Morocco Top 12

People have been asking me what my absolute favorite parts of Morocco were. So I decided to coe up with a list.  Here is my short list to Morocco.  I tried to make it a “Top 10” - but I couldn’t edit it down that much!   So here we go…

12.  Haggle with the vendors - it doesn’t come naturally to me - but it is part of the culture and they love the game.   Lanterns hanging, hand-pounded metal work, leather shoes, tea glasses and beautiful textiles.  There are so many amazing crafts.  My suitcases were bursting at the seams.

11. Majorelle Gardens.   YSL and his partner Pierre Bergier restored these gardens that were originally founded by French painter Jacques Majorelle.  The intense blue (Majorelle blue, of course) is stunning.  The gardens filled with such an impressive cactus collection.  Excellent gift shop and a great café for lunch or a pot of tea.

10.  Have a drink or lunch at a beautiful hotel like the Royal Mansour or La Mammounia.  Book one dinner at a private riad to get a different culinary experience.  Guelez (the new city of Marrakech) is also filled with lots of trendy bars and restaurants (I recommend Kechmara.)

9.  Experience a cooking class.  Learn to bake bread and make a tagine.  The best part is eating all of your hard work after you are done learning.  Make sure to try the slices of oranges with a dusting of ground cinnamon.

8.  Have dinner in the Jemaa el Fna (I liked stall #4) - an unforgettable cultural experience. Have a fresh squeezed orange juice (for about fifty cents), dried dates, peanuts, apricots and olives (three different kinds, all harvested at different times during the year.)  Have the lamb tanjia, grilled eggplant and sardines or the snail soup.   Watch out for the cobras, storytellers and monkeys - all part of the entertainment!

7.  Get lost in the souks (but get out of the more touristy section right off of the Jemaa - where there are many reproductions and lots of junk and prices are relatively high.)  Make sure to venture deep into the souks, to avoid the selection aimed at tourists.  See the artists at work, carving wood, dying wool, making leather goods. scarf’s- seeing how the locals live and shop.  Some of my favorite sayings from the vendors: “Looking is for free” and “We offer democratic prices”!   

6. Put your feet up and escape the mazes of the street and take a look at carpets.  Take a few hours sipping mint tea and learn about the different styles.  It’s like a crash course in carpets.  I dare you not to come home with at least one.

5.   Take a day trip outside of Marrakech to the Atlas mountain (about an hour by car.)  Go for a hike to see the waterfalls.  Hire a guide for sure.  Take a look at the handicraft made by the local Berber people and have hearty lunch right on the river that runs down from the mountains.  

4.   Try the Moroccan wine -  gris is a delightful light rose from the Meknes region.  Refreshing and inexpensive.  I am going to have to try to locate this for my next dinner party!

3. Go to a pharmacy where you can ssee all of the wonderful herbs and spices, essential oils and Argan oil (a delicacy).  My bags were filled with spices and great mixtures that I can’t wait to try.  I can’t get the smell out of my suitcase!

2.  Hammam the afternoon away.  A traditional bathhouse.  Lay on a heated slab of marble where you are soaped up, scrubbed so hard (it feels like sandpaper - it is a wonder that I have skin left),  enjoy a massage with orange blossom or rose oil.

1. Respect the culture and the people.  Learn a few key words (at a minimum, yes, no and thank you) in Arabic.  Stop to listen to the beautiful calls to prayer (five times per day) that echo throughout the alleys of the medina.  The sounds are absolutely intoxicating.

One Kings Lane

As I mentioned last week, I am excited to announce my third One Kings Lane sale this week.  
8am-Wednesday, May 30^th.

Make sure to check out some of my collections for sale.  Pillows, photos, collections from my travels and so much more.

See you bright and early Wednesday morning!

Grant K. Gibson thrives on projects of every kind—except cookie-cutter. With a passion for classic, unique design culled from all eras, the San Francisco-based designer has been named one of Elle Decor’s Designers to Watch. His eclectic selection includes timeless pieces he’s owned for years as well as discoveries from his extensive European travels. When not working, Grant can be found in the kitchen, walking his two Westies, or chronicling his adventures in design, food, and travel in his blog.

