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)

Lanterns and candles
No Moroccan-style home is complete without a fairy-tale scattering of candles and lanterns. Again, The Pier have found the best with their white Moroccan lanterns (right), £10 and £15 (0845 609 1234, www.pier.co.uk).


Pick up a beautiful bargain with this etched block candle, £2.99, from Sainsbury's (0800 636 262, www.sainsburys.co.uk).


For a more delicate approach, these Moroccan resin tea light holders, £17.90 for a pair of small holders or £18.95 for the large by Graham & Green (0845 130 6622, www.grahamandgreen.co.uk) are perfect.



For a delicately tinted glass glow, try these lanterns, £8 and £12 each, from Plumo (0870 2413590, www.plumo.com)




Leather pouffes and slippers
Despite the hard flooring, the Moroccan way is all about comfort, so you must add a leather pouffe to the mix. Linda Barker's own collection, Really Linda Barker features delicate embroidered traditional pouffes, such as this one; red leather pouffe, £69.96, (0870 242 0651, www.reallylindabarker.co.uk).


Padding around in these stunning Moroccan leather slippers (available in white or pastel pink with silver sequin embroidery, £19.99 each, Fuchsia Fuchsia, 023 9229 5191, www.fuchsiafuchsia.co.uk), will make you feel like an Arabian princess.


Serve ware and accessories
Moroccan culture is well known for its exotic dishes full of spice and of course traditional mint tea. Serving up such culinary delights, require equally exotic serve ware. Habitat has a surprising collection of authentic baskets, lanterns, beaten metal bowls and traditional tagines.


The real gems however are ceramics of origin, such as the North African platter and individual bowl serving set (above), £25, The Pier (0845 609 1234, www.pier.co.uk), and Soukh's traditional engraved Safi platter (left), (£44.99 www.soukh.co.uk).


Serving mint tea to your guests will become a stunning cultural display with Graham & Green's authentic Moroccan tea tray, £32.95, tea glasses, £16.50 for a set of six and beautiful tea pot, £21, all Graham & Green (0845 130 6622, www.grahamandgreen.co.uk).