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Souk chic: Moroccan style made easy

Indulge your sensuous side with the Medina-inspired collections of the moment and create an Arabian lair in your home with the wonderfully exotic colours, patterns and textures of Moroccan home furnishings

Moroccan style is a vibrant mix of age-old craftsmanship steeped in colourful history and mystery. The Souk is a name given to the multi-faceted market-places or bazaars that are found all over the Middle East and North Africa, filled with a profusion of silks, metallics, hand woven rugs and divine mosaics.

Specialist boutiques and high street stores alike are embracing North African bespoke pieces and adding them in numbers to their own collections.

Whether you are looking for furniture, earthenware, ceramic or glass, the magic of the Medina, its vibrancy, colour and sensory assault leaves a lasting impression.

Walls and floors
With so much embellishment in the details of accessorising, the backdrop needs to remain simple. Opt for a blank canvas on walls using warm shades of matt emulsion in ochre, sand and terracotta. Try and stick to hard flooring, restored floor boards, stained in rich dark shades, stone or mosaic tiles look stunning. If you prefer carpet, stick to neutral shades in wool with a textured rib. Either way, try accessorising your flooring with a traditional wool rug in a Moorish or Berber woven design. The Pier has a great range of rugs, as does John Lewis. This pure wool rug from Laura Ashley combines the right note of colour and pattern to create the perfect look. Maria wool rug, £275, Laura Ashley (0871 9835 999, www.lauraashley.com)


Furniture
Replicated furniture is easy to spot on the high street, with The Pier leading the way with collections dedicated to Moroccan style, including mosaic decorated, as well as ornately carved furniture. French mail order company, AM.PM, the interior specialist division of La Redoute has explored its North African connections with a selection of giant floor cushions that look stunning surrounding low wooden tables on an outdoor deck.


The beautifully embossed metal covered side table (left), £265, and coffee table (right), £350, look wonderful combined with a selection of coloured leather pouffes, £99.50 each, all from specialist boutique, Graham & Green (0845 130 6622, www.grahamandgreen.co.uk).




Traidcraft's inlaid decorative border mirror, £120, is perfect for any corner of the home (0870 443 1018, www.traidcraftshop.co.uk)





Textiles and silks
Hang windows with heavy cotton or woven fabrics, or for a more contemporary take, wide wood Venetian blinds will compliment the furnishings really well. For that indulgent look of the lair, beds and sofas should be strewn with lavish silks decorated with pleats and embroidery.A bed draped with layers of textiles creates the look perfectly: Ethnic Chic bed linen (right), from £11 for a pillow case and £45 for a duvet cover, all by Ditton Hill (0870 240 6238, www.dittonhill.co.uk).



Authentic silk Kasbah cushions (left), £25 each, Halo (0161 923 0500, www.haloliving.co.uk) are begging to be piled in numbers.



Keenly priced North African-style embroidered cushions (right), can be found for £7.99, at Sainsbury's (0800 636 262, www.sainsburys.co.uk)

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