Walls and Floors

• Select neutral colors for your walls and floors that remind you of desert sand and clay. This provides a neutral backdrop for bolder-colored furnishings and accents. Paint the walls with a sand- or stone-textured interior paint to give your room that desert feel. Use a faux paint treatment on walls to make them look like stone walls. See the resources below for instructions on how to accomplish this.
  
  Use stencils of hieroglyphs to create wall borders. Select paint in the same color as your walls but a shade or two darker. This will make the stencils look as though they've been fading on the walls of some buried temple for centuries. Make your own stencils if you can't find them in stores. An easy way to do this is by printing hieroglyphs on your computer in any size you like. Trace them onto contact paper and cut the designs out with a craft knife.
  
  

Furnishings and Fabrics

• Select a large, stately furnishings with sculptural carving, preferably with Egyptian theme designs. Choose furniture in dark, stained woods or black. Look for pieces with gold leafing, handles and trim. Some furnishings that work well are armoires, benches, a chase lounge, wooden chests and a large, ornately carved headboard for your bed. Transform your old furnishings into Egyptian style by staining them dark or painting them black. Add decorative gold handles and knobs. Add designs in gold paint with stencils or use a gold leaf gilding treatment.
  
  Use pillar-style plant stands and top them with a round, beveled-edge glass for an Egyptian-style night stand or end table. Select luxurious Egyptian cotton or raw silk for upholstered furniture, bedding, window treatments and pillows. Gold with black trim are appropriate choices for main colors. Use rich blues, reds, oranges and greens as accent colors.
  
  

Accessories

• Select accessories with an Egyptian motif such as pyramids, the sphinx, scarabs, ankhs, deities or cats. Look for hand-painted papyrus wall hangings, vases, jewelry boxes, lamps or statuary with these motifs. Hang wall hangings or mirrors in large, ornately carved, gilded frames. Place a large palm or rubber tree in a corner.