Get The Look: VINTAGE AT EL FENN

Vintage, colour and artisanal craft are all core to the design of El Fenn. We take a look at how we use older pieces in our interiors mix.

 

Blending traditional Moroccan interiors with vintage furniture is key to the El Fenn look. But we don’t just source ‘old’ pieces. Mid-century is our preferred style.

 

Why? Because its softer lines, warm wood and geometric shapes echo many of the textures and patterns found in traditional Moroccan design. The teak, oak and rosewood of mid-centry works well with the cedar wood used in Moroccan interiors for instance. The geometric shapes also echo those of Arabic design. Together the two styles share a common language while still remaining distinct.

 

Back when we opened El Fenn, the vintage on offer in Morocco was plentiful. Marrakech, standing at the gateway between Africa and Europe, had long been a melting pot of visitors from other countries and cultures. The French protectorate saw many Europeans settling here in the first half of the twentieth century and another wave of people looking to live a different kind of life brought more in the Seventies. 

 

Many came with their furniture and for a long time it meant that vintage dealers were easily able to source stock to sell on. Then came the rise – and rise – in the popularity of mid-century so the vintage on offer here now is a little less abundant. But we still work with a network of trusted dealers we’ve known for a long time to source the pieces we love. 

 

Iconic mid-century armchair shapes are dotted through our bedrooms. Everything from the angular Wassily chair designed by Marcel Breuer, to the famous model B-310 VAR made in 1960s Poland. Classic armchair shapes by Jindrich Halabala and Aldo Morbelli also feature. Elsewhere you’ll find Italian desks with smoked glass tops, tulip tables, a bent plywood room divider by Ludvik Volak or a signature pineapple lamp by Maison Jansen. Mid-century’s geometric textile patterns are also often evoked in the fabrics we use. 

 

Put it all together and mid-century’s simple lines provide a refreshing counterpoint to the maximalism we lean into. We love the mix of local heritage with slightly ‘older’ European modernity. Not too disparate, or too loud. Just a blend of elements that both echo and amplify each other.