Designers will appreciate the clear arrangement and large scope of design possibilities. You will see everything from salvaged heavy teak wood platform beds with misquote netting, baskets and carved masks in very rustic bedroom settings, to contemporary eclectic dining rooms with ever so slight touches of favorite and hard to find African objects strewn within more modern houses. Part of what makes this such a fantastic book is that the ylooky you wish you could achieve in your own home are possible; Classical, Stylish, Simple, Eclectic, Exotic, Masculine or Feminine, Rustic, etc. For example - a photo of a patio with a raw timber pergola covered with fucia bougainvillea and a casual wood four person dining area replete with plants, chaise lounge and ethnic lanterns could easily fit into a Southwestern home. Another example of the diversity of style in the ideas found in this book is the Modern Romantic open loft room. Here is where a tanned leather couches gently separate the space between the living and dining areas. Additionally, the Modern Romantic has silver columns with only a little mudcloth wrapped around the bottom, raw wood tables and lighting treatments, bamboo blinds and a large abstract oil on canvas taking up an entire wall in the dining area. This second example could be found in a Manhattan apartment or a swank L.A. house with only subtle nuances to a mixed African style.

A plethora of native craft objects such as, paintings, carvings, textiles, spears, shields, shells, bowls, and pottery, which make their appearance throughout. I would also like to site that more architectural elements like treatments for roofs, ceilings, walls and floors, balconies, chimneys, sinks and showers, windows, doors, corridors and more are all part of what makes these places so enticing. Natural elements are key y stone and wood, rough woven textiles, baskets, mats, and so on. If you like more eco-friendly living (such as the books Earth to Spirit, or the New Natural House Book both by David Pearson), you must at least look at this Safari Style for reference material. Indian, Asian and Coastal / subtropical blends on the African tradition are perfectly woven into the concept of creating foreign spaces yet comfortably beautiful living arrangements.

Indeed this book makes no argument that it borrows from the land and native cultures. Black and white photos from the 1920ys accompany historical text exploring the British colonization of south and eastern regions of Africa. Very fortunately, I counted less than ten photos, which depict hunting trophies, animal skins or taxidermy, which I had previously associated with a safari style. I find this refreshing! Donyt be mistaken that Tin Beddowys book departs from more than an exploration of sites into adventures. Not a single image shown within depicts humans, native or non-native, beyond the introduction. Safari Style does not whatsoever portray, with even the remotest sense of accuracy, how any native African peoples live, their homes or villages. Then again, this subject is hardly broached.

It is easy to promote this book to the both the novice interior designers and design student, professional interior design firms, architects and possibly contractors, the curious eclectic artist, hermits and meditative spirits, romantics and in general, to travel lifestyle enthusiasts. (Stay away Ralph Laurent platinum card waving wannabes and homogenized Martha Stewart rip-off artists, or youyll ruin a good thing.)


Luxurious lives of the expats   January 8, 2001
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

One side of me recognizes that the younger sons of the Empire without great resources "went out" to Africa where they could live like princes on comparatively little [comparative only for Europeans, of course]. The other side wishes I had enough decadence in me to have lived in Happy Valley. There is no pretense that this is anything other than splendid housing for Europeans, not native Africans, and it is honest about malaria and the like, without mentioning politics. Nonetheless, I am happy to put this on my shelf with more technical works on indigenous African architecture. The work offers splendid structures built of simple materials on simple plans in which I could happily end my days relishing the elegant detail. The rich melange of styles effectively denies any dim notion of East African cultural isolation. Here Arab, Persian and Indian met and married native genius, and biologists know the offspring of heterosis are often ravishing.


Awonderful book to emulate or sojourn.   July 8, 2000
 16 out of 18 found this review helpful

If you loved the interiors depicted in such films as Out of Africa, Queenie, and The English Patient, you'll adore the interior design of Safari Style. Twenty-one interiors are beautifully captured in all their romantic splendor. White walls act as backdrops to the teracotta floors, bamboo or mahogany, red or deep blue cushions, solo hats for the sun, mosquito nets over beds, and panoramic views from windows. The vicarious visitor is welcomed to homes in Mozambique, Kenya, and nineteen other locations. Floors are usually tile with occasional oriental or persian rugs. The views run the gamut of near primitive to exotic Moroccan. If the reader enjoys these details for their home, there are shops that carry pottery, masks, mosquitto netting, solos, bamboo furniture to incorporate into a safari style. Designer Tricia Foley also has a book that inspires this approach to decorating as well. It is British Colonial Style.