Architecture Interiors

From Amman to Cairo: Lara’s Crafts brings creations to Egyptian market

Amany Aly Shawky — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:30:00 +0000

Lara’s Crafts first launched in Amman, started by two young women with great ambitions. Almost 10 years later, Lara and Luna Kawash have brought a transformed and more mature concept of their business to the Egyptian market.

Since 2010, Lara’s Crafts has become a prominent manufacturer of tinted glass and home accessories.

“We started small in Amman through open houses,” explains Luna Kawash. Open houses are bazaars set up in people’s homes that usually last a couple of days. In 2009, the Kawash sisters re-launched their brand and, to cater to the increasing demand, opened a workshop in a poor Amman area, where they offer jobs to more than eight underprivileged families.

The following year, Luna Kawash moved to Cairo and brought the brand to the Egyptian market. “We believe in developmental work through art,” she says.

The pieces are mixtures of Arabic calligraphy and old Islamic patterns.

“We started on a smaller scale, selling only tinted glass plates and coasters,” the designers say.

The main themes used in the Kawashes’ work are flowers, leaves, calligraphy and the hand of Fatima.

In February 2011, Lara’s Crafts started a partnership with Style Treasure online boutique. Most of its products are being shipped from Amman to Cairo.

“We are sourcing some glass workshops in Egypt for special products, in addition to the Egyptian-made copper plates for the Qahwati collection,” Luna Kawash explains.

All products are hand-painted, from coffee and tea cups to copper trays, glasses and porcelain pieces. Aside from their workshop in Hashimi al-Shamali in Amman, Lara’s Crafts plans to open a workshop in Egypt next year to spread their belief in developmental work.

“Calligraphy is highly appealing to the Egyptian market, but normally what sells in Amman sells in Egypt,” Kawash says. “It is a big and welcoming market, compared with the small market of Amman.”

Lara’s Crafts products are available on Style Treasure online boutique, Kaff Fatemah boutique in Maadi and Dandy Mall. Prices range from LE70 to LE360.

This piece was originally published in Egypt Independent’s weekly print edition.

Color and brass: Salameka offers high-end home accessories

Amany Aly Shawky — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:21:00 +0000

For the last two years, Salma Mostafa al-Feky has been developing her line of home accessories, Salameka, and expanding her export network around the Arab world.

Living abroad for so long has made Feky fond of Oriental artistry, she says.

“My brand is ethnic with a modern touch,” the former diplomat says.

Salameka launches two collections a year. One comes out in winter and one comes out in summer.

“Three or four pieces are manufactured from each model,” the designer explains.

Salameka uses hammered brass, colored glass and Oriental trims and cloth in most of the pieces, which give them a very Arab feel. From tea sets and cookie jars to hand mirrors and doorstops, all fall under the same concept.

Feky works on her designs and chooses fabrics and trimmings, then a craftsman carries out the production phases.

“All the materials are 100 percent Egyptian,” she says.

Other than its meticulous craftsmen, Salameka also works with charity organizations for crafts and artifacts. Salameka designs can be found at Beymen at the Four Seasons Hotel, Monaya Concept Store in Zamalek, and Razzmatazz in Maadi.

“The designs are unique and vigilantly crafted, and therefore slightly on the expensive side,” says Feky.

She says she thinks customers are willing to pay if they really like the item.

“I still buy from Azza Fahmy despite the fact that her models are duplicated everywhere,” says Feky, who thinks that good products impose themselves on the market.

“People inspire me,” the designer says while discussing her new creations.

She says she listens to her clients’ needs and takes their advice or recommendations when working on a new product.

Feky says she is not yet ready to open an outlet that would entail mass production. But she is looking to expand abroad, and sees Dubai as an excellent potential market for her merchandise.

Although Salamek has faced difficulties in Kuwait, she is looking forward to display her art in Lebanon, despite tough competition.

“London seems like a welcoming market as well, but I am still looking for contacts there,” she explains.

