If you are looking to create an African room in your house, the addition of a little African decor is a great way of creating a unique look in the house and of conjuring up images of elephants, giraffes, and the Great Rift Valley migrations.  But how can this easily be achieved in a 100 sq foot room? Not with herds of wildebeest, that’s for sure.

There are 53 countries in Africa, but the chances are, if you mix and match styles, no one is ever likely to know. Sure, at a dinner party you may well be the butt of jokes from mixing a fertility doll from Ghana with a Malian war mask, but it is rather unlikely. Do make sure that you find out the stories behind each item you use, as you will inevitably be asked about its origins when people visit.

When it comes to decoration, you do not have to stick to one particular style or genre, but a mix of African decor and prints in the room will give a full African flavor and will provide something a little more exotic than the standard Home Depot fare.

If you have a couple of pieces of African art already, you can use these as the basis for planning the rest of the decorations in the room, to compliment the pieces you already have. Most will be looking to start off a room from scratch. First of all decide on the extent to which your room should reflect this diverse continent. Are you planning on recreating a safari or are you looking for a few decorative items to bring the room together.

A good starting point is with the color scheme. The room should shout “Africa!” to anyone who walks into the room, and naturally wall and floor colors are going to make a huge difference. The walls should match the colors you find in the natural world. Earthy tones of green and brown, burnt orange and mustard yellow all work well. Rather than use a roller, use a rag or sponge technique to break up the color or create different hues on the same wall.  Have a look at pictures of the African savannah or watch an African nature documentary to get inspiration and to get a real feel for the effect you are trying to recreate.

For the floors, tiles of terracotta are an excellent choice. They give a rich earthy tone and are both hard wearing and practical. Once the wall and floors are sorted you can have a little fun with the decorative elements. To keep it simple, just add an animal print throw and a couple of African picture prints.

It is always good to create a focal point in a room. To keep to an African theme, one of the best ways of achieving this is with a fabric African wall hanging. These traditional wall decorations often are brightly colored, and will immediately bring the room to vibrant life. A tribal textile hanging can be the main feature for the room, and will immediately draw the attention when entering the room.

The addition of an African war mask, a couple of carved wooden animals in rich Egyptian ebony, and that Ghanaian fertility doll and your African decor theme will be complete.