A Berber Town House, Taroudant

The delightful playfulness of Moroccan decorative arts is endlessly pleasing; you see it in the handcrafts, the ironworks, the weavings, and in the architectural details of these simple old village and town houses. This Berber style house, within the city walls of Taroudant, is a European refashioning of an old town house, which faithfully preserves its traditional details.

The walls are a mix of mud and straw, a building material that's been used historically throughout the world and in a vast array of cultures. The room on the upper floor with its grander windows was the sort of thing only the well-to-do enjoyed—it's now a wonderful sitting room with a fascinating, recently painted mural on its ceiling.

The interior spaces in this house are for the most part diminutive but they've been put to elegant and intimate use here in a sophisticated pallet of desert colors.

Local doors were often a focus of decorative invention and this is a very charming example. The freshly painted white border has been used traditionally even here in Italy in farm buildings and in small towns.

An aconite has found it way to this windowsill. Note the ample depth of the walls.

An original, untouched ceiling shows the clever and beautiful use of un-hewn trees, from the nearby mountains.

Stones, wood, mud, vines; in this world we're very close to the earth and the art employs available materials.

The open first floor loggia is cooling and full of charm and it looks down upon a shady courtyard.