Inspiration

This week I was inspired by pops of color in these great red bar stools, tiger Scalamandre fabric (for recovering benches for a current project), and a great backsplash detail in Calacutta marble (for a client’s powder room.) I always love seeing options side-by-side when picking ‘just the right’ stain for refinishing hardwood floors.

I am excited to share that I am having my third One Kings Lane Sale next Wednesday (May 30^th.)  So mark your calendars and set your alarms.  I will share a few peeks with you on what fun items will be for sale later this week.

Hope that you had a great weekend!

Riad Porte Royale: An Oasis of Simplicity

I have to be honest: I am picky about where I rest my head at night.  Poor quality bedding, a bad shower and towels the size of postage stamps just don’t cut it for me. Camping isn’t exactly my thing.  Sadly, my budget doesn’t always allow for the finest establishments, so it forces me to be more creative and resourceful.  In discussing my trip to Morocco with a dear friend, we came to the conclusion that it was key for me to really get a REAL Moroccan experience and that perhaps renting a riad (a private house that has a central courtyard) was the way to go.  But where to start?  Literally hundreds of options on the Internet.  I had heard great things about airbnb.com.  I spent hours and days communicating with different riad owners until I came across one that stopped me in my tracks:  a recently restored riad, with crisp white walls, beautiful antiques from all around the world and two tortoises residing on the private roof deck.  How was all of this possible and within the budget?  Something had to be off.  I was suspect for sure, but I went ahead and booked it anyway.   

Philip (the owner) and I exchanged dozens of emails over a few months.  All of my questions were always answered and everything that I wished for he arranged.  A pick up at the airport, a traditional dinner at the riad, etc.  Philip lives in Portugal with his wife and 2 daughters.  A few years back fell in love with Marrakesh.  He decided to purchase a dilapidated riad, which he spent over a year restoring and creating a oasis from the chaos of the bustling medina.

Upon arriving  we were greeted by Mohammad and Hajiba - the house manager and house keeper.  Mint tea and birds singing in the courtyard.  Instantly it felt like home.  Their service could not have been more wonderful.  They took care of everything and were indispensable in navigating the ways of Marrakech.

Waking up to breakfast in the courtyard with hot coffee, breads, grapefruit marmalade (made from the tree in the courtyard), yogurt and Moroccan pastries (like Moroccan donuts and crepes).

The riad was slightly off the beaten path – in a residential section of the medina – I thought it would be a relaxing retreat after being out all day. The riad exceeded my expectation and I am hoping to come back again to stay.

What were the only down sides?  Not that many - wifi is a bit spotty (but hey- you are meant to be relaxing and not so connected, so really not a big deal), and you might want to pack your own blow dryer (I did!) and a bar of soap for the shower.

Other than that, I thought it was perfect and absolutely charming.   I would suggest it to anyone traveling to Marrakech.

Riad Porte Royale- Marrakesh

riadporteroyale.com

Architectural Digest

People often ask me how I got into design.

As far back as I can remember, copies of Architectural Digest were always laying around house.  Stacked in the bookcases of the wood paneled library with the white spines and black lettering. The collections dated back for years.  Even at an early age these magazines seemed important.  I never had to ask why they were special.  I could just tell.  As an only child, there were times when I had to occupy and entertain myself.  Most kids my age were not interested in the same things as I.   What was it about these magazines that so fascinated me?  I would spend hours studying room layouts, learning about famous designers and different styles.  I did this for years and really thought nothing of it.

Years later recalling these happy memories, what seemed like wasted hours and days actually somehow turned into the early beginnings of my design education and career.

As I think of the days of flipping through the pages of Architectural Digest, it is with great amazement and gratitude that I now find myself featured in Architectural Digest.

