Claudio Bravo's Marrakech Home Meets Crosby, Stills & Nash

I don’t know if the painter Claudio Bravo ever met singer-songwriter-musician Graham Nash, who wrote the late 1960s hit, “Marrakesh Express.” But it's Nash's song that chugs through my brain, like the train from Casablanca to Marrakech he sings of, every time I look at these photos of Bravo’s recently reimagined Marrakech riad.

More likely (though a far cry from fact), it was the reverse. The song, written in 1966 and released in 1969, could be what inspired Bravo to ditch the concrete jungle of New York City in 1972 for the splendors of the Mediterranean sun on Africa’s northern coast.

Bravo eventually owned three homes in Morocco, and this four-bedroom, single-story one in Marrakech became his winter abode. When the painter died in 2011, he bequeathed it and much of its contents to a friend. It's new caretaker called on Sardar Design Studio of New York to refresh the place as a getaway for her family while maintaining its stature as a museum home. The results are beyond stunning, as you will see.

Bravo was a hyperrealist painter, so I think he would’ve appreciated Nash leaving the first-class section of the train to mingle with the common folk and their animals, as the song describes. In fact, this 18th-century home is reached via twisting streets and alleyways, tucked amid merchant shops and artisan stalls. So it seems only fitting (to me anyway) for Nash’s lyrics to narrate our tour. If you’re a boho child of the late 1960s, like me, you surely remember the tune and can, at the very least, hum along.

All on board that train!

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A 19th-century-style bronze knocker and a plethora of nailheads greet you at the front door. Inside, a Syrian bridal chest and mirror inlaid with mother-of-pearl catch the sun from the courtyard around which the home is built.

Looking at the world through the sunset in your eyes

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A Berber blanket hangs above the living room sofa, a brazier (foreground left) doubles as a side table, and a banquet dish and stand serve as coffee table.

Trying to make the train through clear Moroccan skies

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At the other end of the living room, a Kurdish kilim covers a table. The daybed and star-shaped side table are Syrian, while the rugs are Moroccan.

Ducks and pigs and chickens call
Animal carpet wall to wall

American ladies five foot tall in blue

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The dining room light fixture is an antique mosque lamp, an Uzbek suzani serves as tablecloth, and the chairs are camel-bone veneer.

Sweeping cobwebs from the edges of my mind

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The richly inlaid furniture in this cozy corner of Bravo’s former studio is also Syrian. The Andalusian-style plaster frieze is custom-made. Most of Bravo’s art went to family members when he died, but the lithographs displayed here came with the house.

Had to get away to see what we could find

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A Spanish colonial desk, 19th-century Moroccan globes and box, a collection of antique Mamluk mosque lamps, Émile Gallé vases, and more Syrian pieces decorate the study.

Hope the days that lie ahead 

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In Bravo’s former bedroom, the headboard is draped with a wool blanket and the bed with a Berber wedding blanket. The chest is antique Moroccan, and the Tuareg carpet is made of woven leather and palm fronds.

Bring us back to where they've led

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The Green Bedroom is my favorite room in the house. The bedspread is Gujarati mirrorwork embroidery, the chest is 19th-century Moroccan, and the desk and chair are bone inlay.

Listen not to what's been said to you

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In another bedroom, embroidered pillows from Fez and Rabat gather on an antique Spanish bed. The chair is Indian, while the table and chest of drawers are Syrian.

Would you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?

Would you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?

All on board that train!

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And yes, the house comes with its own hammam—in Valencian marble, no less.

I've been saving all my money just to take you there

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I could do for a soak here, especially after that dusty train ride.

I smell the garden in your hair

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Or here. I’m not particular, but I am wondering about the view from these tubs.

Take the train from Casablanca going south

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I hear it’s spectacular, so let’s take a closer look.

Blowing smoke rings from 

the corners of my my, my my, my mouth

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Mandarin-orange trees underplanted with white roses grace the courtyard. Part of the “refresh” involved deepening the courtyard pool, which features a 19th-century Indian fountain, to allow for swimming. Street sounds drift over the courtyard walls, as do the Islamic calls to prayer.

Colored cottons hang in air

Charming cobras in the square

Striped djellebas we can wear at home

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This patio furniture is Indian marble, while the lantern is Moroccan. What else?

Don't you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?
Don't you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?
They're taking me to Marrakesh.
All on board that train!
All on board that train!

