A Moroccan Jewel

In the latest issue of Elle Decor, you can take a glimpse into fashion designer Liza Bruce and her husband, artist Nicholas Alvis Vega's home and their jet-setting lifestyle. They've amassed a collection of beautiful homes over the years— from a flat in London's Notting Hill, to a palazzo apartment in Jaipur, to a group of beach bungalows in Puglia, Italy. 'We refer to our houses as film sets without the film. We're driven to create the perfect hideaway,' says Bruce.

Out of all of their homes, their 'pleasure palace' is their three-story house in Morocco. Bruce, who made her name in the 19080's with a line of Lycra swimwear, now sells her fashions in her London boutique. In 2003, she began traveling to Marrakech and created a collection of embroidered caftans. After several trips, she and her husband decided to establish a permanent home in Morocco.

From the moment they first saw it, Bruce and Vega knew the exterior had to be white, which is an unusual choice in Morocco, where exteriors are famously pink. 'We wanted the white domes to echo the nearby Atlas Mountains and white floors and walls to fill the house with light and a sense of calm.' The designer, known for her use of color, couldn't resist adding it to their home. She found the hues she loves in the djellaba robes worn by local villagers: magenta and a dark eau de nil green. These appear in the textiles, painted furniture, and color-drenched walls in the riad. 'I've always loved color but I'm very careful in how I use it because it can be lethal in the wrong hands. The essence of Islamic architecture is that it is spare and refined,' she says.

The house serves as their design 'laboratory,' a place where they spend about four months of the year creating fabrics for their clothing and home textiles collections. See more images in the latest issue of Elle Decor.

*images via elle decor