Marrakesh By Design

Moroccan design, from the tiled floors to the colored walls, sculpted ceilings, embroidered fabrics, Berber tents, fountains, gardens, and more In a world filled with beige interiors, Morocco is the perfect antidote: a refuge for addicts of saturated color, a haven for devotees of intricate pattern, a destination for admirers of striking architecture. For anyone who wants to add Morocco's spicy design mix into their own home, Maryam Montague, the personality behind the award-winning blog My Marrakesh, explains how to do so with the building blocks of Moroccan design—from the colors, patterns, and textiles to the archways, fountains, gardens, and so much more. With illustrative text and gorgeous photographs, Maryam shows how Moroccan design comes to life in real villas and riads and in her own magnificent home and guesthouse. Eager DIYers will love the ideas presented in sidebars and in how-to projects that can be applied to homes anywhere. Filled with all the richness of Morocco,Marrakesh by Design will transport readers straight to the souks and salons of this exotic city while showing them the multitude of ways to live with the enticing elements of Moroccan design.

It has been said that Marrakech awakens all of the senses. Whether it is seeing the intricate zellige tilework; smelling the various spices sold at the souks; hearing the call to prayer emanate from the nearby mosques; touching the supple leather used to make a pair of babouches (leather sandals); tasting a flavorful tagine, Marrakech never fails to excite. Located just west of the Atlas Mountains, the city has been inhabited by Berber farmers for centuries. It has been dubbed the “Ochre City” because of the proliferation of red sandstone buildings and the red city walls, which now enclose the Medina, home to Jemaa el-Fnaa, one of the busiest squares in Africa.

Take a photographic tour of the most popular periods and fashions in interior design and architecture. Each book features the insights of an expert design writer and numerous fine examples of a particular style's architectural elements, period and geographic facets, and distinguishing decorative flourishes. Stunning photography showcases both exterior and interior details to give readers a full understanding of each style. Informative and inspiring, this series presents design writing at its best. A must-have for home design enthusiasts!

Morocco celebrates the decorative arts and centuries-old folk traditions of a country in the midst of a cultural renaissance. The glorious photographs make this book a joy for the armchair traveler, while the documentary information about Morocco's houses, arts, and crafts make it invaluable for everyone interested in design. Full-color photographs.

Nicknamed ‘the rose among the palms’, the thousand-year-old city of Marrakesh is characterised by its pink-colored pisé architecture and its deeply rooted tradition for gardens and green spaces. The majority of historic sites are inextricable from their gardens – or indeed are historic green spaces: the huge royal orchard pleasure-gardens of the Agdal were described by Monty Don as ‘of international cultural importance on a par with Versailles or Villa d’Este’. Scores of traditional riads and hotels like the Mamounia, created by the French in 1923 on the site of an eighteenth-century royal residence, offer splendid gardens to the visitor. Yves Saint Laurent’s Majorelle garden is an icon of modern garden design. The first book to be published on this fascinating subject, Gardens of Marrakesh champions the city’s relevance today in a world of water scarcity and urban development and explores its green heritage, considering some twenty gardens both from an historic and cultural perspective.

The austere facades that line the labyrinthine streets of Morocco's ancient walled neighborhoods reveal almost nothing of the luminous residences within. "The Villas and Riads of Morocco" lifts the veil on these secret paradises, from fantastic palaces in Fez and Essaouira to middle-class riads in Marrakech to converted casbahs in the southern oases. With more than 200 stunning photographs, this beautiful volume takes us behind the scenes to explore a side of Morocco that is largely hidden to outsiders. The book showcases exquisite interiors that combine rich materials such as cedar and marble; luxurious carpets and textiles; filigree carving and other handiwork; and vibrant color palettes. Also featured is the remarkable mosaicwork found especially in the central courtyard gardens and patios that form the heart of the Moroccan house. Accompanying these sumptuous views is a vivid history of the country's residential architecture and its fascinating mix of Andalusian, Arab, and Saharan influences. "The Villas and Riads of Morocco" not only offers a feast for the eyes but also illuminates an entire culture.

A debut monograph on the highly sought-after French architecture duo renowned for a signature aesthetic infused with clean lines and raw minimalism. Founded by French architects Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty in 2000, Studio KO has quickly secured its status in the world of architectural design. A refreshing modernist aesthetic imbued with subtle references to history and culture defines their work. While Marty and Fournier are best known for their minimalist villas set in awe-inspiring landscapes, recent commissions also include restaurants, boutiques, and hotels across New York, Paris, and London. The first monograph dedicated to Studio KO, this beautifully illustrated book spotlights a diverse array of their work, from private residences in breathtaking scenery, ranging from the Moroccan mountains to Provence and Brittany in France, to the highly anticipated Yves Saint Laurent Museum, due to open in Marrakech in 2017. Boasting never-before-seen architectural plans, personal photos, and sumptuous photographs of finished spaces, this book offers a fascinating look at the most in-demand architectural designers of today.

Morocco is an exhilarating combination of vivid sensuality and intense spirituality, an intoxicating blend of cultures. Berber, Arab, French, English, and Spanish: the country's rich mixture of heritages is matched by its geography, which ranges from coast to mountain to desert. This revised edition of Living in Morocco celebrates the indigenous arts of a country at the height of a cultural renaissance. Morocco is known for fine leather and for pottery that dates back a thousand years. Berber rugs are justly famous, and there is a thriving tradition of woodworking, especially in the native thuya wood. Most extraordinary, though, is Morocco's decorative painting and tilework, where, forbidden by religion to depict human figures, craftsmen have developed a vocabulary of pattern and ornament. The book is filled with brightly colored ceilings, decorated courtyards and walls, plaster of Paris carved and painted in intricate geometrics, tiles so small that 150 could fit in a matchbox. Lavishly illustrated chapters on decorative and folk arts alternate with chapters on Moroccan life today. We visit Chaouen in the Rif Mountains (a city only recently open to Westerners), where the town's undulating surfaces are painted a bone-chilling blue-tinted white. We peer into an abandoned kasbah in the Sahara, and absorb the sights, sounds, and smells of the frenzied souk. We take time out in the shady blue-and-pink environs of the Majorelle Gardens, laid out by French painter Jacques Majorelle, and explore the story behind La Mamounia, the famous hotel that has welcomed such guests as Winston Churchill. Most important, we see Morocco's arts brought to life in its homesfrom former harems to traditional Hispano-Moorish houses. Glorious photographs make this a treasure for the armchair traveler, while the documentation of Morocco's houses, arts, and crafts make it an invaluable resource for decorators and designers. Published in hardcover under the title Morocco: Designs from Casablanca to Marrakesh. 346 color photographs.