If you want more, which, of course, you KNOW you do…

Self-portrait of Claudio Bravo painting in his djellaba

• Read Liza Foreman’s 2016 AD interview with Ahmad Sardar-Afkhami, who headed up the home’s restoration, and continue your photo tour of the home HERE.
• Check out decorative art from the homes and studio of Claudio Bravo from a past auction HERE and HERE. 
• Click on the play button in the video below to watch and listen as a mature Crosby, Stills & Nash perform “Marrakesh Express.” Then, as it plays, go back and look through this home again. You can even sing along!

• If touring this home gives you a hankering for Morocco, you're in luck! Bravo's main home—a palace in Tangiers—is for sale. Follow the link to the realtor's listing. His third home at Taroudant is a museum you can tour when you visit and, in the meantime, virtually. You'll find additional photographs of it on Trip Advisor. 
• Check out the (affiliate) links at the bottom of this page to learn more about the group Crosby, Stills & Nash; the painter, Claudio Bravo; and how to get the Moroccan look in your boho home.
• Shop (and follow!) both my Etsy and ebay stores for vintage finds, a few of my boho DIYs, and next-to-new surplus home decor. New merchandise gets added daily, so check both places often.
• Sign up to have BoHo Home posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.
• Find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, and give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier!

                         

Hello, (Flower) Potted SUMMER!

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How did you enjoy your first day of summer 2017 yesterday? 

Here, in Central Indiana, US, it was 86, sunny and breezy—a lovely day! Chris and I drove to a nearby park mid-afternoon and took a walk under the shady trees—something we do a few times each week, weather allowing. It’s a good stretch of the legs after sitting all day, as well as a time to share and decompress in nature.

Speaking of nature, I thought the summer solstice would be the perfect time to revisit my gardening efforts this season—mostly in pots now that we live smaller in a condo. Remember how it all looked right after planting? Everything’s grown a bit since then, and I’ve ended up pursuing a few more gardening projects than first planned. (Imagine that!)

Let’s start at the front door, shall we?

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Here’s how my inverted-pyramid corner hanging pot of succulents looked just this morning. I used one pot of hen and chicks (lots of chicks!)—you can see those spilling out on the right—and filled in with a variety of trailing groundcovers from one of those succulent “tiles” the garden center's are offering now. I love that they’re starting to flower! The flowers are delicate, yes, but still lovely.

This sort of planter is perfect for the corner by my front door (out of photo to the right), and the succulents are great for it because I don’t need to water them that often (and mess up the siding). Neither do they drop a lot of debris like most annual flowering plants.

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The baskets of Boston fern were especially HUGE and gorgeous at Kroger's this year—and only $12.99 to boot! Beneath the fern are caladiums interplanted with fiber-optic grass. 

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I love the combination—and all plants are thriving—but I’m not as thrilled as usual with this year’s selection of caladium varieties. The ones in front—“First Kiss” (Caladium “Arno Nehring”)—are nothing short of drop-dead gorgeous, with big leaves and great color. 

But the one at back left—“Raspberry Moon”—leaves a lot to be desired. The leaves are smallish and the colors too pale. The clueless nursery folk at Lowes had them in the sun, which didn’t help, but they’re pale even after days in the shade. “White Star,” back right, is just okay; decent color but smallish leaves.

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Usually I divide and mix caladium varieties within each pot but decided to separate them this year. Next year I think I’ll go back to mixing AND to the nursery I used to frequent. I was trying to save money and get most everything in one place this year, but I can see that’s not the strategy to take in 2018—at least not with caladium.

I’m not always able to find the fiber-optic grass, but Home Depot had a great selection of it this year and earlier in the season than usual.

In the patio sun spot

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Remember those cosmos seeds I planted in pots? Well, the dwarf variety is coming along (left). I was tickled enough with their success to pull out a second planter bowl and plant more seed. I was too late to get anymore dwarf cosmos, so I settled for a sherbet-colored zinnia mix (right). 

You know, those buggers germinated overnight!! I couldn’t believe it. When they get a little bigger I’ll thin them out. And hopefully, by the end of July, I’ll have more flowers for small bouquets. 

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One measly seed of the species cosmos germinated, so I planted lavender in those pots instead. Every week or so the two planters give me enough blooms for a small bouquet. And you know, don't you, that if you keep picking the plant produces more flowers, right? 

I hope to plant these in the ground on the west side of the house in the fall. I think they're tough enough to make it there.

Susannadanna and her curly reed hair are doing well, too, and she seems happier with the lavender plants than she was with the cosmos seeds. Maybe because it matches her headgear?

