Summary
– Principle of an African decoration
– Which furniture for this decoration?
– Wall coverings adapted to an African decoration
– Floor coverings for this style of decoration
– Textiles or curtains to create an African decoration
The living room has become THE living room par excellence. We are thus witnessing the emergence of new decoration styles for this room: African, design, Asian or Moroccan decoration; the main thing is to make your living room friendly. In this post, we will look at the principle of African decoration.
Who has never seen a documentary on African tribes or the film by Sydney Pollack “Out of Africa”?
Who has never dreamed of going on a safari with a camera? The heat, the extraordinary landscapes…
Invite yourself to this nomadic dream by following the few ideas below:
– Whatever the size of your room, it must be comfortable, elegant without being overloaded with large furniture.
– Mix materials such as ebony (if your budget allows it) or wenge (more affordable), iron, sisal, rattan…
– Opt for “animal skin” patterns or plain in sand, ochre, red or beige tones, but you’ll have understood: banish floral and tartan patterns for this atmosphere!
Which furniture for this decoration?
The audiovisual storage unit will be the focal point of your African living room decoration. Made of wood with a waxed patina, it will be dark and trimmed with rusty hardware to give a tribal look.
For the other furniture:
– The coffee table will be brown shisham wood with light purple accents, carved for framing with turned legs.
– You will place a layer (a kind of sofa) against the wall painted in a dark colour to create a contrasting effect. Two armchairs will accompany this with high braided backs, filled with ecru coloured cushions for optimal comfort.
If there is enough space, you will place a console with rusty iron legs and a glass shelf against a light wall. You can decorate it with antiques reflecting a hypothetical trip.
If the proposed furniture does not fit your budget, nothing prevents you from creating it yourself. To do so:
– Get a coffee table in untreated white wood and brush on a coat of mahogany stain.
– After drying, apply a coat of dark walnut stain.
– Once dry (24 hours), take a cloth, coat it with furniture polish and pass it in rotating gestures over the entire table.
– Do the same for the storage unit.
And don’t forget to place animal figurines such as giraffes in the corner of the room. These should be tall.
Wall coverings adapted to an African decoration.
An African decoration is meant to be bright and clear. To avoid darkening the room:
– Paint with glycerine paint 3 walls in ecru and one wall in chocolate.
– If the chocolate doesn’t appeal to you, replace this colour with a dark red “tadelakt” coating that will match your furniture perfectly and give a very personal look due to its irregularities.
– These techniques will give an aspect of depth to the room.
You can also decorate your walls:
– an unframed rug with bush animal motifs that you can match to the whole room;
– a hanging with African motifs, sold in specialized stores, which will be machine washable at will;
– a copper tray which will be a masterpiece: to be fixed to the darkest wall;
– wooden masks decorated by 3 and fixed obliquely to the lightest walls.
Tip: in an ecological spirit, you can replace masks and copper trays with palm leaves in filigree and varnished iron.
Floor coverings for this style of decoration
Play with clarity by laying a white ceruse floor that will bring a desert terrace finish to your African decor. On this one lay a carpet in fake zebra skin, very well imitated in specialized retailers.
You can also choose a white matte tile grouted with chocolate or red to contrast with the darker wall and highlight the unbleached walls.
Here too, rugs are a must, especially under the coffee table. Choose it in large sizes, even in the shape of a leaf, to give a racy bucolic look. As for the material, choose sisal, hand-woven wool or coir.
Textiles or curtains to create an African decoration
You can afford everything from the bamboo blinds through the curtains for this African decoration, do not hesitate!
If you choose curtains, fix them on an iron rod without fancy tips. You will mount these curtains in a simple panel (i.e. without patterns) on eyelets.
The thick cotton curtains, preferably plain, will be mounted on a wrought iron rod with curved ends. They will be held to not darken the room by triangular tiebacks in varnished MDF with a transverse peak.
Tip: do not hesitate to place palm trees or large plants to bring a savannah spirit to your African decoration!
Want to read some more? Stay tuned for our next post on African decoration.
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