Travel ‘a vital part’ of Vern Yip’s design inspiration

“If you stop traveling, you stop growing as a designer,” the interior designer says. A recent trip to Marrakesh, Morocco, gives Yip new ideas and a rich palette to consider.

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About 22,000 individual vendors sell their wares in this traditional Moroccan souk. The marketplace includes handicrafts and home decor items as well as clothes and jewelry.

/ Vern Yip

Inside Le Foundouk restaurant in Marrakesh, which serves traditional Moroccan cuisine. The business's interior showcases an updated take on classic Moroccan design.

/ Vern Yip

Inside La Porte d’Or, a three-story family-owned business in Marrakesh. Yip, left, examines antique textiles that he eventually purchased and brought home to the United States.

/ By Craig Koch, courtesy of Vern Yip

Silk tassels are a popular product in Marrakesh and can be used as curtain ties or to decorate throw pillows or table runners. Yip also uses them to add color to holiday decor.

/ Vern Yip

Dried flowers and herbs in baskets inside the Medina, or ancient city walls of Marrakesh. Yip says the colors one encounters during travels can influence designs in one's home.

/ Vern Yip

Tile work on a wall in Marrakesh.

/ Vern Yip

La Maison de la Photographie features a collection of vintage photographs.

/ Vern Yip

A look at the detail in a wood carving on a door.

/ Vern Yip

A fountain in a courtyard at the Amanjena, a luxury hotel in Marrakesh. Yip says well-designed hotels are a good way to see how local products might work in your own home.

/ Vern Yip

A close-up of a fountain with flower petals at the Amanjena hotel. Water is an important design element in Marrakesh.

/ Vern Yip

A scalloped-edge detail at the Amanjena pool. Arches and curves are critical elements in Moroccan design.

/ Vern Yip

An exterior corridor at the Amanjena showcases candle sconces, tile work and the exterior color of many buildings in Marrakesh.

/ Vern Yip

Floor lanterns are used extensively in Marrakesh. These line a pool at the Amanjena hotel.

/ Vern Yip

A wall detail at Majorelle Garden in Marrakesh. Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Berge, bought and renovated the gardens in the 1980s.

/ Vern Yip

A hotel room at the Amanjena. The decor makes use of local handicrafts and a minimalist aesthetic.

/ Vern Yip

A view inside the Dar Yacout restaurant.

/ Vern Yip

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