Like many of her counterparts, she says several of her pieces are copied at places such as communal bazaars, where this practice often occurs.

Salameka products are also available on the online boutique Style Treasure, at www.style-treasure.com.

Home accessories by Salameka are available at Monaya Concept Store, Beymen, Razzmatazz or online at Style Treasure.

This piece was originally published in Egypt Independent’s weekly print edition.

Irada wall art: Modernizing Islamic art for your home

Heba Helmy — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:18:00 +0000

For the team at Irada, it’s all about adding that spiritual touch. Through Islamic art inspired wall decals quoting verses from the Quran, the Hadith and Islamic poetry, they hope to bring a little of the divine into ordinary homes, office spaces and even mosques.

“We noticed that most decorations in residences focused on being a type of artwork, modern or classic, but not enough on how to really create a kind of art that served its purpose — day in and day out. What we found in many traditional Islamic art pieces is that — despite their beauty and elegance — most quickly receded to the background and were usually ignored by most after the initial viewings,” says Besim Bruncaj, Irada marketing and art director.

“How often do you stop and reflect on the artwork in your home after the initial week or two after purchasing?” he asks. “What we found was that the answer for most was ‘once in a blue moon.’”

Modern art, he says, tends to be a bit bolder and can attract attention day after day, but most pieces are created by artists untrained in the classical tradition, and who lack the skill to create beautifully balanced artwork.

“Anyone who compares books of modern Arab and Islamic art with books of classical art from the periods of classical Islamic civilizations will quickly notice a lack of the divine presence in the work as most modern artwork lack the elegance, grace, form, rhythm, proportion, balance and other classical principles of rich Islamic art,” Bruncaj says.

Irada seeks to combine the best of both worlds: the beauty of classic Islamic art with the bold majesty of most modern art. The wall decals are made of a special kind of vinyl adhesive that is incredibly thin, with a matte texture. The calligraphy appears as if it painted directly on the wall, but can in fact be removed without damaging the paint.

Irada, based in Jordan, was officially launched one year after composing small-scale artwork in 2009.

Bruncaj and his team made their first wall art for a summer study program at the offices of SunniPath. Bruncaj then started collecting ideas, when a friend, Abdel Rahman Ashraf, persuaded him to collaborate to establish the company. Since its establishment in late 2010, they have slowly built up a catalog, and improving business operations.

Before deciding on a name for the project, they did extensively research, looking for a word that reflected the message they wanted to convey through their work.

“We chose the word Irada because it means to strive for something one desires or wants. Or, in a spiritual context, it is about striving for the divine. So, it indicates what we are after — artwork that redirects one’s purpose and increases one’s yearning to be with Allah,” Ashraf explains.

Irada’s most in-demand themes, according to Bruncaj, tend to be the same kind that Muslims have conventionally looked for to adorn their homes. He gives as an example “Ayat al-Kursi” (the verse of the throne), and the fatiha, “In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate.”

Kufic and Thuluth script are the two most popular calligraphic forms. But there is a wide array of other script styles, designed in Arabic or English in various sizes and created by a team of calligraphers, artists, illustrators and designers.

Tailor-made designs are also provided for customers, but that requires a longer waiting period to obtain a unique artwork. Although the custom designs are much pricier — since the company has to recover all of its costs in a single sale — many customers choose this option because they want a specific saying or an original design. Ashraf counts a custom six verses from “Surat al-Nour” (the verse of light), which was designed for a mosque in the US, among the company’s most distinguished orders.

Despite its special emphasis on Islamic-themed artwork, Irada makes a variety of different themed artworks for customization production, as they receive requests from non-Muslims as well. The team is currently working on a calligraphy piece for a Christian family that moved abroad and wants all of their names in one artwork for their home. Another piece, designed for the Cambridge Inter-faith Program’s office, features a Jewish, Christian, and Islamic quote pertaining to taking wisdom and knowledge from others.

