A sanctuary of peace

There are a million things, from minor to major, that make a house breath taking. But not every house is ‘state of art’, as it takes more than lavish lawns and expensive decor to make one. Perhaps, we should give up on arguing if ‘Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus’ when it comes to interior decor and designing. Science has proved women are better at interior decor than men (unless these men have a dominating feminine personality) because, yes, coming from Venus gives women a natural attribute to make an ordinary place look beautiful. Whether a woman is a professional interior design expert or not, the talent to deck up her home comes to her naturally. Nonetheless, a perfect home requires die hard devotion and sincerity. From its exterior and all the way inside the house, one can tell Redah Misbah, Director Depilex Group, has dedicated a significant time of her daily life to the well being of her family life and upkeep of her house. “I am a working mother and wife, and although my career is very important to me, my family and house is my priority. So from managing the staff to where I want roses planted in the garden, I give my home a 100 per cent. I plan on keeping it that way. Every woman whether she’s a full time home maker or career woman, she is a woman of substance and her house is her domain making it of substance too,” says Redah Misbah.

The story of Redah’s house may be described as ‘love at first sight’ that occurred three years ago when along with her husband Shammal Qureshi - renowned stylist and CEO Toni&Guy - they were being driven around the town by an estate agent. “He brought us to this house but didn’t have the keys. So, both of us peered through the gates and I turned around to him and said this is it. We want this one!” recalls Redah.

Describing the interior decor of her house as contemporary, she believes decorating a house is a lifetime project, which is why she is still at it. Redah, who has worked with innumerable designers while doing the salons, picked Meher Chohan for her house. “I have worked with many interior designers for my salons but for my house I chose to work with Meher after our first meeting. We just clicked. I wanted the interiors to be done in a way that Shammal and I looked forward to coming home with joy. It had to be comfortable, practical and unique with no home office to keep work away from personal life,” she shares.

Feng Shui is an important element in Redah’s house. The influence is because of her mother-in-law Peng Qureshi, also a renowned stylist, who strongly believes in the principles of Feng Shui. This has now become a determining factor for her whole family. During the course of looking for a perfect house, many shortlisted houses were turned down by Peng due to this reason. Although Redah’s place isn’t fully done on strict Feng Shui guidelines, the architecture was a go ahead by her mother-in-law.
Redah may be following her mother’s footsteps in her career but she describes her taste different from her mother, whose house was built in 1936 and has a typical British-Raj feel about it. She gives immense credit to her mother for restoring the age-old house and doing it with antiques, which has taught her to give importance to every detail in her own house.

Redah believes all the rooms in a house have a significance and character of their own. Her drawing room has these round tables, her favourite, designed by Meher Chohan. Then there’s this beautiful table in the dining room designed by Minhal Zeyd. This was particularly picked by Shammal and herself. The lounge has this cosy feel about it with a magnificent painting that was rolled up and hand carried from Bangkok. While their daughter Zoay’s room has an enchanting bird installation by Attiya Noon, the couple’s bedroom may be described as a serene getaway with a closet designed to accommodate Shammal’s ever growing wardrobe. Redah designed the lights in her drawing and dining room with the help of her friend Umer Butt. They are to die for!
In Redah’s house, each and every single piece of art, furniture or decoration has a story. One of the awe inspiring pieces is a Gold Dali Elephant that sits at the entrance. The young stylist duo got this from a local sculptor in Thailand on their first wedding anniversary. Similarly, there’s a handmade Italian lamp that her mother, the famous Misbah Musarrat, hand carried from Italy. Not to forget, Redah’s favourite pieces of art are by artist Mehreen Murtaza that accentuate the overall look of the house.

“I am in love with my house,” exclaims Redah. “We moved in a year after our marriage. It has such great memories for us even though it’s only three years since we have moved into this house. It has brought me so much luck; however, we are amidst plans for building our own house. So, hopefully my husband and I will make our dream house soon,” she adds.

For Redah, her home is a sanctuary of peace and comfort. The most important aspect, she believes, in any house is hospitality of the hosts. “At least when I visit someone’s house it’s not their curtains or cutlery that I remember, it’s the feeling of comfort, positive energy and good hospitality that makes me revisit them,” shares Redah.

And this is exactly the feeling one gets when visiting her home!