Recreating the luxurious lodge feel with Darkie Designs
October 15, 2018
The concept of African lodge luxury has grown and evolved in leaps and bounds since its humble recreation in cult classics such as Out of Africa. Today, the luxurious lodge feel is not only reserved for holiday destinations but is being recreated in homes across the globe.

If you’re looking to overhaul a section of your home- perhaps an entertainment area or communal lounge and bring a little luxury lodge feel, who better than the Darkie Designs team to tackle this project for you?

But, first thing’s first, where to start and where to draw inspiration?

This may seem like an obvious answer, but recreating a luxury lodge feel in your home doesn’t have to be about khaki and African prints alone. Instead, there’s a distinct nod towards old-school glamour and the use of mixed textiles, metals, woods, fixtures and indigenous African arts and crafts.

The use of African prints and locally made textiles are particularly important and right on trend. The diverse materials, prints and textures perfectly create a chic safari feel, no matter the room.

Add to this the use of mixed woods – dark panelling and washed out beech is also incredibly popular, while brass and soft golf fixtures are must-have features. Textiles such as wicker, canvas and macramé all have their place too, working to spin a modern feel on old-school safari camp classics.

Authenticity that stands the test of time.

At Darkie Designs, this is our speciality – we offer an assortment of locally sourced and ethically produced African artworks, furniture pieces, colourful textiles and more.

We believe that incorporating the locally made crafts of African artisans works to truly capture the essence of an African lodge. At the forefront of all of our home designs, we stay true to the location by giving credit to the environment where it’s due.

We also believe in taking into account the practical side of African lodge design, depending on your location. It’s important to use materials that will stand the test of time and the harshness of the elements. This practicality is not something we sacrifice over trends or aesthetics. Instead, there are other ways and means of bringing character to a room.

Essentially, the fool-proof way of pulling off a true luxury lodge feel is to remain authentic to your environment, focusing on highlighting beautiful local features, in a modern way. At Darkie Designs this is our real passion, and we’d be delighted to collaborate on your next luxury lodge project with you!

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By Kyra Harper August 15, 2023
Back in March of 2020, Bianca and Jana were dusting off their Fez’s and grabbing the pashminas out of storage in preparation to Rock the Casbah! However, as we all know and vividly remember - with March, came the eventual Covid shutdown, and instead of frolicking down the Moroccan streets, we all shut ourselves inside and watched the days tick by… 3 Years later, and now we can finally say - with conviction - that they’re going to Morocco at the start of September! This blog, filled with excitement and curiosity about all the weird and wonderful curios they might find, and endless sourcing they’ll do, stays as a reminder that sometimes plans change, things go awry and there’s not much you can do about it other than persevere - and that we did! So, here’s Bianca and Jana’s innermost thoughts about the trip, 3 years before it came to fruition, enjoy :) We've got our passports out and Jana has already picked out what she's going to wear each day… Come March [September] we'll be heading north with Air France to the Kingdom of Morocco, bright eyed and bushy tailed as we make our base in the ancient city of Marrakesh (also known as Marrakech to the French, but we're not French, so we'll go with the English version until all that fuss about Brexit is sorted out) - This turned into a year long negotiations trade, and now us outsiders would pay nearly double what we used to if we visit the UK - thankfully our flight is direct!! We'll be looking for inspiration and will be investigating what's there that we could possibly bring back to The Hoed. We can't wait to experience the atmosphere and afro-arabic influences of this amazing place as we visit the celebrated souks and off-the-beaten track artists and craftsmen that make Marrakesh so special. We're desperate to see the beautifully hand-crafted furniture, textiles, fabrics, rugs, carpets, objets d'art, accessories, lighting… anything that catches our eye and could possibly be brought back south. Berber mats and rugs are definitely on our list, as are the kind of furnishings you might find in a gorgeous Bedouin tent. If you think about it, the Bedouin refined the art of "glamping" into an artform - fabulous carpets on the ground, soft, billowing fabrics hung here and there, plump cushions spread on the ground, intricate leatherwork and carved wood, patinated metal… Total Glamping vibes! We just love all of it and will be tracking as much of it down as we can. We'll also have an eye or three out for wonderful ceramics and glassware and wonderful lamps that give off soft, filtered light.  For us it's about workmanship, so we'll hopefully be finding the people who make furniture and ceramics using techniques that have been passed down over countless generations meaning that everything we look at will have its own, and its own special story. Our mission is to share those stories with you and, if it's feasible, bring some of that special workmanship home to the Rainbow Nation. We're most definitely inspired and are sure this is going to be a truly special trip! Counting the sleeps till then! Less than a month to go now - we will be keeping the updates going on our social channels as well as another few blog posts to explain in detail our wild adventures - Stay tuned!
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