Living with African arts and all the wonderful African textiles has opened up my vision and given me so much  inspiration, so much understanding to the word CREATIVE LIVING .

African Textiles, like the exquisite Bakuba cloths from the Kuba people in the Congo, are each their own individual. The beauty is, that one never sees two Bakuba cloths the same: widths, lengths, patterns and colours always differ.

African textiles in all shapes look great on sofas, armchairs and on cushions. You can back them with a variety of materials, frame them, use them as table mats, make curtain tiebacks, makeup bags ... the ideas are endless! They look stunning dressed over a door - as one can never decorate a door - or take a tribal spear or a wooden walking stick and use them as a rod and drape a bakuba cloth over this to hang on a wall instead of hanging a painting. Try it, it looks great!

African seats - from the simple 3-4-legged wooden tribal stools which both my children have grown up sitting on and they still do sit on these and so do I - are incredibly comfortable and relax one's back. They also make practical side tables and good height to, for example, raise a plant. Move on to the high back stools that are better known as Thrown Chairs - each can be used as an additional seat and look 'kingly' in any entrance hall.

I could go on and on and I know you have your own creative ideas...

Enjoy African Arts and the stunning textiles with the natural colours that will look great with whatever decor you have. TRY IT AND ENJOY IT.

I do.

Lisa

A Bakuba lampshade lighting up a female Maasai bronze bust sitting on a carved wooden caryatid stool from the Luba in the Congo.

African textiles in all shapes look great on sofas, armchairs and on cushions.

A wall that I decorated using 11 tribal spears . To the left a carved wooden highback chair all carved from one piece of wood from the Tabwa, Congo. Below the spears against the wall a carved wooden bench inlaid with a pillow in the shape of a bronze leopard from Cameroon. The bench is very useful to display things on and is additional seating, too. On the bench stands an old wooden Kanore pot from Nigeria used here as a planter for an orchid, creating elegance to the rustic.... To the right a locally made claypot on a raised metal stand filled with " Bird of Paradise " flowers adding some colour. Above the door hangs a fringed African mask from the Congo.

On the Mantel Piece to the left stand two wood & brass relinquery figures from Gabon and to the right an old wooden Turkana vesel filled with floweres. On the wall to the left hang 7 different African masks between one square black Sheshele raffia from the Kuba in the Congo. At the far end of the wall hangs one long Bakuba cloth. All the cushions on the sofas are made from raffia mats and backed with suede , and over each of the two armchairs is draped a long raffia adding a dash of colour to the beige armchairs.

In these two pictures of the fire place in this house there was a wooden varnished partition or center piece between the two brick walls. We found the perfect raffia runner that fitted exactly into the width of this wooden center area and we let it drape down over the mantel piece. On the mantel piece stand some African sculptures and one Turkana fighting bracelet on a metal stand. The long raffia runner adorned with cowry shells hanging in the center of the wall above the fire place comes from the Kuba in the Congo.

An interior scene of a veranda. Over each dressed dining chair is one raffia runner and one raffia runner down the center of the round dining table.

The colours & combination of African textiles create vast warmth and richness as seen in this lounge. The metal framed arm chair to the right in the picture has been upholstered with a unique burgundy-coloured embroidered Bakuba cloth.

A Bakuba cloth that is adorened with cowry shells hangs down the wall and a geometric design bakuba cloth is draped over a plain coloured table cloth. To the left a bronze armband from West Africa. To the right an old wooden foldable coconut stool called "Mbuzi" in Swahili from coastal East Africa. The coconut stool is carved from one piece of wood and makes a great coffee table book stand or in the kitchen as a cook book stand. Over the coconut stool is a tribal necklace .

A framed old Kuba cloth adorned with shells hanging above a leather chest that is draped with a Bakuba cloth from the Kuba in Congo. On top of the chest is a tribal 3-legged wooden stool and a ceremonial marriage necklace from the Samburu/Rendille tribe of Kenya. To the left of the chest stand two wooden Harvest sticks from the Nyamwezi tribe in Tanzania.

Using a pair of wooden Marrionette dolls from the Nyamwezi tribe in the Tabora region of Tanzania as curtain tie-backs . Behind the curtains to the left is an original painting of zebras running.

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