Majorelle Garden (Marrakech, Morocco)

The Majorelle Garden is a botanical garden designed by the expatriate artist Jacques Majorelle in 1924 during the Colonial Period in which Morocco was administered by France.

Majorelle got established on Marrakech’s Medina (French protectorate, back then) and fell crazy in love with lights, colors, smells, sounds, architecture, population, zoco (markets) and kasbah (fortified edifications)… He wanted to take advantage of this precious inspiration to make a place of his own, and so he decided to buy a property in 1922 located right next to the Marrakech palms trees forest, where he, in 1923 started constructing his own chalet.

It was constructed by architect Paul Sinoir, under an Art Deco concept and delicate modern style, inspired on Le Corbusier and The Bahia Palace (Marrakech); consisting of the main house on the first level and his own workshop studio on the lower level.

Majorelle, so very in love with botany, creates and designs his very own botanical garden all around his chalet, consisting of a centered fountain and diverse environments complemented with a great variety of exotic plants and rare species that he brought himself from all around the world on different trips such as cactus, yuccas, lily pads, nympheas, jasmines, bougainvilleas, bamboo and coconut, banana and palm trees; adorned with different fountains, groves, pergolas and ceramic jugs.

In 1937, the artist creates his own shade of blue, the Bleu Majorelle, something like a delicate and intense ultramarine color that was used to paint all the walls of the chalet and then all the garden’s to create his personal living piece of art, opening his doors to the public in 1947.

As result of a car accident in 1962, Majorelle retires back to France never coming back and leaving the Garden in total abandonment.

But later in 1980, Yves St. Laurent and his sentimental partner, Pierre Bergé, found the “Association pour la Sauvegarde et le Rayonnement du Jardin Majorelle” in order to take back the garden to the state it once was… So they repurchased the chalet and restored the whole garden to the old Majorelle spirit, increasing plant species from 135 to 300 or more… They conserved the house level for the private use, and transformed the workshop studio into the Islamic Art Museum of Marrakech in which there was exposed his personal collection acquired from diverse trips of Islamic art from Magreb, Middle East, Africa and Asia, such as weapons, jewelry, textiles, pottery, Arabian ceramics and art pieces by Majorelle.

The garden was property of Yves St. Laurent until 2008, when he died… His ashes were scattered in the Garden and the rest of the edifice was taken care by other people.

Nowadays the garden is being taken care of by 20 gardeners and is one of the most important touristic attractions of Marrakech. Serving as shelter to plant species from all five continents highlighting the great collection of cactus and Bougainvillea; and hosting more than 15 species of birds that can only be found in the North African area.

This is for sure, one the most beautiful, unique and exotic gardens I have ever seen. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Visit the official site: http://jardinmajorelle.com/ang/
Or search #majorellegarden on IG to see beauties.
And enjoy the gallery
– M

 

Jardin Majorelle

FLIPBED: Resting bed.

This furniture mixes the two biggest pieces in a bedroom: the resting bed and the working desk.

It’s multi-functional, designed for a Marketing 20-year-old student, with great features just like a bookshelf, drawers, a pin up magnetic system, wooden hooks to hold and set, and a rotation system to flip the piece in any of the two functions.

It’s a twin bed, made in White Oak, totally resistant and durable.

Take the Greek paradise to your home interior!!

Inspire yourself to recreate the easy, relaxed atmosphere in your own home.
Greek interior designs are actually very easy to achieve and a very comfortable look to live with.

The style is very simple and minimalist, it’s rustic and it’s all represented on the walls, which are always white.
Your bedroom should always be simple, not much decorations.

For the pops of color, use mediterranean blue, turquoise, or yellow.

**DO paint woodwork in a different color, if not varnish, wax or stain them. -Hardwood flooring on Terracotta tiles are always better to represent Greece floors, BUT also a stone floor will work as well.
**Wall hangings: Choose thick, textile, woven wall-hangings, in deep rich colors in geometric shapes. They will make an interesting room, with texture and color
**You don’t need very much furniture for authentic Greek interiors, just keep it all very simple. But if you do, use quality wood furniture.
**Choose low-level furniture – benches, floor cushions and coffee tables – for a very relaxing, easy-to-live-with style
**ACCESSORIES: Choose bare windows, or very simple window treatments, such as wooden shutters, paint them blue for a very authentic Greek interior design look.
**Add plenty of rustic pottery, to get a really authentic Greek interior design look. Go for natural clay, or pretty, brightly colored, painted glazes and patterns.
**if you’re living in a cool place, it’s ok, you can still have you greek-like home interior. Just add more cushions, more throws, wall hangings, pillows, curtains, rugs, more texture, and change colors to warmer ones like yellow and terracotta instead of blue. Exclude the stone floor and use the warm wood of terracotta… In this way you can bring the sunshine of Greece to your home 🙂

-TheArtSpotBlog by Maria Vasquez.

From Morocco, with love.

Always amazed by Moroccan style!
The tiles, though, are just pure perfection.

Enjoy the Moroccan inspo gallery.
Love, The art spot blog

Seduced by Moroccan Style’s interiors

THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. 

  We have all heard about camel rides and deserts in Morocco,which must be the best experience ever but we want as well to highlight one of the best styles that have ever existed: The Moroccan style. And we are talking about interiors here… 

The Moroccan style, is an amazing cultural-like style that combined with architecture, colors and patterns make one of the most beautiful and eye-catching views you could ever see. 

Moroccan architecture is beautiful and rich, alluring, and as varied as the landscape of the country itself. It is religious (which means that even though it’s so very historical it is respected wherever it is situated)  and has been described as exotic, majestic, eclectic, contemporary and traditional, a true mix. It is influenced from the Arab world, Spain, Portugal and France whom can still be seen in Moroccan architecture, both on their own and blended with Berber and Islamic styles.

Morocco is known for its handmade works like carved doors and columns, hand-woven carpets, intricately painted tiles, lanterns, leather goods and silver tea sets.

As we already know: The North African country borders an ocean, but is also a desert oasis, resulting in a warm and cool color palette. Earth tones combined with various shades of blue and pink are common, as are texture and pattern, so, it can range from ornate with bold with colors to simple, clean lines with like we said before: earth tones. That’s the key, right there. 

We normally see patterns on interiors; taken from the tiles on the floors, walls and even doors (If you want to see some, check the ART SPOT BLOG for breath-taking Moroccan portals on Monday Doors). 

“To effectively transform your space into a rocking casbah, keep it simple. It’s all about a few key accessories. All you need to create beauty and interest is a throw rug, some toss pillows, a lantern and a side table. De Vargas suggests introducing Moroccan style through soft furnishings, a cushion on a window seat, large pillows on the floor for extra seating, bolster pillows on a sofa or dining chairs reupholstered in bold colors.” – Trend Spotter: Be Seduced by Moroccan Style

Treat yourself with the gallery! 
ilā l-lāʾ