In a city where history and modernity intertwine, designer Alia El Tanani has envisioned an Egyptian home that unites centuries of craftsmanship and global influence.
A stone’s throw from the legendary pyramids of Giza and skirting the west bank of the Nile, Cairo’s 6th of October City has been at the crossroads of Egypt’s past and future since it was established almost five decades ago. Here, luxury malls and universities sit alongside affluent residential communities, with sprawling estates setting the scene for how local celebrities, tastemakers and industrialists live.
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It is in one such gated enclave that Alia El Tanani has transformed this 5,000-square-metre mansion into a modern-day palace brimming with exquisite art, design and craft, hailing from Egypt and far-flung places such as China. El Tanani is the co-founder of Living In Interiors, an acclaimed design practice dedicated to ultra-exclusive projects across the Middle East. “I was drawn to the challenge of transforming such a huge building, which could have been so impersonal, into a home that allows for intimate moments between family and friends,” she recalls. “The inspiration really came from its owners – passionate collectors with an eye for rich textiles, intricate furniture and luminous objects from destinations along the Silk Route.”
As a result, each room has been curated as a chapter in the owners’ collection. The journey begins in China, crosses the steppes of central Asia, travels through India, Persia and the Middle East, and culminates in the ornate courts of France. In the entrance hall, visitors are greeted by works by Iraqi-American artist Hayv Kahraman and Greek painter Alekos Fassianos, which rest on limestone-clad walls hand-carved in India. The grand staircase was developed in-house at El Tanani’s woodwork factory ARCO, and the artful Ralph Lauren chandeliers are suspended from ornate wooden ceilings painted by Moroccan artists. Everywhere you look, there is creative dialogue between historic skills and contemporary perspectives, between East and West.
“Egypt is such an amalgamation of cultures, and that translates in my work, where I strive to embrace as much diversity as possible,” explains El Tanani. “Here, my vision converged with the homeowners’ passion for all these different cultures that make up the Egyptian identity today.”
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Throughout the Egyptian home, El Tanani’s ability to adapt and layer multiple influences is evident: in the salon, she transformed an ornate Indian screen into a showcase of rare artworks, its intricate motifs finding resonance in an arched colonnade inspired by Islamic architectural traditions. Egyptian art, Tang and Ming dynasty horses and figurines contrast with two striking works by Fernando and Humberto Campana, which bring a contemporary energy to the space. A monumental Venetian cabinet takes pride of place in the petit salon, a space dedicated to intimate family gatherings. “Surrounding it, a collection of 18th- and 19th-century Orientalist paintings unfurls scenes of imagined journeys and distant lands,” adds El Tanani.
Elsewhere, Syrian-style altars, antiques from Spain and 17th-century Anglo-Dutch embossed-leather screens are paired with sculptural sofas by EJ Victor, Murano-glass chandeliers by Barovier & Toso, and bespoke pieces from Don Tanani, the furniture atelier El Tanani launched in 2020 with her daughter Tamara. Together, these pieces fashion a truly global universe that straddles modernity and antiquity with flair.
In a moment of curated splendour, a heady tableau of colour, pattern, and craftsmanship envelops the formal dining room, where a French-style table, paired with 17th-century Venetian velvet chairs, holds court. Surrounded by a collection of rare early-20th-century Egyptian Sèvres vases, antique suzani tapestries from Turkey and paintings by mid-20th-century Egyptian masters, it’s a feast for the senses. “It’s one of my favourite rooms,” exclaims the designer. livingin.com