Wall stickers for Islamic occasions, including Ramadan and other holidays, are also produced by the company. Since these artworks are seasonal, customers are recommended to place them on a canvas, so that they can take them down and put them back up.

Mostafa Sabry, an owner of a household appliance store, expresses his interest in the holiday-themed decals, but has some concerns over Quranic verses.

“Ramadan and Eid decals give a pleasant atmosphere to the place, but Islamic quotes might make some non-Muslims customers feel uncomfortable,” he says.

If it is for your own interior design decision, however, 52-year-old Omima Hazem believes that the decals would act as a gentle reminder of her religious beliefs.

“Most people are used to hanging Quranic verses on the walls of a home. So, introducing the idea in innovative styles would surely provide a sense of tranquility and look attractive as well,” she says.

Though the company is located in Jordan, Irada welcomes orders from around the globe.

In an attempt to widen its customer base, Irada is looking into displaying in galleries and potentially opening up stores within the next two years.

“For the time being, we have opened up options for wholesale as a first step, until we are ready for opening up stores, but most likely we will just set up some franchises in different countries,” Bruncaj says.

“We are passionate about our artwork and still have quite a number of pieces we feel need to be completed before we turn our energies to marketing. We are driven by the concept that in today’s world, focusing on excellence in your products is the only way to true, long-term growth.”

A vast majority of Irada’s customers come from the US, UK, Canada, and Singapore, Ashraf says, pointing out that these are also countries with a large base of online Muslim shoppers.

After achieving success abroad, Irada is taking the next step to enhance its status in the Middle East market, including Egypt.

“We are now slowly expanding to the Middle East market and Egypt is definitely a country that we would love to spread our artwork to, especially with the growing interest in religion nowadays,” Ashraf says.

This piece was originally published in Egypt Independent's weekly print edition.

Have a seat: A chair is not just a chair for two young Cairo designers

Marcus Benigno — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 07:19:00 +0000

Cairo is an endless game of musical chairs, where a set of stackable stools wedged between parked cars is a veritable downtown cafe and where lonely chairs reserved for bowabs and the resident codger can be found below almost every high-rise tenement.

Two up-and-coming local designers, Ahmed Abuzaid of Block B and Manar Moursi of Studio Meem, have caught onto this curbside tradition and integrated it into their furniture designs.

With their fresh takes on “chairness” — what defines a chair — the two designers and artists are challenging a popular interior aesthetic in new Cairo homes, where old is literally gold.

“In Cairo, if you don’t have golden furniture, you don’t have furniture worth looking at. I’m poking fun at that,” Abuzaid says, talking about his latest collection and how it contrasts with the golden touch. “I live in New Cairo, where everything is new and sparkling, green grass lawns in the middle of the desert. But they stuff them with furniture painted over to appear old and antique. It’s tacky.”

Sitting on plastic patio chairs at Takaiba, the 27-year-old shares the philosophy behind his design.

Block B — not to be confused with the Korean pop sensation of the same name — launched last year and is named after Abuzaid’s former address in Kuala Lumpur. Abuzaid says Block B is not a reinvention of New Cairo, but rather an attempt or several attempts at mirroring the faces and facelifts that the city is today.

His playful, sexy and aggressive approach is reminiscent of pop art’s shiny boots and washed ads. From the hatchback of a family minivan, Abuzaid pulls out a pair of red-dipped, leather fauteuils from his latest collection.

“In the beginning, I thought I wanted to do something kitsch, something similar to those knee-high, red pleather prostitute boots you see in movies, where all you see is red and you’re blinded by red,” he says.

Abuzaid draws his sketches from bed and works with carpenters and upholsterers seasoned in their craft.

“I go to a big warehouse in Damietta, where you have alleyways full of little workshops just carving away at commissions with great attention to detail. I’m painting all my nails with car paint. The studs are as important as the fabric themselves. As a friend says, they’re there and they snatch your clothes!” he says.

A former ad man and copywriter, Abuzaid sees product design as a more creative outlet comparable to art, but not quite.