Speaking of dreaming: this all came about by the wonderful and talented writer: Patricia Shackelford (aka Mrs. Blandings).   I had mentioned that I was redesigning a few things around my apartment and, voila, an article came from this.

I am happy to share some new images of some of my latest edits and changes of my own apartment.  Thank you ever so much to Patricia for this and Margaret Russell and everyone at AD for making this happen.  You have shown me that dreams do come true.

You can view this article online at: Architectural Digest

Make sure to check out many of the great articles.  The newly updated website has wonderful features (including Design Talk) everyday!

DESIGN TALK: SAN FRANCISCO DESIGNER GRANT GIBSON DISCUSSES THE ART OF RENOVATING A RENTAL

Text by Patricia Shackelford

May 9, 2012

I hate to mention the still rather dreary economy (let’s hope it’s on the upswing), but it does affect a lot of people who want either more space or perhaps a little less. San Francisco designer Grant Gibson is often in the spotlight as a young designer to watch. He is known for a crisp and classic aesthetic—one that could include a Lindsey Adelman chandelier as easily as a classical urn. Despite his success and growing portfolio, he has decided to stay in his modest rental a bit longer, shifting perspective rather than moving house. So I thought I’d ask him for advice on upgrading a home you don’t actually own and how to get the best return on your investment of time as well as money.

Gibson at Sue Fisher King’s shop on Sacramento Street in San Francisco.

Gibson does not want to give up his Presidio Heights location—“I walk to everything,” he explains—but he would like more space. “I dream of taking one of these houses with a peaked roof that has attic bedrooms and blowing them all out for a master.” But not quite yet: The designer has decided that waiting another year makes the most sense. Still, after being in his current spot for the past seven years, he wanted to make it feel new.

“After the apartment was published [in The New York Times], I became a little tired of the whole look,” he says. Which is not to say that the look was tired. Gibson’s apartment was detailed and layered, each surface carefully styled with glass, books, and objets. “I wanted it to feel younger and fresher—I wanted to interject more color,” he notes, while creating a cleaner, less-cluttered look. “When I look back I’m shocked at how much stuff I had out. My living room and dining room resembled an antiques store.”

In his living room, Gibson added a dark leather wing chair—a flea market find—which he complemented with a painting made by a client’s five-year-old child. The work’s color and graphic quality appealed to him, and he asked if he could frame it.

Gibson feels that his home is a laboratory for his work. “I can play with my own space more than I can with my clients’, though they seem to be asking for more color, too,” he says. “Also, I won’t be here forever, so I feel like I can have some fun with it.”

At the same time, Gibson—like anyone living in a rented apartment—didn’t want to feel that he’d overspent on renovations to a space he doesn’t own. “With a rental, you have to think of how you spend money in a different way,” he says. “I had had some thoughts of changing the Formica countertops in my kitchen to marble, but I realized it wasn’t the best use of my money.” As it turned out, minor changes, especially in the living room, made a big impact.

He started by editing to make the space feel cleaner and more modern, replacing the living room’s dark Oriental carpet with a lighter sea-grass rug, for example. He also got rid of the glass-topped brass cocktail table and replaced it with a pair of versatile square faux-tortoiseshell Parsons tables. Then he began stirring in color. “I do like a neutral base, which makes it easy to change art or pillows and accessories.”

A coat of Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe on the formerly white built-in bookcase added a touch of drama. Gibson also replaced a portrait painting with a circular mirror that helps open up the space, and he introduced a yellow garden stool from Gump’s for a jolt of color.

Gibson decided to keep the walls white, but he changed the living room’s built-in bookcase to a charcoal gray, using Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe. “To me, splurging on paint like Farrow & Ball didn’t seem like that much of a stretch,” says Gibson. “A couple of gallons of good paint doesn’t break the bank.”

The bookcase, once home to layers of pictures and objects, now holds simple stacks of books, and a graphic convex mirror has replaced an old master-ish portrait. “My design books are there, along with some auction catalogues,” Gibson says. “I actually use all of the them—I’ll pull books out over a glass of wine to look for inspiration.”

