Global Style at Tierra Del Lagarto

When you live in the suburbs in the Midwest, you might feel a little lonely when your style sense makes you hang a thangka, collect Burmese lacquerware, or use a rain drum as a side table next to your sofa. You might wonder, does anyone else out there like these things? Someone must, because these things are out there, and they’re sold. But I don’t know, I never see anything like these in anyone else’s house. My husband and I have lived on a little style island, all by ourselves.

Then along came Pinterest. Especially in the early days of Pinterest, it was easier to find people with similar global style. And that’s where I found Meg Van Lith of the Tierra Del Lagarto store in Scottsdale, Arizona years ago. If you follow her on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook, it’s like you can virtually travel alongside as she searches for goods in India, Turkey, Morocco and Bali.

Then, join in the excitement as containers arrive and dozens of wooden printing blocks from India tumble out, such as these that she recently shared online:

Wood Indian Printing Blocks from Tierra del Lagarto

Watch as they unpack and share furniture with exquisite wood carvings and inlaid mother of pearl:

Tierra Del Lagarto Wood Carved and Inlaid Mother of Pearl Furniture

Get an eyeful of the graphic designs of Kuba cloth and mud cloth from Africa:

Kuba Cloth and Mud Cloth Pillows at Tierra del Lagarto

Seeing their photos of a Morocco shipment and so many familiar Moroccan things made me yearn to go back to Marrakech:

Moroccan Goods at Tierra del Lagarto

By the way, if anything here interests you, contact Meg — all her contact info is on the store’s website — and she can arrange shipping. She once contacted me while in Bali and asked if I’d be interested in some tjaps. Oh yes, yes I would! I now have some gorgeous tjaps in my collection thanks to Meg!

A few weeks ago I wound up at a meeting within a few miles of her store. Oh yay!! My husband and I stopped in and had a wonderful but way too-short chat with Meg and her mom Linda, and a stroll through their store. We had a plane to catch otherwise I might have brought my suitcase and moved in at Tierra Del Lagarto. After all, they have beds (sumptuously styled with pillows and patterns and textures!):

Bed Styling at Tierra del Lagarto in Scottsdale

Bedroom Styling at Tierra del Lagarto

Handira Bed Styling at Tierra del Lagarto

They have living room areas to lounge:

Living Room Scene at Tierra del Lagarto

Pattern Mix at Tierra del Lagarto

They have tables to dine:

Dining Table at Tierra del Lagarto in Scottsdale

Tile Table at Tierra del Lagarto

The thing that made me not want to leave, and perhaps miss a flight home like who cares about going back home, is the extravaganza of layers and patterns and colors. It’s so full of life and fun! As you can see in their photos here, they really excel at boldly and bravely mixing combos of patterns from different cultures and places. I was so enthralled while there, I forgot to take photos. But I guess that’s the best way to experience the store, with your own eyes, not looking through a tiny screen. And I don’t think I could take photos better than these photos styled by Meg and Linda. For a regular dose of these inspiring scenes, follow along at Instagram!

 





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Super Fun Jumpin’ Jack Pillows

Whenever we leave winter behind, I want fun, light-hearted things around. Spring is light, like a spring in your step. And that’s how these fun pillows from One Kings Lane feel. Maybe it’s the frivolous fringe and twirly tassels. And the high contrast of black and white (which is a current trend!) plus a punch of orange and pinks.

One Kings Lane Pillows

Don’t they feel like they’re doing jumping jacks? They’re light and bright, even with black in them. And go ahead, mix Greek key patterns with tribal. Using similar colors is what lets you get away with crazier pattern mixes. As you see here, the Greek key in hot pink picks up on the color in the other pillows. They all have tassels too, which makes the pillows feel like they’ll all get along together.

Switching up pillows is an easy way to change a whole room’s look for the new season.

Source: Pillow 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

 





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Secret Ingredient for a Well-Traveled Room

These rooms all have a common element, but one that’s a bit uncommon. Can you guess what it is?

Moroccan Inlaid Table

Inlaid Side Tables via House Beautiful Tables from E Kenoz

Inlaid Accent Table

Moroccan Inlaid Side Tables

Interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard (my favorite designer who I met last year!) often uses this design element in rooms:

Childrens Room Designed by Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Inlaid Table Martyn Lawrence Bullard Designed Room

Cher Indian Fantasy Home

By now you’ve probably figured it out.

All these rooms have little inlaid tables, like accent tables or side tables, that you can get from Morocco, Turkey, Syria, Egypt or India. You can get them new, vintage or antique. They’re often meticulously made with mother of pearl or bone.

These tables are a sure bet to add that well-traveled look, like “yeah we’ve been somewhere, and we’ve seen some things.” Because you don’t get exposed to the idea and find a table at a regular ol’ Midwestern mall, that’s for sure. I grew up with the JC Penney and Sears catalogs (yeah that just really dated me) and I can tell you, nothing like this was in those catalogs!

So where do you find these tables? I’ll share a few ideas with you at high, medium and low price points. And you can also DIY the inlaid table look.

From Ballard Designs, the Marrakech Side Table regular $399, on sale for $299:

Ballard Designs Marrakech Side Table

Marrakech Side Table from Ballard Designs Bone Inlay

eKenoz has a range of prices for inlaid tables, from $275 t0 quite a few around $499-550 with the priciest at $1,100 right now. Here’s a sample of their big range of styles:

eKenoz Moroccan Syrian Turkish Inlaid Tables

Wisteria carries some styles, like this graphic art deco-ish version with bone inlay:

Wisteria Bone Hexa Side Table

You can sometimes find pricier high-quality versions at One Kings Lane and 1stdibs.

There are some gorgeous tables at Akbik, and their prices reflect their handmade nature. When I’m shopping for furniture, I often look at versions that are above my price range to see what makes good quality and design, then once seeing that, try to find the best possible that I can afford. Here are breathtaking tables at Akbik:

Mother of Pearl Inlaid Tables from Akbik

So if you like the “global well-traveled” style, I hope this unveiled a secret that would instantly make your room look a touch exotic.





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Can 59 People Please Order This?

Can I bribe you to place an order for this? If you do, then there’s only 58 to go …

Indian Shelf at World Market

Yes, this shelf will be made only if there are enough orders for it. (You can order here.)

Rajasthani artisans are awaiting carving it with traditional methods passed down through generations, father to son, maybe uncle to nephew.

Rajasthani Indian Carved Wood Shelf via World Market

Then they will paint it indigo blue.

Indigo Blue Shelf at World Market

Please, let’s get enough orders together so that 60 homes can enjoy this shelf. Including mine! :)

Also, I do have an affiliate relationship with World Market but did not set up affiliate links on this post because I’m so shamelessly begging you to order this! Maybe that makes me a dumb blogger, finance-wise. But I think it’s only fair to offer more value in return for affiliate links! Like a DIY tutorial, or spending my time finding something hard-to-find so that you don’t have to spend your time doing that.

So, let’s go back to ogling this shelf. You know, it’s 49″ long. Long enough to hold a bunch of framed photos, or painting canvas. If I am lucky enough to get this, I may use it to set wall art on it.

Rajasthani Shelf and Ochre Wall

And, can we have a conversation about that wall?! Yes, let’s. I think that wall treatment is also needed. The lightly patterned peeling paper scraps. The color. Did you see my recent post about curry color?





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