daybed sofa - paul smith, moroccan style

Ta-da! our 'new' daybed sofa.

October interior boost! Two unique handwoven moroccan blankets completely changed the look of this corner.

The vintage bamboo daybed is transformed into a striped sofa, by replacing the mishmash of pillows by 3 sturdy pillows.

I sewed three pillow covers and used the fabric of one blanket. The daybed is covered with the another blanket.

It's an utterly different sofa. A sophisticated striped sofa. Paul Smith, moroccan style ;-)

I just love it!

And nothing new was purchased for the change of the daybed corner. Klimt painting and desk lamp on the table, we re-decorated with the things we had. Something I love too.

eclectic style

Well, to cut a vintage moroccan handwoven blanket into pieces was the most scary part of my newest project...

A beautiful unique piece! I bought the blanket in Marrakech some years ago.

I'm gonna make some sturdy pillows for our bamboo daybed, so we can also use it as a sofa. And not just to hang on or take a nap on it.

The plan was to make all three covers today. It already took me forever to make the first cut. After a few hours, a couple of broken needles, I finally succeeded to finish only one pillow cover with a zipper at the bottom. The woven fabric is quite a challenge to sew!

Pillow one is done! I am more than satisfied with the result, especially with my average sewing skills it was a tricky project.

Monday I will continue with the two remaining covers. First purchase a few spare needles, before I can continue. At least now I know how to do it and the other two pillows will be 'a piece of cake'.

The advantage of my studio is that I can close the door and leave everything on the floor and don't have to tidy up the mess.

Have a nice and relaxing weekend everyone! ... and some of you may enjoy an extra hour of sleep tonight.

PS: In the next post I will take you back to Essaouira again.

essaouira

Mogador, Medina at the ocean.

After the workshop my husband Henk arrived in Marrakech. I asked the taxi driver to bring him to Gueliz, where I surprised him with a welcome dinner at restaurant +61.

The next morning we took the bus to spend some days together in Essaouira.

After a few hours we arrived at our hotel near Essaouira, totally different moroccan vibes overhere...

For Henk it was the first time in Essaouira and I loved to show him all my favorite parts of the medina.

We were lucky, because it was exceptionally quiet in the city so we could enjoy the authentic atmosphere of the medina at the ocean. It was misty, but hardly no wind. We walked for hours through the charming narrow streets.

We visited Galerie Elizir, once was a restaurant, nowadays it's vintage heaven! Four floors stuffed with an incredible amount of unique pieces. Furniture, art, lamps, posters, a museum of a collector with exceptional taste.

We had drinks and dinner on the roof terrace at Megaloft that night. Surrounded by misty clouds, seagulls, stylish waiters, colorful vintage furniture, cool music and the sounds of the city below.

Day One in Mogador was magical and relaxed. We took the typical Essaouira-blue Mercedes taxi, we drove to our hotel a few kilometers outside the city.

marvelous marrakech - berberlife

On the second last day of the Marvelous Marrakech workshop program, we visited a Berber village in the countryside.

Immediately after arrival we were welcomed by a group of Berber crafters with tea and freshly baked bread and pancakes. We had tea together on their homemade berber carpets, among the olive trees and goats.

Artist Hamid invited us, to have a glimpse into the lives of the Berber women and assisted with the translation of our conversations.

The Berber women learned the craftsmanship and technique from their mothers, as well as patterns, colors and symbolism. Who learned it from their mothers, and so on. They don't make a design before they start weaving, instead they seem to work from a kind of ‘Berber Instinct' which they simply translate into actual carpets.

After our visit to the Berber village, we drove on to Berberlodge, even though it may sound almost the same, this is something completely different.

We had a delicious lunch in the shade of the olive trees and the rest of the afternoon we chilled at the pool, in the hammock and the amazing garden.

And naturally we stayed at Berberlodge until sunset (incredibly beautiful light!) and drove back to Marrakech in the twilight.

Upon returning home at Chambres d'Amis, Aziz was pouring mojitos and we had our moroccan farewell dinner on the roof terrace.

What a beautiful 'berberlife' day! ... and a perfect way to celebrate this marvelous week full of adventures with a wonderful group of women!

SHOUKRAN Ank, Abdessalem, Aziz, Fatiha, Andel, Rachida, Hasna, Malika, Mohamed, Hamid, Mohammed, Hicham, Aisha, Tamara, Karin, Christelle, Anette, Ina, Aly, Monica, Wendy and all the lovely folks we met this week!