The next step was an infusion of contemporary art, which adds bursts of life where dark and serious portraits formerly reigned. A vibrant oil—an unsigned thrift-shop discovery—joins the conversation at seated eye level in the living room, while a painting of colorfully clad spectators peers out from between a pair of brass obelisks on a Biedermeier secretary.

The Biedermeier secretary was one of Gibson’s first real antiques—a gift to himself on his 25th birthday. He purchased it and the obelisks through 1st Dibs. He found the unsigned painting at Past Perfect in San Francisco.

For his fabrics, Gibson opted for solids or for minimal pattern, as with the Greek key pillows on the sofa and, in an alcove window, a French dining chair with custom leather upholstery the color of a shiny geranium leaf. The powder room, meanwhile, has leapt to life with a coat of Farrow & Ball’s Charlotte’s Locks, a vivid orange. “Neutrals can be one-sided,” Gibson notes. “I have been pushing myself. I am inspired by other designers who use bold colors. While I’m drawn to history, I like to take a fresh approach.”

The Louis XVI–style chair with green upholstery is from a room Gibson designed for a showhouse. “I loved them so much I saved some for myself,” he says.

Inspiration

Lately I feel like I'm always covered in construction dust. Being part of project from the beginning and designing every step of the way can be both a challenge and an inspiration.

I have always been in love with this German Silver sink and thrilled that a client is putting it her kitchen. The movement and shape makes me want to wash dishes (and if you know me, that is something that I DEFINITELY don't like to do.)

This is a Carerra marble bathroom that I'm working on. To break up the space, I like to use 12 x12 tile, which is then cut into 6x6 pieces and installed in a brick pattern. For the floor, a tiny mosaic that provides traction and makes it safer with soapy products - as well as providing a little massage on the toes!

Morocco

I am back from my travelling adventures half way across the world.  San Francisco to Paris to Marrakech to Fez and all the way back home.  My bags are overflowing and my brain is on overload with the visuals.  All I could think about while turning each corner: how was it that I had not been to Morocco sooner in my life?  And just how soon could I start planning a return trip?

Morocco had always been one of the top places on my travel list.   The trip finally came to due to the Design Leadership Network, which holds an annual conference in which design professionals meet to discuss the state of the design industry.  So when Marrakech was announced as the location for this three-day conference, I had my tickets booked in seconds.   Since I was going to already be in Marrakech, I figured it would be just a perfect opportunity to plan an extended holiday and invited some friends to join in the fun.

The people of Morocco couldn’t have been any nicer on the whole trip.  So welcoming and hospitable.  Sharing their stories and culture with me, making me feel like I was one of the family.  Moroccan tiles, colors, foods and culture are forever in my memory. 

Some of the highlights included a traditional Moroccan spa therapy (a hamman - a wonderful bathing and steaming experience- where you lay on a hot marble slab and are scrubbed down (and I mean scrubbed) with warm soapy suds, orange water, and massaged with rose oil.)  I saw some of the most memorable sights just walking down the maze of alleys (with no street signs!), getting completely lost (part of the adventure, right?), where the most beautiful tile work could be around the next corner.  and there was every smell you could imagine –some wonderful, and some the most horrific, unsavory smells imaginable!  Endless haggling with the colorful vendors, trying to score a bargain over a cup of the sweetest mint tea.  The call to prayer, Arabic mixed with French, dried apricots, beautiful lanterns. Senses are heightened, every twist and turn makes you want to savor each moment and take it all in. 

In the next weeks, I am going to be sharing some of my experiences. from the riad (a private house containing a central courtyard) that I rented, to Moroccan cooking (and my newfound love of the Moroccan tagine, which will be on the dinner party list for the upcoming months for sure), pounds of herbs and spices packed in my suitcases, stunning monuments and hotels, my shopping adventures including 16 (yes 16!) rugs, and naturally a few shots of door knockers. 

Hang on for the ride, Definitely the trip of a lifetime.