Bring Boho Style to Your Home

I have had this book on my Amazon wish list for several years. This Christmas I got smart and moved the priority of this book to high. My hubby always gets me gifts based on how I prioritize them. Global decor specifically centering around Asian, Moroccan and Indian elements has been a interest of mine for a while so this book appeared to be right up my alley based on the cover picture and description.

The  Beautiful Back Cover

 The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes By Justina Blakeney is a book about Bohemian decor, which includes a lot of bold color, texture, and patterns (do you see why I like this?) with natural elements such as house plants, wood accents and natural fibers. I Loved the amount of photos included and that many of them were a full page. The author takes several inspirational living spaces, interviews the decorator/home owner and zeros in on details about the space. She chooses 5-7 elements from each space and wraps up the section by giving the reader ideas on incorporating them into their space. There are even a handful of DIY projects with photographs and written directions.

 I was so pleased with this book that I walked away from it teeming with new ideas. If you like Bohemian decor or inspirational decorating books this one is for you!