Morrocan hotel room

My materials of interior design class recently finished our midterm assignment of designing a hotel room prototype. I settled on the Moorish period of Moroccan architecture and design, setting out to create an exotic retreat for tourists craving authenticity and a taste for foreign places.

several images from source

Here's a mock-up of my initial mood board, to capture the feeling of the space I wanted to create. Following are a smattering of inspirational images from which I drew ideas, palette, ambiance...

image source

Loved the ambiance created by mood lighting, low lying seating, and textiles galore.

image source

Mosques have been the biggest inspiration in Moroccan design. Dating back to medieval times, key elements of Moroccan/Islamic architecture include light, symmetry and water. A highly-ornate style, vaults, cupolas, arched doorways, niches, and riads, or interior courtyards, are principle features. Ceramic tiles are used extensively, from floors, to walls, to table tops. Traditional Moorish design is very ornate, so I knew I would be toning it down somewhat for a modern translation.

image source

Just as textures and patterns are layered one on top of another, the color palette is also a study in sharp contrasts, with subdued natural earth tones of the desert contrasting with cool watery tones from the bordering ocean. That's the look I was going for.

So, here's what I did with the hotel room space:

This is the entryway of my room, with hand-made Moroccan mosaic tiles from the floor up to 4', then Venetian plaster-looking vinyl wallcovering in rich brown up to the ceiling. The intricately carved wood door sits in a rectangular door frame, but has an arched opening from the inside.
Through the arched door way you enter into the main bedroom. On the near wall is a built in niche for the low-lying bed, and across on the other wall is a wrought iron and wood framed window with a banquette in the corner for lounging. The mosaic pattern from the entryway is carried through to the main room, swapping out the brown for golden honey toned upper walls.
The bathroom is clad in blue mosaic tiles with lattice wood screen/panels on the counter face. It's hard to tell, but the tiles in the shower/bath are shaped like fish scales, which were not specifically traditional Moorish design, but I couldn't resist. The mosaic pattern in here is the blue version of the same pattern from the hallway and bedroom areas.

Now that I immersed myself in Moroccan design, I am dying to go stay the night somewhere like this, to get the full-experience.