“With copywriting, you fool yourself into thinking that you’re doing something really creative when you’re actually not. You think it’s art, but you’re just convincing people to buy something that most of the time they don’t really need. I wanted to do something really creative. In a lot of ways, a chair works like a canvas. It’s such a basic thought, a chair,” he says.

With a similar infatuation with chairs and in an effort to document Cairo’s distinctive “chairscape,” Moursi developed “1,001 Street Chairs in Cairo,” a growing photographic archive of her chair encounters throughout the city. From these peripatetic musings and diarized missed connections with an otherwise banal form, Moursi draws inspiration for her work at Studio Meem, where she promotes a trend for a more conscious consumer.

We visited her private showroom in Zamalek to see her original designs, which include several prototypes made in the last year, including cushioned chairs, a coffee table, suspended shelves, a side table and cabinetry — all fashioned from gireed, or palm fronds, a local material traditionally used in making bread crates.

“There’s a sort of wabi-sabi imperfection in the crates,” Moursi says, referring to a Japanese aesthetic perspective in which imperfection is beauty.

Though the pieces are crafted in form, the material’s organic variations render each unique.

Moursi’s chair is made from an up-cycled crate, treated, then painted white and topped with a cushion. Woven into latticework like wicker, gireed is a sturdy material.

“When I walk, I see things in the street and the crates caught my eye. It’s so intuitive to use palm wood because it’s available in Egypt. So I was very interested in using this material. Other artists have explored these objects in their artwork, even Orientalist painters, and writers like Flaubert and Nerval wrote about these palm things,” she says.

During his travels through Egypt, the 19th-century French painter Jean-Leon Gerome captured the scenes that impressed the image of the so-called Orient. In many of these depictions, men swathed in crinkled, flowing garments would be hunched over a chessboard, tickling a lute or leering at a nude gamin and his foreboding snake.

Whatever the situation painted, the characters were arrested in a seated posture, slouched against a wall or perched on gireed.

Like Abuzaid, the 29-year-old Moursi relies on local artisans from Saqqara in a dynamic that has revamped her design process.

“Most of the artisans can’t read or write, and so we always have to work with our hands and movements. It’s a very hands-on process, based on constant feedback. It’s not like I’m designing in the office and I’m on Rhino and I print it out and give it to contractors. No, I’m sitting on a crate in the middle of a palm grove and I’m telling this guy I want it this high, and he plays with it,” she explains.

Moursi shifted her career from a corporate firm to her self-owned startup, which she opened last year. The Princeton University graduate and former Dubai-based architect says product design allows for more instant gratification and a wider reach.

“I was really excited moving from the scale of architecture to the scale of products, because one thing with architecture is that the act of translation is always three or four times removed from the final product. And I saw how the process is and how the client dictates the design agenda, and it’s give and take, and you have to propose your design and try to convince the client,” she says.

By sticking to more manageable and compact designs such as chairs, Moursi is able to create freely and incorporate her own values of environmentalism, heritage preservation and local artisanship.

Both designers are looking into galleries and likeminded lifestyle shops to vend their work. For now, new chairs and other furniture designs by Studio Meem and Block B are custom made-to-order, and previews are available on their respective Facebook pages and on www.studiomeem.net.

This piece was originally published in Egypt Independent’s weekly print edition.

The art of feng shui: A guide to cleansing and de-cluttering your home, in six steps

Nevine El Shabrawy — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 07:43:00 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of getting a casual and insightful feng shui assessment of my home. “Feng” means wind and “shui” means water, and it’s an ancient Chinese idea often applied to design.

As with many concepts and beliefs, I am prone to a moderate following — I was warily expectant that I would be told to buy a fountain for the middle of my house and place little glass containers with grass around the flat.

Either my home is far from ready for the final feng shui touches or the world of feng shui is, at some level, really a matter of energy and love, because there was no mention of fountains or grass — merely a map of affirmations, colors and a recipe for a good energy scrub.

