Falling asleep to images of wildlife on the savannah and waking up to a fiery sunrise in the morning – this is possible when you furnish your home with African living style. However, it is not that easy to furnish yourself African, because there is no “one” universal African style of living. You can still do it with these tips. To see custom made non woven wallpaper, please check listofledlights.
This is typical of the African style of living
The African continent comprises 54 countries and is inhabited by around one billion people. Each individual country and each individual region has its own style of living, depending on the respective cultural and economic developments. There has never really been an original and authentic style of living in Africa. The history of the continent is too complex: Arabs, Portuguese, British, French and Dutch have left deep traces, imported their ideas of living and thus created a colonial style of living that is combined with local culture, art and everyday objects.
Nevertheless, there are also similarities: The African tribes are very down to earth, and this African connection to the earth is reflected in the African style of living in simple forms, clear patterns, earthy colors and natural materials. Symbols are used frequently and are very meaningful. In West Africa, for example, three circles lying one inside the other are the symbol for domination, a ladder with four rungs stands for mortality.
The basics for furnishing your home in an African style
Light-colored walls go well with the African furnishing style and form a beautiful backdrop on which you can stage individual pieces of decoration. Therefore, choose white or light sandy colors as wall colors so that beautiful contrasts can arise. Also important: in a style of living reminiscent of Africa, less is more. It is better to decide on a few selected elements, because these catch the eye. In the crowd, they quickly seem overloaded.
This light base is combined with warm earth tones, fiery sunset colors and brightly colored tones. In an African-style apartment, dark, rustic furniture made from local woods meets hand-woven, colorful fabrics and batiks. Decorative works of art round off the overall picture – for example carvings, traditional weapons or musical instruments. Such African handicrafts are still made in simple village workshops according to traditional models.
Furnish the living room African
Furniture in yellow, orange, red, terracotta, brown and, of course, wood, especially dark wood, goes well with the African style of living. You can decorate a beige or brown sofa with sofa cushions in yellow and orange. In addition to leather stools and armchairs , you can also offer your guests seat cushions and floor mats.
Textiles are also an important element of the African style of living. Light, airy curtains and covers with animal fur patterns create images of the wind- and sun-kissed savannah. Large pictures with landscape motifs can decorate your walls. A special eye-catcher are traditional drum instruments, with which you can furnish your living room in an African way – sometimes they are so stable that you can even sit on them.
Indoor plants should not be missing in your African interior. For example, place a palm tree in a brown planter and decorate it with African sculptures.
African decor in the bedroom
Coziness is what matters most in the bedroom, and the style of living, which is based on the different cultures of Africa, has a lot to offer: fluffy carpets for the floor and beige-colored bed curtains are a good starting point for furnishing your bedroom in an African style. Animal fur patterns are also popular here, for example as bed linen or seat cushion covers. Orientate yourself on a brown-beige color palette, sprinkle in individual sun colors and combine furniture made of dark wood – then you are already halfway to Africa.
Tip: Do you know the African juju hats? With their fluffy factor, these bring a cozy atmosphere into the bedroom and are also an extraordinary wall decoration.
This decoration fits the living style of Africa
First set up African, then decorate African – that’s a lot of fun with this style of living. Here you have a variety of beautiful natural materials at your disposal. Wood leftovers, leather, stones and glass beads are particularly popular. But also large, colorful feathers are reminiscent of Africa and are suitable, for example, as wall decorations. Batik fabrics also look wonderfully exotic on the walls.
You can set up painted clay bowls and animal sculptures on tables and sideboards and decorate them with glass bead jewelry. We’ve already mentioned indoor plants, but if you’re artistically talented, you can of course paint the cachepots yourself with traditional African patterns or even carve your own out of wood.
