Home Sweet Home

Published on 12-10-2014

As the temperature rises and the days get longer, our thoughts turn to entertaining and this often inspires us to spruce up the home. Homewares are a great way to give your interior decor a facelift without calling in the tradies. They have the added benefit of being portable so you can move them around to suit your mood, to mark the change of seasons, or to cater for a special occasion.

The choices you make when it comes to homewares can have a big impact on the feel of your home and an African theme can really bring it to life. Each handcrafted piece is not only beautiful but can also be a practical item that becomes integrated into daily living.

The decor of your home says a lot about you to others and as home is where you spend time with your loved ones, it’s worth making it a bit special. Have you ever noticed how many sayings there are about ‘home’?

An empty house is not a home:

When it comes to interiors, you can add character to mantles, buffets, side tables or window ledges with wooden sculptures and carved candle holders. To bring an extra sensory dimension to your decor, you can burn candles scented with exotic spices. Throw blankets and cushions are a great way to soften and bring warmth to a space. Cotton kikoys, khangas and Maasai shukas make great throws, bedspreads or even seat covers. The key is to choose colours and prints that represent your personality and also complement your existing decor.

Home is where the heart is:

Painted soapstone sculptures can add accents of colour, including vases and bowls that can be purely ornamental or used to hold flowers and trinkets. A heart-shaped soapstone bowl is a perfect way to capture and reflect the love in your home.

Home is where our story begins:

With African tableware, every meal is an adventure. While the kids make up stories about the African wildlife carved on the coasters, you can serve up delicious food for the family and guests from carved wooden bowls and platters with matching serving utensils. Each piece is a work of art in its own right. Some of our wooden bowls have elaborately detailed African animal carvings and make stunning centrepieces; all you have to do is decide whether you prefer a handle shaped as a pair of kissing giraffes or zebras, or a complete animal caravan marching around the rim. Of course if you have more than one table or benchtop then you don’t have to choose - you can have the whole herd!

There’s no place like home:

African sculptures, fabrics and carvings are handcrafted so each piece is unique and having them in your home means that your interior decor won’t just be a replica of everyone else on the block. Motherland Curios’ collection has so many pieces to choose from, the only limit is your imagination.