1. De-clutter

This may be the most tedious aspect of feng shui, but as Sanaa al-Rifai, feng shui consultant and holistic healer, points out, it is the most important.

“While there is clutter, energy cannot move,” Rifai explains.

What does de-clutter mean? Everything has a place marked by its purpose — put things in their places.

If you haven’t used something in more than a year, give it to someone who will. Pile of receipts? Make a receipt box and keep them all there.

2. Find direction

Use a compass to find the direction of your home’s entrance. Once you have found which way is north, apply the feng shui bagua, as depicted in the picture.

Each direction represents one facet of your life — family, career and marriage, for instance.

3. Get out the paint

Take a look at each of the areas of your home and see how “feng shui” they are — each area should have particular color schemes.

South areas, for instance, are intuitive, with reds, pinks and earth tones helping love and marriage. Greens and browns, meanwhile, are suitable for the east area, representing health and family.

4. Cleanse

Add sea salt to your cleaning regimen and scrub the house of bad energy.

“While disinfectant is sufficient for physical germs, you’ll need sea salt to rid yourself of dirty energy,” says Rifai. “In fact, a little salt in the corners of your rooms will clean up the energy visitors leave in your home when they come visit.”

5. Make your affirmations

Look into each main area of your life and state where you would like to be according to each category. For example, say, “I have found my career path, work hard and am the best in my field.” Or, “I am traveling to four new countries this year and will meet new people.”

You can write these down if you wish, and place them in their correct spots in the house.

6. Accessorize

Make small changes in the different parts of your home to add that extra bit of energy to the area.

For example, for south-west areas, which represent love and marriage, you should place things in twos: two pots, two vases, two statues, etc.

Use west areas for paintings and music to represent creative passion, and, in the north-west areas, place pictures of loved ones on a trip.

This piece was originally published in Egypt Independent's weekly print edition.

Top five furniture destinations for the bride-to-be

Amany Aly Shawky — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Putting together a comfortable and fashionable house that you will still love 10 years down the road can be one of the toughest tasks that face a young bride to-be. Here is a guide of several furniture shops and interior showrooms around Cairo covering various styles and price ranges.

Buying furniture can entail lots of window shopping and little buying at the beginning; the first few times you visit furniture shop, keep in mind that you are collecting ideas and creating a list of prices in your head.

Here are some places you should check as you embark on your furniture shopping journey. Alcazar, off Korba in Heliopolis, is one of the best furniture places in town. Their showroom is breathtaking and they use the best kinds of wood, such as oak and cherry. The style is between stylishly comfortable and art deco. The designs are creative and very well-executed.

But the Alcazar price range is definitely on the high side of the scale. The average price for a couch, coffee table or chair will cost around LE5,000, excluding the fabric. Alcazar has among his staff a number of foreign designers. Make your order four to five months prior to wedding or moving date.

Another furniture-shopping pillar is Mit Rihan in Maarshly, Zamalek. The showroom is known for is impeccable taste of contemporary/Oriental designs. You can also find art deco items. The finishing is flawless and the furniture will be delivered to you within two months. However, the place is overpriced and would leave you wondering why you are paying such amounts of money on wood! Prices offered for sofas and chairs exclude the fabric.

Not far from Mit Rihan, you will find Caravanserai, heaven on earth for Oriental furniture lovers. Caravanserai also designs lightings and home accessories. The showroom is breathtaking and all designs combine contemporary with ethnic in a graceful and hip way. Again, the store is pricey, and make sure you place your order three months prior. A 50 percent deposit is needed upon placing an order.

Fayek is a point you have to stop by whether or not you are buying; for classic and steel furniture lovers, this is your heaven, but everything comes with a price. Two collections are offered — classic and classic with a twist, which is less rigid and more contemporary. Fayek excels in marquetry, woodwork with patterns, and their specialty is French dining rooms, for which the price can go up to LE100,000. An order has to be placed five months prior. Some might find the merchandise heavy and old-fashioned, but a piece from Fayek is definitely an asset. The Royal Suite at the Four Seasons First Residence is furnished by Fayek.

