Africa is a very exotic place with a wealthy culture that has influenced a lot of interior design ideas. The African style is compatible with almost everything, and it’s a thrilling choice for modern, minimalist, and eclectic designs. African art has a variety of textures and colors, which makes it easily incorporated into modern designs in living rooms especially.
Africa has a rich cultural heritage that inspires unique interior design styles ranging from simple to bold. An African-themed living room decorated with African elements feels warm, charming, and has a defined personality that leaves your guests awed.
African décor can be creative, dynamic, and inspiring, and it is becoming quite popular in the luxury interior design industry. African designs are commonly characterized by distinct features, bold geometric patterns, and vast use of vibrant and earthy colors. For most people, having a modern African-themed living room is like visiting the savannah, and the warm colors and bold accessories used are a stunning attraction.
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How to create a modern African themed living room
African interior designs are gaining popularity as very creative and playful designs for the living room. African-themed living rooms are reminiscent of the African vegetation, wildlife, landscapes, sunset, and nature, and they bring in the feeling of the African lifestyle. There is a lot of creativity and flair needed to bring a modern African-themed living room to life, depending on your preferences.
Be dynamic and confident
Modern décor in African-styled living rooms are not necessarily baskets, masks, red and brown shades, or animal prints throughout the room. The important thing is to find the right elements that add an African touch and mood to an otherwise simple room. The décor chosen should create warmth harmony and gives the room some personality and an African lifestyle feel. The African style is very dynamic. It is characterized by various colors and textures made in artwork, fabrics, and carvings, which can be easily integrated into modern living room designs. Don’t be afraid to get creative and go bold with African interior design styles. You can easily create an African safari setting using wild prints and artifacts for a touch of African themed living room.
Mix it up!
Designing living rooms with African themes is a great way to reconnect with nature and its undisputed magic. There is a known versatility in African décor, so you can’t afford to confide yourself in just one. African designs have some quintessential elements which work well alongside classic modern accessories in the living room. It is okay to mix and match styles and designs in your living room for that striking African theme.
If you don’t want to be very obvious, you can opt for a tropical theme to usher in the African motifs. This theme is very refreshing and a very warm choice that allows you to incorporate African and modern styles without compromising the style and appeal of your living room.
Interior designers use dark woods, warm colors, and abstract shapes to incorporate African themes and designs in living rooms. The following are some ideas on how to create a modern African-themed living room.
Animal prints
African animal prints are good decorative pieces to create an African-themed living room. Usually, these prints are incorporated in such items and accessories as carpets, furniture, and wallpapers, with the most common being zebra, leopards, cheetahs, and giraffe prints. If you are passionate about animal prints, adding tiger or zebra striped print fabrics to the living room gives it an ethnic feel and a mysterious touch. If you want to usher in the perfect African vibe in your living room, you need to do more than randomly throw in a zebra-striped rug or a matching pillow. The important thing is to combine the African style tidily with the modern design to leave your guests awed every time.
Contemporary African décor
When most people envision Africa, these are the earth colors on the African landscape and overlook the brilliant hues found in pottery, woven, and handcrafted materials. When looking for inspiration for African décor for your living room, its advisable to start with one of your favorite pieces: a rug, pottery bowl, or a painting.
Adorn empty spaces with artifacts
Adding a couple of exquisite artifacts to empty spaces in the living room helps the incomplete transformation of the space. You can use a wooden carved table or an accent chair for this effect in African-inspired interior design. In western culture, nothing says safari chic like a photographic portrait of the elephant in the room. African artifacts are inspired by the awe prompting fauna, which is a tangible reminder of what is found on the savannah.
Displaying African art pieces on the wall
Using contemporary furniture and design and merging it with African interior design is a good way to decorate your living room. You can use African art pieces brought back as souvenirs from Africa or get some from the flea market. These abstract ornamental and art pieces help weave in the African style in the living room or the entire home.
African styled accessories
Using African-styled accessories is a great way to decorate a modern living room. With such accessories as tribal drums and wooden masks or spears, you can create an African theme in your space. In some cases, animal-related ornaments add African vibe and act as a focal point for guests visiting your home. If possible, add patterns to the room to bring out the style and focus on the African accessories you have.
These African-styled accessories such as vases and busts set a wondrous African tone for the entire room. Most of the African décor is found in earthy colors such as blacks and browns, but you can use accessories to boost the colors in the living room. Use tribal masks and African headgear to decorate walls, and you can add a mural for a more dramatic flair.
Wooden African masks on walls
For wall decorations, wooden African masks are hung over wallpaper. When coupled with the right furniture, upholstery, and ethnic prints, the tribal look comes together. You can also use wooden arrows or bohemian-inspired wall accessories in place of the masks.
Hand-woven baskets
African-inspired home décor for your living room can also include hand-woven grass baskets made of clay, jute, or rattan. The baskets are colorful and beautiful and a perfect décor to display in your living room or entryway. These baskets link with nature, and they are also functional when used as pots for indoor flowers and plants.
Use earthy and vibrant colors
When using African décor in your living room, the classic earthy and vibrant colors of the African style go well with accent walls. When choosing the ideal wall colors for your modern African-themed living room, consider a palette of greens and blues inspired by the vibrant African landscape. These colors on your wall have some rustic elements, which make your home interior beautiful and stylish.
You can choose to have black and white colors in organic and geometric forms for that modern African look and contrast them with natural fibers, linen, and wood. The living room’s design should be in harmony with style and nature. As much as you are not limited to a certain palette, choose color schemes that reflect the vibrant African landscape and nature.
Colour splash
In some instances, adding oranges, pinks, and reds to your living room with dark and warm-toned woods brings an African touch to the simplest and most subdued living rooms. You can give the room an orange tone when selecting the furniture and have contrasting urn and checkerboard features for that African theme.
Furniture
If you want to incorporate a contemporary African flair in your living room using the furniture, you will need a lot of dark wood, rattan, and bamboo. Working with a tight budget, you can easily find affordable and inexpensive accessories and furniture at close-out stores. You can scatter African-themed sculptures throughout the living room and intersperse the small and big pieces. The simplest way to add African colors into your living room area without creating a dramatic overhaul of the furniture is soft furnishings and cushions.
Chic, dark woods
Unlike other interior design themes, it is impossible to add an African flavor to the living room without using suitable and organic materials, of which wood is a very important constituent of this design scheme. There are plenty of options to choose from, ranging from cedar, African mahogany, and ebony. If you are working with a plain and simple living room, you can easily give it a modern African-themed design by contrasting the dark woods. Using darker hues gives the room more depth and a personality for an African theme.
Africa is a popular exotic destination with stunning artifacts and crafts and an exquisite style that homeowners are now bringing into their homes. The modern African style of interior design incorporates some features of the European trends and some elements of local African culture. In African culture, symbolism is abundant due to traditional cults and religion, which similarly affects the trend in interior design.