On to the patio entrance

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I changed things up this year by planting my strawberry pot with annuals instead of culinary herbs. With our new diets, we just aren’t using fresh herbs the way we used to. I still love herbs as plants, though, and hope to add some next spring as sidewalk edging (particularly lemon and variegated thyme).

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But for now, this multi-opening pot is filled with white sweet alyssum and blue lobelia, which has done me the honor of bursting forth with abandon. This part of my garden gets morning sun, then dappled and full shade the rest of the day. So the blue really pops, and the alyssum smells heavenly.

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Both are annuals that disappear early in the garden centers—at least around these parts. So if you want them and see them, grab while you can or start your own from seeds.

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The classical fairy gardens are doing well, and I’m doubly pleased I cut back on the number of plants. As you can see, the Scotch moss (two above and one below) are doing a stellar job of taking over the fairy “ruins.”

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See the kitties on the bench and in the stone cave and the turtle on the lower right edge of the pot? Cute, huh? Yes, I realize the scale is a bit off, but who’s to say the fairy world isn’t a bit topsy-turvy compared to ours?

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Originally, I wasn’t going to use this planter this year, but then I saw a photo of a similar pot planted with white alyssum that spilled out and down like Rapunzel’s hair. By that time, all the alyssum from the garden centers had been snapped up, so I opted for moss rose (portulaca) instead, which will vine eventually, though not in the same cloud-like fashion. 

For right now, my goddess looks a little butch, but I'll share a snap later in the season when her locks grow out.

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I must admit, this lady looks lovely in the dappled shade of my Japanese maple, alongside the classical fairy gardens. But my notes for next year will include “MORE alyssum” to give her those goddess-like tresses.

Front, though not center

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Some succulents from the tile, a miniature false cypress shrub, two antique capstones, and a few rocks green up this corner where the sidewalk turns into our front-door patio. In spite of a pot that holds little soil and drains too fast, all plants seem to be doing well. 

If I seem to use a lot of succulents (and there are more to come!) it's not only because they're great plants. The outside of our condo is mostly stone-faced, and our foundation planting areas are "mulched" in river stone. So DEEPLY mulched in river stone that planting in the ground is a major effort. All that rock and stone also absorbs all the heat beating down on it, releasing it back onto the plants. In full sun, I have to use tough plants that can take the punishment.

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At the opposite front corner of our unit is my monument to repurposing. The pedestal piece molded to look like the capital of a Greek column was a planter whose bottom, though concrete, wore through (no drainage hole).

The birdbath on top I’ve had for years and struggled to keep clean enough to meet the birds' hygiene standards. Though I power-washed it often, last year even that didn’t cut it. Nary a bird visited, so this year it’s a planter.

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Although it looks better than when I first planted it, I’m still not totally satisfied with it. But it will fill in eventually, right? I’m limited to what will grow in such little soil and (I hope) winter over. 

How ‘bout that cute kitty sunning itself at the base? Now HIM, I LOVE, chipped ear and all!

West side story

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It may be shady here now, in the morning, but just you wait...

Gone are the days when an ornamental pear tree growing on this strip of grass shaded the entire west side of the condo from the afternoon sun. Alas, the tree grew too big for the space. Two years in a row we paid an arborist to trim back limbs growing over the roof and thin out the narrow branching structure. We'd hoped the pruning would last longer, but it got to be an expensive proposition, and we finally had the entire tree removed.

There used to be three boxwoods planted along this strip, but they succumbed to the radiated heat within a month after the tree was gone. Each year since (three now?) I’ve tried different plants in pots here but none do very well in the strong direct sunlight with the heat radiating off the condo stone and the river rock mulch. Placing the pots under each of the two windows helps but not by much.

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So this year I went with more of the tile succulents, and they’re flourishing. FINALLY!! Wish they had some height, but at least they’re green and will eventually vine over the sides and (crossing my fingers) escape into the river stone.

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They also get tiny flowers. See the yellow one in the center? There’s also a white one in the back right corner. I pick these and mix with the lavender for small bouquets.

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Two of the larger, deeper rectangular hypertufa pots are planted with these, as well as two of the shallower oval ones.

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Never one to be satisfied, I also decided to try some black-eyed Susan seeds on this side of the house. That’s what I had planted at our other house around this rusty cat garden ornament, and it always looked so lovely poking its head out and swaying in the breeze. Here, the flowers would help hide the rocks I put on the ornament base to keep it upright. And they should be tough enough to stand the afternoon heat.

But did you know black-eyed Susans take three weeks to germinate? That’s what the package said. It also said to TRANSFER seedlings to the garden after a few inches tall, so what you see now may be as much as I’ll get from that packet. But I don’t have anywhere to keep seedlings, and I wanted to give it a whirl. 