Also make sure to pay a visit to Eklego showroom in Zamalek or Designopolis and check out their latest creations, from contemporary chandeliers and L-shape couches to glasses and wine decanters. Although Eklego’s main aim is to sell a whole home concept, you will still find items that you can buy separately. The average price for a chandelier is between LE500–800 and an L-shaped couch can cost up to LE16,000.

Alcazar: 17. Seezoustrees St., Korba, Heliopolis.

Mit Rihan: 13 Maraashly St., Zamalek.

Caravanserai: 15 Ahmed Heshmat St., Zamalek.

Fayek: 27 Abdel Moneim Riad St., Cairo.

Eklego: 8 Al-Sheikh al-Marsafy St., Zamalek.

Nina Shawki Collection: An Egyptian-made bedding option

Amany Aly Shawky — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:59:00 +0000

As consumers become keen to buy Egyptian-made products, designers have gained confidence and several small, local fashion and textile business ventures have flourished.

Among the up-and-coming names in home textiles is Nina Shawki, who, beyond focusing on beautiful designs, has tried to keep her bedding line affordable as well.

“My business started in 2007 through a Facebook page,” says Shawki, who has completed an education in applied arts and fashion design. She now displays and sells her products through the Egyptian online boutique, StyleTreasure.com.

“It all started with the discovery of my son’s allergy to synthetic fibers,” says the business owner.

Because of her personal ordeal, the young mother started her own line of cotton beddings after establishing a workshop in Bahr al-Baqar, followed by two more in Shubra and Alexandria.

“Eighty-five percent of the fabrics used are local,” says Shawki. Her fabrics vary between cotton, linen and satin.

In the last few years, many designers for bedding sets and linen appeared in the Egyptian market, presenting good-quality sheets with creative and modern designs. However, creativity comes with a cost. Most of the young bedding designers, unfortunately, are beyond the financial reach of the majority of consumers. Custom-made bedding is for those who can afford to pay twice or even triple the original price.

Linen options are limited. The consumer is caught between paying twice for an Egyptian designer with an edge or paying four times for the imported product that is originally produced with Egyptian cotton; both options are frustrating. Shawki combines creativity, good quality and affordability, which is a combination hard to find in the Egyptian market nowadays.

The young designer says she’s inspired mainly by the busy scene of the city. She adds that a walk in Old Cairo can inspire her with hundreds of ideas.

“We are a family of landowners, and I grew up appreciating cotton as the essence of life in Egypt,” adds the young mother.

As for her views of the market, Shawki says, “The market is ready for the low-priced, high-quality, practical product.”

She says design comes next after affordability and practicality. The young designer offers a range of prices for the A+, A and B quality class without compromising quality.

“All my products come with a guarantee,” says Shawki. Other than online shopping, Shawki displays her designs in Tika’s Bedding and will soon launch her own outlet in Maadi.

The Nina Shawki Collection has been exporting to several European countries, in addition to the Gulf, since 2009.

“As for the local market, half of my clients are newlyweds and the other half are people who are moving out or furnishing a summer house,” says the business owner. For young brides, durability is the quality most people look for, she says.

“People want products that last long,” explains Shawki.

In the last five years, the Egyptian consumer has become a more careful spender and started to appreciate and rely on online shopping more than before, she says.

“The Egyptian consumer will always be price-oriented,” she says. Very few are brand- or design-oriented, and that is why Nina Shawki Collection offers a custom-made service.

Nina Shawki designs are modern, which differentiates them from their competition, says Shawki.

“Our prices are much less than the competition because we manufacture and use local materials,” she adds.

The price of a typical five-piece, pure cotton set won’t exceed LE600, which might cost double if you are buying elsewhere, Shawki explains. She says printed products cost less than embroidered ones.

