Have you ever had the desire to spice up your living room with an African or Ethnic vibe but didn’t know where to begin? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and be creative in your home. Achieving an Ethnic Living Room can be easy. Check out these 9 Ways to Add an Ethnic Vibe to Your Living Room.
For February, I collaborated with the talented Tamela Bowie of Tamela Bowie Interiors to provide our readers with 9 Ways to Add an Ethnic Vibe to Your Living Room. The collaboration was awesome and we had a great time sharing these tips with our followers. Don’t forget to check out her video on YouTube which shows additional tips and outlines our favorite African-American celebrity interior designers.
Accent Pieces
Photo Source: Amazon
It’s all in the accessories!!! Ethnic accent pieces can be used on your book shelves, accent tables, and media consoles. Each item can tell a fascinating story. I love using accent pieces such as sculptures, figurines, orb balls, and florals. These accent pieces can be found at places such as Ross, Amazon, or T.J. Maxx. Don’t be afraid to walk down the home accessory aisles at different stores to look for unique pieces.
RELATED POST: 10 Ways to Score Big For Your Home Decor at TJ Maxx
Infuse Your Home With Vibrant Colors
Photo Source: Amazon & Wikipedia
When I think about African or ethnic decor, I envision warm colors such as beautiful reds, energizing burnt oranges, royal purples, and vibrant yellows. These colors remind me of an African sunset in a safari. You can achieve that same scene of energy and happiness by adding those colors into your home. This Kente pattern comes to my mind when I think about traditional African or ethic prints. I recently discovered that the traditional Kente pattern is only to be used or worn by royalty or during important occasions.
Natural Textiles For an Ethnic Living Room
Photo Credit: Textures
Natural textiles such as jute, wood, rattan, and leather are not only appealing to the eye, they also give you the desire to want to touch them. The colors are so inviting. These textiles can be used for various surfaces. Tamela stated that although many people may feel jute may be rough to touch, she loves the feel of it against her skin and under her feet.
Bold Patterns
The use of bold patterns are often common with ethnic decorating. Although I love an exotic animal print, I do not overly use it when decorating for an ethnic vibe. Consider unique patterns such as a geometric, dashiki, kente, or a Kente pattern. These can give you the ultimate punch of color for a bold visual effect. As Tamela suggested, don’t feel the need to incorporate animal print throughout the room, consider more traditional patterns as well.
During the past weekend, we saw tons of beautiful ethnic and bold patterns worn by movie goers watching the Black Panther Marvel movie. It as so nice to see all of the different and beautiful ethnic attire being worn. #WakandaForever
Be Creative with Pillows
Photo Source: Amazon
I have a love affair with pillows. I can never have enough. When entering a living room and sitting down, my eyes are automatically drawn to the sofa and it’s pillows. The best accessory for a neutral sofa is a wonderful pillow. This is your chance to easily and effectively add a touch of ethnic vibe to the living room. Opt for bold and beautiful pillows to take your living room’s sofa to the next level.
RELATED POST: How to Keep Your Pillows Looking Fabulous When You Have Children or Pets
Coffee Table Decor
Photo Source: Amazon
I absolutely love coffee table decor. This is another area where you can mix and match various items from different store and vendors. There is no right or wrong way of displaying items on your coffee table. Some people like to keep it simple with only a few items, while others use the layering effect for multiple items. I love the idea of using trays, candles, florals, and even coffee table books as decor. If you are having a hard time trying to decide which pieces to use, feel free to rotate them. You can create an entirely different look by rearranging the items on your coffee table.
When decorating with coffee table books, don't forget to use a book that is interesting as well as beautiful. Click To TweetRELATED POST: Decorating with Trays Can Be Divine
Bring in an Ethnic Vibe With Window Treatments
Photo Source: Wayfair
Don’t forget your window treatments when adding an ethnic vibe to your home. Tamela found these blue, black and white panels in an African geometric pattern. Blue is a trending color, therefore it adds a modern appeal to the traditional African print. Something like this is perfect if you don’t want to go with a traditional Ethnic vibe, but still want the wow effect. For a more subtle pattern, opt for an a less bold pattern. The ivory and gold Nairobi print is an excellent choice.
Functional Seating
Photo Source: Pinterest and World Market
Accent seating such as ottomans, benches, and accent chairs can add additional seating and help bring the ethnic elements into a room. These items are excellent in infusing an African vibe in your home’s decor. The African Mud Clothe on the accent chair is absolutely stunning. It screams “African Vibe.” It would serve as additional seating and a conversation piece. The African tribal detail on the wooden ottoman is simply divine. Tamela found these benches with the African tribal print from World Market. In addition to providing beautiful aesthetics, many are designed for storage and function.
Rugs
Photo Source: Tamela Bowie & Amazon
Tamela believes a space is not a complete without a rug. Rugs can help define your space. They can help create a conversational space within your living room. Don’t feel the need to purchase an animal shape or leopard print rug to add the ethnic vibe to your home. You can create a beautiful ethnic vibe using a non animal print rug. Try decorating with a jute fabric, bold geometric, or a colorful rug to bring in the ethnic or African vibe. Tamela found these beautiful rugs at World Market and Amazon. Either would be prefect in a living room.
Meet Tamela Bowie
I truly enjoyed this collaboration with Tamela Bowie of Tamela Bowie Interiors. I discovered her several years ago on YouTube and have been a faithful follower and now friend. She is a phenomenal interior designer. Don’t forget to head over to her You Tube channel to view the video we did on this topic. We also highlighted two African-American female celebrity interior designers/product lines. While there, subscribe and give it a thumbs up.
Those ethnic accent pieces were beautiful to look. Love all those “African Figure Sculpture”. Thanks for sharing the idea for decorating my shelves with those accent pieces…:)
Hi Nakeya,
I like adding up ethnic vibe around my house. I love rattan baskets and pieces of furniture, and beautifully patterned rugs 🙂
Thank you for sharing these ethnic vibe decorating ideas, love them!
Cheers,
Jessica
Thanks for commenting Jessica. I absolutely love decorating with rattan.
Lovely home decor tips. After showing these pictures, I just love this ethnic decoration idea for my home. It looks mesmerising. Thanks for sharing.
Home is that bit of living space which you can call our own. You spend your leisure time there and share the most intimate and loving moments with your family. Therefore, it is important to decorate and embellish your home in the best manner.
I like that you mentioned that there is no right or wrong way to decorate your coffee table. I am thinking of making my living room be more ethnically inclined. I will look online for a place that can provide good African-American art and decoration.
Hi, Thanks for your insightful article. Certainly will help all of us. Keep up with good work.
I like that you mentioned Ethnic bold patterns because it is what made Art Deco prominent last century. They have adapted these patterns which are truly rich and ornate in design. If I were to add textiles, like caning and fur, I would need an Interior Design Consultant Group to take care of my home since we do not know how to do it completely.
Wow! I like it! Thanks for sharing these amazing ideas 🙂
Thanks for sharing. You have a great idea. Nice pictures.
ness recently posted…What’s the Difference Between Wicker and Rattan Furniture?
You’re very welcome. Thanks for stopping by.
Great looking floor tile. I love the color as it matches the whole theme of the house. I just love your designs.