Monday, May 12, 2008

A Visit to a Pretty Old House


Adjacent to the sleek, modern house from a few posts ago -joined by an internal door no less - is a very traditional riad.
Here a little still life ready set up.
The chair, the metal tray, the wooden bowl.
We have the same tile design on our stairs - except in our case they are very old and bashed up.


An enigmatic placement of three small bowls. What are they for in this austere little room off the courtyard?


Looking up, you can see the soft green of the painted windows.
The climbing vines and the orange tree show this to be a real riad -a house with an internal garden.


And the tiles!
These are often used on walls as well as floors - to prevent damp -or at least hide it..........


These are three very traditional designs.
At first I was besotted with them.
Then I was bored with them.
Now I love them again.
Both houses delighted me in the same way both sweet and savory things do.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, I love those tiles. And they're so nice to lie on when it's hot.

High Desert Diva said...

It's funny how our tastes change, and then circle back.

Just read Razzler's comment about the tiles being nice to lie on when it's hot...something to ponder for our house in the desert.

Hey Harriet said...

I'm not quite sure what to make of all the tiles but those three bowls are very intriguing. They look like little cat dinner bowls. & the cats are lurking around the corner just waiting to feed on the yummy delights that the bowls are filled with. I'm probably wrong but that's what I'm imagining :)

Momkiss said...

OMGoodness, the tiles are spectacular! I had no idea Marrakesh was so green....

Tess Kincaid said...

Yes, those tiles are fabulous!!!

Thanks for dazzling my blah day, Elizabeth. :)

Vanessa said...

My grad school buddy is assigned to Morocco now (for Medecins Sans Frontieres) and just today she sent a whole slew of photos of riads and tiles and man-on-the-street images replete with bursts of color, Morocco just as I imagined it. You both are fortunate to be surrounded by all this relaxed charm. :-)

carolyn said...

Those tiles are just gorgeous and I love that soft green paint.

Anonymous said...

I am still at the besotted stage :-)

Willow said...

You don't need much else in the room when you have all the tiles and colors.

Anonymous said...

I love these tile designs. Striking.

Paz

this is my patch said...

You really do only need plain painted walls when you have beautiful coloured tiles like those. They are so pretty. x

Barbara said...

The colours in Marakesh always look so joyful and artistic. Even the effects of light are great pictures.
Enjoyed the farm visit.

Mélanie said...

I love these traditional house , this old maison