Concerning the latest economic and political events, Shawki says more consumers are seeking Egyptian products since the revolution began; however, imported raw materials have become scarce because of stricter customs rules enforced by post-revolution governments.

Paint your home to soothe your psyche

Heba Helmy — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:17:00 +0000

Painting the walls of your home may seem like one of the quickest ways to update your interior design scheme, but before you break out the paint brushes, think carefully.

Experts say your choice of interior paint color for each room in your house has psychological effects on you and your family that should not be underestimated.

If you have a stressful life, you should repaint the rooms where you spend most of your leisure time — the living room and bedroom — in colors that are easy on the eyes.

“Bedrooms and living rooms are where we read, watch TV, relax and sleep, so light colors, including beige and soft gray, are essential for creating a tranquil environment,” says Nahla Amin, a psychiatrist.

Amin says that dark and deep colors can be anxiety-provoking and cause headaches. For example, the color red is said to increase blood pressure and heart rate.

If you want to spice up the relaxing spaces of your house, however, pairing light tones with touches of dark colors creates a catching contrast and allows you to express your own artistic personality.

Though some people shy away from dark tones for fear that they will evoke a gloomy mood, Nirvana al-Zoghby, an interior designer, says that these colors are trendy nowadays because they have a dramatic and elegant effect.

“It is about mixing up the right colors together for a great-looking result at the end,” she explains. “Paint three walls in a room light tones while for the fourth wall use a contrast color or a couple of shades darker than the other walls. Hang a painting or mirror on the darker wall where the focal point of the room is.”

Zoghby advises opting out of the traditional paint colors for kids’ rooms — pink for girls and baby blue for boys.

You can stick to light colors, she said, but look for more innovative, livable schemes embellished with your child’s favorite drawings or cartoon characters.

“Orange, yellow, green, blue and light purple are really fun colors for both girls and boys that reflect their energizing nature and brighten their outlook,” says Zoghby.

However, Amin suggests diluting super vivid colors and avoiding bold paint tones to keep from stressing kids out.

While orange, blue, green and yellow seem to be boys’ favorites, pink and light purple or green and pink might suit some little girls who might prefer more of a princess-like scheme.

Parents can then decorate the walls with art pieces, cartoon posters or motivational quotes to further lift their spirits.

Amin said that softer colors such as pastels are perfect when it comes to babies’ rooms. Also, furniture and bedclothes should be in soothing colors to help them sleep calmly.

Zoghby recommends avoiding striking colors for eating spaces and prefers different shades of brown such as café au lait, chocolate brown, or coffee brown.

“This color is timeless and suits traditional and modern interiors alike, so painting the walls the degrees of brown will effortlessly complement the natural wood tones,” she says.

Amin agrees with Zoghby, saying brown tones are natural shades that create cozy atmosphere and comfort without appearing dreary.

However, if you want to brighten up your surroundings, consider using light yellows and bronze that bring out the golden aspects of the wood.

Another approach Zoghby suggests is painting the edge between the walls and ceiling, as well as decorating the center of the ceiling around a light fixture in the same shade.

Delights at Theodor's

Nevine El Shabrawy — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:31:00 +0000

Nestled away under the knobby tree canopies of Road 15 in Maadi lies a self-proclaimed antique and vintage store named Theodor’s. The large blue sign and flowered garden furniture are a welcome sight — especially for the customer stopping by at one of their “Sorry we’re closed” times — a sign I became quite familiar with during my quest to take a peek inside. Although Theodor’s is supposed to open at 10 according to their website and 10:30 on Facebook, expect to see the place open by 11.

The shop is divided into two areas; on your right, the focus is antique furniture — huge gold mirrors, wooden roll-top desks and arabesque come together quite elegantly in the room. Highlights included a Fullotone gramaphone built in to a little table for LE5000 and a large mashrabeya mirror with a ledge for pictures.

