June 29, 2006

 This week Shanaz Ramzi visits a trendy house with an unconventional look

With eclectic furniture extremely ‘in’ these days, it is a pleasant surprise to visit a home that is predominantly modern, with hardly a few traditional touches. Faiza and Abbas Hashim’s home is one such abode, decorated on extremely current and trendy lines.

As soon as one enters the foyer, there is a bevelled glass door opening into the drawing room. The wall right in front is not in alignment with the rest of the walls but extends inwards, its beige surface divided into huge squares lending it added character. One learns that the kitchen behind this wall had been extended, leaving the family no choice but to deal with a protruding wall in the drawing room, but they turned the disadvantage into an aesthetic feature.

On either end of the extended wall are alcoves that exhibit glass shelves on which decoration pieces are placed.

The furniture in the room comprises fully upholstered biege sofas, wooden chairs in duco paint, wicker chairs and stool. The centre table has a fibre glass base and glass top. Many cushions and decoration pieces add colour to the room.

In keeping with the contemporary look of the place, the foyer itself is adorned with glass shelves against one wall, held up by curved steel pipes. The foyer opens into the brightly decorated lounge-cum-dining area where a sleek glass-topped dining table with steel legs occupies a corner. Beyond it is the lounge seating, comprising yellow leatherette sofas placed together in a semi-circular shape.

Atop it, adorning a wall is a mirror lending added space to the room. Against another wall are two mirrors in wooden frames, reminiscent of windows and placed at intervals, lending spaciousness and a unique touch to the room. Wooden tables, stools, a wrought-iron tall lamp and a console table behind the sofa all add to the ambience of the area, as does a compact, neat TV unit.

The dining portion of the lounge stretches to its right into an open American kitchen, which is both functional and attractive, with its ivory counter tops, beige tiles and wooden cabinets.

The children’s rooms are also done up unconventionally, following modern lines and tastes of the young people. The room belonging to the couple’s son is decorated predominantly in black and white –– with a black leatherette bed along with a black wooden headboard placed at an angle, a funky bookshelf adorning one wall and a guitar-shaped wrought-iron CD rack below.

The rest of the furnishings in the room are what every boy would desire –– a TV-cum-decoration unit, a computer table and a tall white lamp standing behind a kidney-shaped leatherette sofa –– which give the room both functionality and appeal.

Similarly, the couple’s daughter’s room, done in shades of blue and mint green with a wooden and wrought-iron bed occupying centre space boasts elegance and youthful charm.

So, in not resorting to elaborate carved furnishings and heavy drapes, the Hashims have managed to give their home a light and elegant touch.

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)