Swahili Chic unveils an exotic approach to gracious living from a 2,000-year-old culture rich in beauty and sophistication. In this gloriously illustrated book, world traveler and style expert Bibi Jordan introduces Swahili shule--the Swahili school of design, architecture, and graceful living that instills a sense of simplicity, sensuality, and spirituality to any interior. Travel from the coral atoll islands of East Africa to the warm trade winds of the Indian Ocean and discover the land where African kings, Arabian sultans, Chinese sailors, American whalers, and French pirates met to trade jewels, spices, and colorful fabrics. Swahili Chic features the sensual coral palaces and historic traveler's inns of UNESCO world heritage sites Lamu and Zanzibar, as well as the romantic seaside cottages and eco-adventure resorts of Mombasa and Malindii. Individual chapters detail each region's rich culture and history, and highlight the most intriguing and inspirational aspects of the region's decor, making this an ideal book for the decorator, the armchair traveler, and the globetrotting adventurer. The final section features Bibi Jordan's expert guidance to integrating aspects of Swahili Chic into any decor, bringing the beauty, color, and grace of this timeless culture to the modern home, wherever in the world it may be