If it works it was a cheap fix. If not, that's just $2 lost.

Well, that wraps up my start-of-summer garden tour

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Time to mellow out and cool off. Kitty Buddha says there's an an iced coffee waiting for me as my reward for photo- and bouquet-making. 

Because even in a SMALL garden there are bouquets to be made and enjoyed. So breathe in my lavender and exhale some boho joy and kindness! The world needs it more than ever.

If you want more…

• Shop (and follow!) my new Etsy store, BoHo Home By Susan, for vintage finds and a few of my boho DIYs. 
• Don't miss a day of BoHo Home. Sign up to have posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). 
• Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place. 
• You’ll also find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, so be sure to give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier!

Boho ‘make-do redo’ patio reveal

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I’m here to confess “making do” isn’t as glum as it sounds—at least when it comes to sprucing up the patio for spring and summer. Like me, you might just find yourself having fun with the idea of using what you already own to achieve the new look you want.

Our household budget is still hurting from replacing the patio concrete late last fall, so I promised Chris to limit my patio purchases this season to plants only (and cut back there too), even though our patio furniture is sorely in need of new cushions and/or covers. Remember the plans I shared, as well as the staggering list of STUFF I found to put to work in this endeavor?

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My make-do redo has been delayed even longer because part of the new concrete had to be redone due to drainage issues (see the pooling, upper left) and winter cracking.

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But you know, that gave me more time to think about how to use what I have to get what I want.

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And by the time the new “mud” was poured, tapered and set, I had narrowed my choices and refined my plan.

Here’s the BEFORE shot:

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I actually took this before the partial concrete repour. The contractor FINALLY responded to our calls asking when-When-WHEN do you plan to fix your mistakes?, only to tell us we were on the schedule for JUNE! With another month of great patio-sitting weather passing us by, we decided to get out the furniture, clean up the cushions as best we could and enjoy some outdoor living.

Naturally, two days after they told us this someone showed up at the condo saying they wanted to dig it up that day (a Friday) and pour the following Monday. Since heavy rains were expected over the weekend, they agreed to do it all on Monday. So we spent our weekend moving all the furniture out of harm's way.

This photo does give you an idea of where I started décor-wise.

Reusing textiles

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My plan was to use textiles I already owned with my existing worn patio cushions (upper left) on the two larger chairs. In the end I chose the two throws (upper right) to cover the stained seats of these chairs, and I left the unstained backs bare. Follow the link to revisit all my choices. 

I ended up using the flower pot fabric (lower left) to recover seat cushions for the smaller chairs and throw pillows for all four chairs. The large embroidered pillow (lower right) I placed over one of the ottomans. 

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I think it turned out pretty well. What do you think? It feels boho and cozy to me. And fun. AND different from previous years.

And it cost nothing but my time.

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I settled on the flower pot fabric because I had the most of it. It was once the shower curtain and window treatment in the guest bath at our previous house, so I had the full curtain PLUS some leftovers. The curtain was slightly faded in spots, but I used it up first, trying to pick out the least faded spots for the tops of the seat cushions. My thinking was that it would fade anyway on the patio, and I only intended to use it for a year or two, so why not use up what was already partially used?

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I had enough new fabric to recover the fronts of all the cushions. And when the new covers underwhelmed me, style-wise, I dug around in my yarn bag until I found the right yarn to add some fun tassels to each corner.

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I didn’t want to bother with zippered cushions, so I sewed them up envelope-style, saving myself time by utilizing finished edges from the shower curtain for the back flaps.

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And doesn’t that big embroidered pillow look sensational on the ottoman? I’m liking the kente cloth on the table beside it, too. It used to drape over a storage cupboard in my office, but it packs more boho WOW out here.

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And it can be pulled into service with the stack of three floor pillows I brought out from the living room. You can’t have a Moroccan patio without floor cushions, right? (Though if either Chris or I used them, we’d have to call 911 to get back up off the concrete!)

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The top on one of my patio tables opens to reveal storage, so I stashed an extra pillow, throw, tablecloth and napkins in it to be close at hand. Like everything else, these were items I already had.

Reusing and repurposing accessories

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I reused all these patio accessories from previous years (see if you can find where), then added items from elsewhere in the house. I simply combed room-to-room and dug in closets to find things that would work on the patio.

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These pieces, both hand-woven in Africa, look great hanging on the wall above the larger patio chairs.

