Here’s the thing: I could try to woo you, I could try to tell you that it’s perfect, that it’s exactly as I would have wished. I could tell you that I saw it all in my head, that it was part of some grand master plan and that – clever, clever girl that I am – I went out and made it all happen. I could tell you that I shopped until I dropped, that I bought everything I wanted, that I paid no attention to the kaching at the cash register.
But I would be lying.
Because you see, there are no financiers, no backers, no investors at Peacock Pavilions. There’s just a family in an olive grove in Marrakech, which looks at its bank balance every single month and sees what it can do. And so it was that there were things --- many --- that I couldn’t have. Yes, there was pining and there was longing and there was pleading with one's husband to please reconsider. But, for the most part (except for a few shining moments, where caution was thrown to the wind) common sense prevailed. Compromises – Oh, many – were made.
But here’s the other thing, Peacock Pavilions………..well, it’s a story in objects. A story of a family who took a risk, who made a gamble, who was determined to live a life that wasn’t so typical, even if it took them miles from anything that they had ever known. And so it was, so it is, that Peacock Pavilions is a blue print for this journey. A blue print of every place we’ve ever lived, every trip we’ve ever loved, every assignment we've ever been on. Whether that’s Nepal or Namibia or Afghanistan or Iraq or Mali or Thailand or Guatamala……….it’s all there……at Peacock Pavilions.
I know you’re far away. I know we’ve never met. But please………let me show you ---at least a little -- my world that is Peacock Pavilions.
Vintage handpainted Moroccan Glaoui ceiling, glass Egyptian mosque lanterns, 200 year old Persian painting. Dining Room, Medina Pavilion, Peacock Pavilions.
Handmade hooks that I designed myself for Peacock Pavilions. Hand embroidered towels.
Handpainted Moroccan vase. Bougainvillea from the Peacock Pavilions boutique hotel garden. Room of the Sufi Seamstress, Medina Pavilion.
Old ikat from Indonesia, vintage Moroccan wedding blanket cushions, turn of the century original French poster, 100 year old temple painting from Thailand (a gift from my father). Room of the Visual Voyager, Medina Pavilion.
Mirrored console (we made it in the room!), custom sculpture by talented Caroline Douglas, vintage peacock chair, photograph of beautiful Berber girl. Room of the Moorish Muse, Medina Pavilion.
Welcome Packet on a vintage Moroccan tray, antique betal leaf box from Bangladesh.
Oh, perhaps you'll come to our boutique hotel, Peacock Pavilions in Marrakech and see for yourself? The virutal world is amazing. Real life is even better.............
All images by Katie O'Shaugnessy.
