Accessories Archives - Page 2 of 7

Moroccan Mint Tea Glasses

Some of us became addicted to the ritual of Moroccan mint tea in Marrakech last week. If you don’t want to go all the way to Morocco to get mint tea glasses (although I recommend that you do!), you can easily find these jewels online.

Many years ago, you could have bought Moroccan mint tea glasses from a candle catalog we had back in the 90s. I wish I’d kept a set for myself! We sold the glasses with natural mint scented votive candles. Here’s a photo of the glasses from our catalog:

Moroccan Mint Tea Glasses and Indian Temple Door

I styled the tea glasses on a little Indian tea table that I sanded down to remove dark stain (so the tea glasses would “pop” visually). My mother-in-law happened to be in town at the time, so I took her red sari and paired it with an old Indian temple door to make an exotic backdrop. She was more than a little surprised with what I did with her sari! This was my favorite all-time shot over about four years of running that catalog. You’d never know this photo was not in an exotic setting in Delhi or Mumbai. It was set up in a corner of our living room in a boring feature-less white condo in Novi, Michigan. So I’ve loved global decor for a long time.

Let’s look at some tea glasses available for you today. My favorite are these colors and design from Viva Terra:

Moroccan Tea Glasses from Viva Terra

Those colors would go so well in my dining room.

These strong jewel colors from JustMorocco.com are bold enough to elevate mint tea drinking to a special celebratory event:

Moroccan Mint Tea Glasses from JustMorocco

If you prefer a more subtle design, how about these delicate henna-inspired glasses from Not on the High Street:

Moroccan Mint Tea Glasses from Not on the High Street

I could see green and gold ones like these (or red and gold) as holiday candleholders for decoration, if you don’t think you will drink mint tea. These are from Moroccan Prestige:

Green and Gold Moroccan Mint Tea Glasses from Moroccan Prestige

This gives you an idea of what these glasses look like, if you haven’t seen them before. There are hundreds of designs and colors to choose from. Just Google “Moroccan mint tea glasses” in Google Image and you will find an endless supply.

Now what you must see is how to make Moroccan mint tea and especially, the impressive way they pour this tea in Morocco!

Pouring Moroccan Mint Tea

I wonder how much they practice and how much they waste to learn to pour like that. Because these glasses are tiny!

Not Your Usual Diwali Lanterns

Diwali is coming soon! This year it’s on October 23. It’s the Festival of Lights in India and more and more, it is celebrated worldwide. Little diyas, oil lamps and lanterns are used to cast the “light” of the festival around the world.

The Purple Turtles — a shop in Bangalore, India — has a unique twist for Diwali lanterns. Check these out:

Diwali Lanterns from The Purple Turtles Shop in Bangalore

Gorgeous when lit, they’re also decorative and unique when not lit:

Diwali Lanterns at The Purple Turtles Shop in Bangalore India

See more at The Purple Turtles.

Patchwork Rugs

I love the patchwork rug style from ABC Carpet and Home, made of patches of various rugs:

ABC Carpet and Home Patchwork Rug

But, would you believe something as simple as a beige patchwork rug could be quite different? So, let’s look for more …

Here’s a beautiful version with a mosaic of pattern, from a store in the UK, Design Studio V:

Patchwork Rug from Design Studio V

This look is a great option if you don’t want to commit to color but want some texture and a little bit of pattern.

Clayton Gray Home explains how their rugs are hand-stitched together in Turkey. They’re made from pieces of vintage and antique rugs from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet, Armenia and Turkey – all joined in one new piece like this one:

Clayton Gray Home Patchwork Rug

Can you believe you can even find these rugs on Etsy? Uh-huh. From seller Vintage Carpets, direct from Istanbul. I’m tempted:

Patchwork Rug from Etsy Seller Vintage Carpets

You can see that even though these are all neutral, they’re all different. Some are more faded and ghostly – just a whisper of pattern. Some have more obvious pattern. Some have larger carpet remnant pieces, others have smaller patches. All these design choices give each rug a unique look. This next one from Carpet Edition has just hints of larger patterns:

Carpet Edition Patchwork Rug

From Zin Home – I like the mix of elegant patterns on this one. It’s like they chose different patterns that somehow all work together like an orchestra, instead of fighting and getting noisy:

Zin Home Patchwork Rug

These are making me think, hmmmm, inspiration for a stencil project … couldn’t you tape off rectangles on a tabletop and paint the rectangles with different stencils? Or you could paint on a floorcloth and make your own rug like these! I took tile-making classes many years ago. I could see creating tiles with parts of patterns like these, then piece the tiles together into a tabletop or wall art. Or even a floor if you’re really brave for a more permanent installation.

See, this started out as a very beige post, but there’s a lot of inspiration here!

Dupatta Curtains

True to my global style, I can’t get curtains from Bed, Bath & Beyond at the shopping center outside our neighborhood. No, that’s too close! Do you know what’s perfect for curtains? Dupattas. Dupattas, if you’re not familiar with them, are like long wide scarves or lightweight shawls. They’re worn by women in India as part of clothing, usually with churidars which are like long tunics. Here’s a dupatta from Jaypore, made from silk and handwoven and hand block printed:

Silk Dupatta from Jaypore

Couldn’t you see this as a fun curtain? It could be in a boho style room, or a curtain for a girl’s bedroom.

Dupattas are shorter than saris. Dupattas can be around 80-90 inches while saris are often 6 feet or more in length. While you can cut a sari to curtain length, a single dupatta is usually already a perfect length to hang as a curtain. Just back the dupatta with a cotton fabric to block sunshine from degrading the dupatta fabric and any color dyes, and you have curtains! While you’re sewing a cotton backing onto it, you can add a pocket for a rod at the top, or install grommets for a rod, or hang with rings. It’s very easy to convert a dupatta to a curtain.

I’ve been on the hunt for a long time for the perfect dupatta to make cafe curtains for our master bedroom. And I found it at Jaypore:

Dupatta Curtains

Yes the dupatta is a bit sheer, but as I said above, you will want to add a lining to protect it from the sun. This will soon be cut and sewn into curtains, and of course the DIY post will be coming soon!

Meanwhile, there’s a large selection of beautiful dupatta on Jaypore right now so I’ll share a few more to get your creative curtain visions going. Because I was inspired to get many more dupatta but chose only one. So please, someone, buy the rest so there’s no temptation. :)

At a generous 100 inches in length, this would make a subtle patterned curtain for a tall window or tall ceiling. It’s a Maheshwari cotton silk dupatta, handwoven by master craftsmen and block printed by hand using Khari technique (I think these might all be one-of-a-kind so while they’re available today as I link to them, no promises about availability tomorrow!):

Dupatta from Jaypore

A modern leaf pattern on organic silk, this would make a bold graphic statement when paired with mid century modern furnishings:

Modern Leaf Pattern Dupatta from Jaypore

I see this silk dupatta textile hanging in a sunny bohemian breakfast nook:

Jaypore Dupatta

This cotton-silk dupatta is so unique – I challenge you to find something like this in any curtain department:

Black White Red Dupatta from Jaypore

How about add a little dash of India style to a beachy decor vibe? It’s possible with a blue dupatta like this. The lightweight silk would fly on the breeze of open windows in the summer:

Jaypore Blue Hand Woven Dupatta

Finally, florals hand-painted on silk, from India but perfect on windows overlooking an English cottage garden:

Silk Dupatta with Hand-Painted Florals from Jaypore

I hope this shows you just a taste of the range of colors and patterns on dupatta textiles. You can also find vintage and new dupatta on eBay and Etsy, as well as online stores that sell Indian clothing.

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