Moroccan Travel Inspired Home Decor

I had a dream before I began my travels in 2016. I woke up from that dream and wrote down:

Last night I dreamt I caught in a sandstorm. I wasn’t afraid of it and when it was over I was in a foreign place. The chaos, the unknown…it all felt right and I was excited for it.

Since I was a young girl most of my life consisted of dreams of far and away places, photographs of exotic places plastered on my bedroom walls, places that were once dreams eventually became my reality along with all of the feelings that come along with exploring foreign destinations on your own. Fear mixed with a feral desire to experience everything all at once but not too quickly. During that time home didn’t exist, my body became my home and all things temporary became the norm. I slept in a tent in the middle of the Sahara Desert, in the home of a Portuguese family in the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic, a Lisboa apartment with a German roommate, a mattress on the floor of a Berber family’s home, in an Italian Villa, on the coach of a Spanish apartment, on the deck of a yacht in Croatia and was welcomed into the home of a Bosnian family I had just met. I was my home and it was something much more than a physical place.

Things started to slow down for me in 2018, I had just experienced a beautiful whirlwind of unexpected travels the year prior and my vision I had for my future became more clear. In order to get there though I would need to stay still for a bit, remain focused and work hard. Without any form of income to afford my own home I wrote in my journal what my own home would look and feel like.

I have a cozy personal space that provides comfort, security and bliss. This space holds all the things I hold dearest and is a reminder of all the places I’ve traveled to. I am left feeling grateful and inspired. There’s a ton of natural light and even a special area for me to take photos.

It would be a little over a year until my new dream for myself became a reality and on April 2nd, 2019 I woke up to the morning light shining through the window of my new home and the moment reminded me of sitting at the top of that sand dune in Morocco watching the sun rise.

Since then my space has become my own treasure trove of belongings from my travels and mixed with items from places I wish to visit someday - Turkey, Iran and India just to name a few. The strongest influence being from my beloved Morocco.

A blend of 2 worlds and cultures - layering a Moroccan cactus silk rug and Persian gabbeh rug

My arrival to Morocco inspired much of what my space is today and my #1 goal was to create a beautiful day bed lounging space, not my bed, but a special spot to retreat to for dreaming, reading, napping, drinking mint tea, journaling. What really transformed this space was the hand-carved wood Indian privacy screen that transports me to another place instantly. The ornate carvings reminded me of Moroccan lanterns and their beautifully casted shadows. The actual day bed itself is an IKEA hack with the base of a Soderhamn chaise lounge with a twin foam mattress (cut with an electric knife to fit the base) and then the final touches - a custom linen cover and wood sofa legs from Comfort Works and decorated with pillows repurposed from Moroccan rugs.

My getaway corner and personal oasis to dream of Morocco while drinking mint tea

A blend of inspiration - Indian privacy screen, Moroccan pillows and Turkish rug

After living in my own space for almost a year I discovered a new passion and way of creating, not just through photography and writing, but in the way I decorate my home. I rearrange constantly and feel a strong feeling of contentment every time I move things around and create a new space.

In December, I returned back to Morocco for a 2nd time and this time to do some shopping for my home. I bought some things in the souk but one of my favorite items was found at the flea market, a less visited tourist destination, and a place that required a little more digging to find treasure. I later found out that my flea market find was a vintage Taznakht rug from the High Atlas Mountains and believed to be around 30-32 years old.

Along with my flea market finds I also found the perfect vintage Moroccan wool blankets at La Handira. These blankets are the kind that you find hanging in the tents in the desert, sturdy enough to protect from the wind and the sand. At home they work as a bed cover, folded at the end of the day bed, stored in a basket or are so versatile they can be used as a rug to create the ultimate Moroccan oasis!

While it may be difficult to travel to Morocco at the moment, I find joy in creating a little piece of Morocco at home until the next time I can visit this beautiful country again. At the end of the day I love having pieces around that I know have lived other lifetimes and are now in my care to live on as a part of my journey until reaching another life.