Exotic Leanings - Eastern Decorative Influences

Having done a fair of traveling, I can tell you that every country I have visited has something to offer in terms of architectural design ideas. But I found it interesting that there were foreign influences in local architecture as well.

For example, because of the British colonization, Asian countries like Hong Kong (special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China), Singapore and Malaysia, among others, have building with British inspired architecture. 

In fact, there is a Downing Street on the island of Penang, Malaysia where the British used to house their Government offices. For those not in the know of the significance of this street name, or more specifically, 10 Downing Street, is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now invariably held by the Prime Minister.

I could write for hours about the multiple architectural influences in South East Asia, but I'll save that for another blog post.

For this post, which I have digressed a lot, I want to talk about Moroccan design influences. I've mentioned in another post that I've already taken to trying my hand at making their sumptuous stews with the help of their cooking tagines. Not wanting to boast, but I've gotten quite good at making those stews.

Anyway, I digressed yet again.

Back to Moroccan decor. It's very easy to inject a little exoticness into a room without having to invest in heavy renovation. All you need is a little Moroccan furniture and decor to spice things up. A couple of pouffes, Moroccan tea glasses, ornate cabinets and hand crafted decorative dividers and screens in the right places can really transform a room into an exotic den.

Don't forget those beautiful Moroccan throw pillows and and carpets as well. Many of these item can be easily bought from the net at relatively affordable prices. I the divider and screen you see above from this site http://berbertrading.com/cat_dividers.cfm. Incidentally, that's the same place I got my cooking tagine too.

To top it off, don't forget to add a couple of those highly exotic looking Moroccan lamps. But be careful not to over do it...like I did. It good to have a plan but it's even better if you stick to it.