Take a walk on the wild side with these great ideas for bringing African-inspired design into your home! Stenciled African decor adds rich visual interest and can be used in modern, transitional and traditional spaces. These days, designers and homemakers very often mix things up in an eclectic style which combines elements of both traditional and modern furnishings to create stunning dynamic spaces. The design opportunities are endless! Let’s take a look at how these stencilistas have imported stenciled African decor into their homes in a variety of ways using Tribal stencils:
Want to go bold with an unexpected animal print? Simply tone it down a bit. Check out this NYC apartment kitchen! Danielle of Tilton Fenwick used our Zebra Stripes Allover Stencil in a stealthy shade of blue over a creamy neutral base to decorate her kitchen. The light colors helped her visually open up an otherwise smaller room, while keeping the subtle vibe alive! For more pictures of her apartment, see her interview with House Beautiful.
You could always paint the stencil directly on your wall, but if you are renting you can create African wall art that you can remove and take with you. Upcycled Treasures had the same situation, so she explored our Tribal Stencils to find the perfect wall art stencil. The Tribal Vibe Wall Stencil “immediately caught my attention with the funky pattern that was perfectly imperfect. As you know, I’ve been on the hunt for affordable wall art and thought this stencil could be a great way to incorporate a fun pattern into our home.”
With the rise of the tribal trend, the lively geometric patterns of “mud cloth” have been showing up in pillows, seat cushions, throws and wall hangings. There’s a pulsating energy to the patterns that draws you to them and makes it hard to look away. Nomadic Decorator was happy to notice that our Tribal Vibe Allover Stencil looks much like mud cloth, and indeed it was inspired by these African patterns. See how you can create your own mud cloth-inspired fabrics: Stencil Designer Scarves Inspired by African Style Geometric Patterns
My Patch of Blue Sky was inspired to create a large wall art panel with an African Kuba cloth look with a variety of Tribal Stencils. This provided the opportunity for her to repurpose an old door and also to incorporate an embossed stencil technique with a texture paste and stain. It’s a fun project and a great way to try your hand at a few stencil techniques! See how: African Kuba Cloth Panel: DIY Custom Art with African Stencil Patterns
Paint an Afro-Chic accent wall using our Tribal Triangles African Wall Stencils. This wall stencil, with it’s strong geometric pattern, work beautifully in all types of contemporary interiors as well as traditional African design schemes. Here, a black and white palette creates an elegantly glam look to the room.
Want to take a furniture piece from dated and drab to modern and fun? Incorporating geometric prints and bold patterns is an easy way to liven up your home! Finding Silver Pennies is loving all the trending tribal prints that she is seeing everywhere lately and knew she just had to use the fantastic Tribal Furniture Stencil to update a plain 40’s era dresser that has been waiting in storage for the right inspiration to come along! Tribal Stencil Transformation: A Dated 1940’s Dresser Gets an Update!
Create a dramatic entrance in the first room guests see when they enter your home. With stencils, a limited budget doesn’t mean you have to scrimp on style! We love how light and airy this budget dining room makeover is by Rae McConville Interiors! Dare to dine in the beautiful blue of our Tribal Batik Wall Stencil?
Decorate your home with the geometric triangles and dots of the Raphia Graphic African Wall Stencils! Use your favorite colors, whether they hint at a natural look or a colorfully bold statement, to create a custom wallpaper effect featuring African design and tribal patterns. With stencils, the choice is up to you!
Vitamini Handmade originally thought of wallpaper to makeover her bedroom accent wall. But she finally realized, stenciling this accent wall with our African Wave Stencil would be the way to go. Stenciling would allow her to choose her own color combinations instead of being stuck with what wallpapers were available. She can make it her own with painting techniques and finishes.
Now, you may not live in Africa where you can see lions, giraffes and elephants from your front porch. Yeah, neither do we! But tribal stencils can bring a bit of safari feel to any room. See how Nomadic Decorator crafted this custom stenciled tribal lamp shade and base from pieces you can easily source from your local home goods store: Stenciling a Tribal Lamp: Can You Beat This Drum Shade?
If you want just a touch of tribal decor, try your hand at stenciling furniture instead of a wall! Our Small Primitivo Lace Furniture stencil is the perfect pattern for Peinture’s dresser drawer fronts! This Tribal stencil captures beautiful African design in home décor without adding too much drama that a stenciled wall might.
Cozy, energetic, engaging and often transcendental, African design is as charming and diverse as the continent itself. Even if you are not thinking about a complete makeover, add an element or two of this fascinating style to your interior can help you capture the magic and the mystique of Africa.
For more inspiring African style, check out our African-Tribal Stencils & Design Pinterest board and our African & Tribal Pattern Stencils Collection.