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Which makes them work well with the kente cloth on the table. Speaking of that table…

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The pitcher was made by a friend, Cara McCarthy of Cara Jean Clay, and that pot of orange gerbera daisies fits it perfectly. The tumbler is vintage opal glass made by Jeannette Glass in the 1950s, when my father worked there. I have a set of six and seldom get to use them, but this one makes a great vase to corral some succulent starts I’m hoping to root.

The blue-and-white Peking urn is my answer to the Moroccan lantern I won’t be making or buying. It holds some regular and flameless candles to flicker in the moonlight some romantic night. It used to be in our bedroom until I switched out the color scheme earlier this year. Even if I get a REAL Moroccan lantern for my birthday in July (hint-hint, Chris), I’ll leave this one out for the season.

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This tray used to sit on an ottoman in my living room, which I no longer have (the ottoman, not the living room), and the colors go beautifully here on the patio. The napkins I bought from World Market last year but hadn’t used yet. Both the midcentury modern pitcher and the squat bud vase are ebay finds that usually sit on my living-room display shelves. But I have so much there, they won’t be missed while I use them here.

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The artichoke finial on the storage table used to be in my garden at our previous home, and I cleaned it up and had it in the powder bath at this house, where I have a garden theme going. The artichokes gathered in the clay pot saucer I used on our living room coffee table years ago. I think I found the perfect new home for them.

My one splurge: PLANTS!

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Here I also repurposed what I already owned. I bought the Norfolk pine at Christmas and moved it out here for the summer, atop the purple garden stool I’ve had a few years as well, “The Lawsons” pot makes it the perfect greeting for visitors alongside our front door.

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Chris’ Go Away garden gnome may seem to contradict the welcome, but that’s why he’s partially obscured. Mr. Gnome is a family joke—a Christmas present from me to Chris one year after he was more than a little aggressive with solicitors ringing our doorbell in a 55-and-over neighborhood with “No Trespassing” signs posted on every lane.

I do love caladiums from any angle, particularly when planted with fiber-optic grass. I just made up these pots a few days ago. I’ll share about them again after they recover from transplant shock. The rusty crow in the upper left has watched over my garden for 20 years or more.

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To the left of the front door is a hanging pendant planter of sedums. I shortened up the chain on the back corner of this planter to get it to snug into the corner.

Buying sedum tiles (a flat ready for use as groundcover) is one way I saved money on plants this year. I bought a pack of hens and chicks separately then filled in this basket with sedums from the tile.  

There was plenty left over for planting elsewhere. I’m giving the sedums a try on the west side of our condo, where the stone radiates tremendous heat in the summer. I’ve had trouble finding plants that will endure the heat, but the sedums are hanging in there. The best part is they’ll over-winter.

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We bought two Boston ferns—one hung on a shepherd’s crook at the entrance to our patio, and the other in front of the living room window, above the caladiums. My strawberry pot sits on a cemetery vase turned upside down that I bought at an architectural antiques store years ago. Usually I plant it with culinary herbs, but this year I decided to go with sweet alyssum and blue lobelia, which isn’t yet in full flower.

The pair of concrete artichokes (one at left and its mate peeking out from the stone wall at right) were a birthday gift from Chris the first year we lived in our first house. They always flanked the entrance of our colonial revival two-story, in true Georgian fashion. Incorporating them in the landscape of our midcentury modern garden condo has been a bit tricky, but they still flank the entrance, even if in an assymetric fashion.

If you want to see more of the fairy garden in the center, it’s detailed in last Thursday’s post.

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Another way I saved money was to plant seeds. Someday soon—if all goes well and the seeds germinate and prosper—these pots will be full of cosmos, one of my favorite annuals. The pot dead center with the face and the earrings is Susannadanna of the Wild Hair. Think of her as the goddess of the garden who watches over the plants and the people who enjoy them.

A few extras…

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Chris helped me hang two pompon garlands over the larger chairs. I strung them myself from felted wool—one of mirrored, beaded balls and the others of layered, striped balls. When we finished he said, “This looks like we’re having a party!” 

Yes!! Exactly the effect I was shooting for.

I also thought you might enjoy a closer view of the garden ornaments I’ve collected through the years. I’m very selective; each one must remind me of a cat I’ve owned.

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And together with our current feline charge, the very lively and just as pretty Miss Maisie, they are what makes our patio and garden feel like home.

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Relaxing on the patio is our after-dinner family ritual that Maisie refuses to miss.

Join us sometime, won’t you? There's always room for one more.

If you want more...

• Don't miss a day of BoHo Home. Sign up to have posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.
• You’ll also find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, so be sure to give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier!