African Decorating – Bringing the Savannah to Your Home

First of all, the idea of African interiorism is founded on the ideas of richness and history.  This is a culture that stretches far back into time, before many other cultures existed.  The vast history allows the decor to showcase more neutral tones that signify closeness to nature and the earth, while also demonstrating a practicality and resourcefulness.  Indeed, there is also a concerted effort towards celebrating the history and the colors of the people and the land.

There are a number of ways that you can begin to use the African theme in your home.  If you’re looking to create an overall renovation of your style, you might want to begin by incorporating a warmer tone to the chosen rooms by painting the walls and ceilings in neutral and warm colors.  Colors like mustards and burnt oranges are terrific for this purpose. 

You might also want to consider lighter browns – think rich, earthy tones when you start this process.  Other great colors are a muted grey or a taupe.  Consider the color of terra cotta in order to get an idea of the warmth.

To further add to the warm feelings of the room, you might want to consider adding terra cotta flooring.  This flooring is incredibly durable and fashionable, resistant to moisture and wear and tear – perfect for the busy family.  But it also recalls the time of naturally built homes that were fashioned from the earth.  In conjunction with the warm hued walls, this can create a home-y feeling without adding too much pattern or design.

However, the real appeal of African themes is that pattern and that design that can only be created by African artisans.  You may want to consider incorporating African tribal textiles while can show various images of people and animals.  The designs can include bright colors to highlight the patterns or be done in muted tones to subtly accent a room.  You can find textiles like cushions, pillows, wall hangings, and bedroom linens that can help to add to any room.

A larger theme in African design is that idea of celebrating the animals of the region.  Find textiles and sculptures that include images of panthers, leopards, tigers, and elephants.  These animals are revered in African culture and are celebrated by bringing their images into the home.  You might want to consider some elephant statuary or perhaps a wall hanging with animal scenes.

With all of the details that can be found in African decoration, you will want to make sure that you’re not overdoing it. 

A good way to avoid overpowering a room with too many details is to create a focal point in each room.  This might be a piece of art or a collection of different themed pieces.  By making this point of interest, you will allow the room to come together without seeming cluttered by the pieces that you are showcasing.  When you group items together, they have more of an impact too.

If you’re not interested in created an entirely African room, you might want to consider incorporating smaller African themed pieces.  Perhaps you can include a leopard print throw over your couch or hang an African mask as a unique wall hanging.  For this theme, less is truly more, so don’t feel like you have to have an ‘all or nothing’ approach.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to create the African look either.  There are many smaller accent pieces that you can find at discount stores as well as dollar type stores.  Or you can head to a discount fabric store for accent fabrics to drape over couches and walls.  Look at thrift stores and garage sales as well for African inspired paintings and accents.

Bring African into your home will help to establish a warm sense of history in your life, no matter where you’re from or where you plan on going.