Motifs are general backgrounds or themes surrounding a topic. You could have a floral motif in a house by having flowers in vases, on wall paper, etc.
A motif is a recurring theme in a story that serves to help communicate the purpose of the novel as a whole. For example, in the book "Invisible Man," written by Ralph Ellison, one of the motifs presented is blindness and serves to characterize the protagonist as not knowing himself and being blind to his role.