Magical Moroccan Closet Nook … a DIY!

Some people have huge infinity swimming pools as luxuries. Some people have fast convertible cars. Some people have wine cellars with rustic stone walls and floors. Some people have closet nooks filled with Moroccan patterns and pillows. Okay maybe only one person has that last one. Me! Until I entice you to try this …

It is a luxury to give up a closet and turn it into a space that’s pretty much only for lounging around.

If you can carve out a space like this in your house — from a closet, under some stairs, maybe flanked by deep bookcases and shielded with a curtain — it’s the kind of spot people like to curl up in. I’m a big believer in Sarah Susanka’s “Not So Big House” philosophy that was popular about a decade ago. Homes need spaces sized for humans. Humans don’t feel cozy in great rooms the size of office building atriums.

How did my crazy patterned nook happen? Well, I painted. I painted a lot! Sometimes until the wee hours of the morning and I had to switch contact lenses because they got dry from looking and not blinking so much. I painted an MDF board to cover a wood storage bench — see a tutorial of how to do stacked patterns like this:

There are painted and stenciled silk cushions — get tips on how to stencil on fabric like this:

There’s even a painted, stenciled and beaded pillow that I created for a feature in Paint+Pattern blogzine, where all these stenciling tutorials are shared:

Believe it or not, I am not the only person on the planet with a nook like this. Because these nooks inspired me to pull all the clothes and junk from the closet, and make it a special space:

Now there’s a luxurious lounging nook that I can work in, read in, nap in, snuggle with a cat in. You can lounge around on a mix of pillows I bought during travels (a silk Turkish pillow actually found in India, a Moroccan Fez embroidered pillow) and pillows I made with details like jewelry fixings and long lush tassels from the Marrakech medina.

But I’m not done with it yet. Oh no! Because you haven’t seen the ceiling yet …