On your left is a little collection of “beautiful things” as the store’s owner calls them — soft robes, covers and sheets from local brand Malaika and clothing by the creative and funky Deana Shaaban. The store also features handmade linen toys from Turkey and paper flowers by Claire Marie from Birch and Arrow. Other delights include multicolored flower pillows, soft leather bags and little gold frogs studded with rhinestones.

Although the concept may remind you of useless knick-knack stores in retirement villages, Theodor’s is actually very contemporary and inspiring to the home in 2012. The bright colors and soft fabrics add flavor and color to homes made over-practical by hectic lives and the muted colors and shapes of modernity.

There is a lot of love in the store — a space where someone, the owner perhaps, has gathered the things she loves most to share them with the world. And despite its location in Maadi and the reputation of antique stores for being expensive, Theodor’s does not seem to inflate their prices drastically and restored items are restored with a visible level of care.

A visit to Theodor’s was a cheerful pick-me-up on a weekend afternoon. The store is located almost at the end of Road 15 in the area of Maadi’s Lycee Francais. The road is a dead end, so consider driving only a block or so after turning right off Road 87 from Road 9 and walking the rest of the way. Theodor’s has yet to acquire a credit card machine, so if you are smitten by one of the beautiful items in the store, you have to go get cash and come back.

Optimism pervades Cityscape real estate convention

Sarah ElMeshad — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:24:00 +0000

Real estate developers participating in Cityscape Egypt 2012 used longer payment plans, smaller affordable houses and additional promotional material to entice investors this year. With investment agencies highly optimistic about the future of real estate, by the time the gates opened their registration desks were all occupied by lines of visitors.

A countdown to the opening of “Egypt’s only international real estate investment and development event,” as described on its website, had visitors lined up at the exhibition gate at 10 am on 20 February. However, the gates did not open until noon.

“It was disappointing not to be let in on time simply because the minister of housing is in the area; it is not the sort of thing you would expect to happen after the revolution,” said Eman Taha, who was visiting the exhibition to find possible clients for a construction material company that she and her partner Heba Abdullah opened in August 2011.

But according to Abdullah, “Apart from that, the exhibition is extremely well-organized in comparison to previous ones.”

With over 40 exhibitors, a festive mood reigned in the convention’s three halls in Cairo International Conference Center. Potential investors, homeowners, designers and business owners paid a LE50 for entry, with a complimentary catalogue.

Each booth had different attractions, such as name-brand coffee, children’s corners for family buyers and other small goodie bags.

The exhibitions spared no expense to attract all different kinds of possible investors. A gleaming black Mercedes parked in front of Hyde Park Properties for Development acted as a sales tool to attract potential investors to purchase a property within the three days of the exhibition, which is set to end on 23 February. The developer of the Swani Resort in the North Coast displayed a yacht for buyers interested in one of their beachfront villas.

Loud music played as famous mascot Papa Porto was carried around in a boat by clowns and other circus characters, directing onlookers to the Amer Group’s colorful display of balloons and a merry-go-round.

Medhat Moftah from Amer Group said their current mall and vacation resort projects have been affected by the political situation. ”However, the last few months have picked up,” he added.

Optimism was not restricted to local investors, as it could also be heard in the voices of the real estate developers. According to Nader Mostafa from Kuwait Wadi El Nile Urban Development Company, the last four months saw a sudden recovery as buyers showed more interest in buying new property and more villas and apartments in 6thof October compounds were put on the market. The company, based in Kuwait, began its first project in Egypt in 2010 and intends to start handing over property by 2014.

Abdullah said from what she has seen in her line of work, “development and construction have not been affected at all by the current political situation.” She said this is why property builders are all sticking to their deadlines.

Jylan Sekaly, a property consultant at Sixth of October Development and Investment Company (SODIC) said the company has adapted to changes in Egypt by introducing a six-year payment plan, as opposed to their old four-year plan, thus allowing those who have been financially affected by the current economic situation more time to complete their payments.

New developments are starting up around the country — from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea — and Cityscape’s large-scale exhibit has gathered them all in one area for investors to choose from.