LADY OF THE HOUSE
Part of a group of buildings preserved by a Lebanese aristocrat, this home is a classic example of Beirut’s rich architectural heritage
IN THE GEMMAYZEH DISTRICT OF BEIRUT stand a group of traditional Lebanese residences known collectively as “the houses of Lady Cochrane”. The country’s most famous fashion designer, Elie Saab, lives in one. Carole Schoucair, a business coach, had long dreamt of renting one, but believed it was almost impossible. “As soon as tenants have the chance to live in them, they’re rarely easy to dislodge,” she says. “You get so attached to them.” But sometimes timing is everything, and Schoucair happened to call the office that manages the properties the week someone had given in their notice. She still clearly remembers her first visit to what would become her home. “It was a real ‘ah-ha’ moment,” she recounts. “Even before I’d seen the bedrooms, I said to myself, ‘This is it!’ I called my husband, Georges, who was a long way away, and told him, ‘Drop everything and come immediately!’ I was almost clinging to the walls.” The Lady Cochrane in question lives in a 19th-century palace just above the houses and is the only daughter of a Lebanese aristocrat. In 1946, she married an Irish lord and has long campaigned for the preservation of Beirut’s architectural heritage. She and her family have steadfastly refused to sell the houses, which they acquired in the 1960s to ensure they wouldn’t be torn down by developers and replaced by high-rises. The one in which Schoucair lives with her film producer husband and their two sons, Matteo and Thomas, dates from around 1885 and was temporarily turned into a school in the 1920s. It is located on a steep slope, which Schoucair admits is at times a disadvantage. “Still, I’ve got used to it,” she says, “and it’s easily compensated by the joy of living here.” The interiors feature exquisite windows decorated with trefoil motifs, marble flooring and a lofty double-height sitting room that rises to some six metres high. Schoucair changed very little: she simply removed cork panels that had been on the walls, renovated the bathroom and repainted the whole house. For colour choices, she was advised by her decorator friend, May Daouk, who lives in one of the other Cochrane houses. “I wanted white walls,” Schoucair says, “but she told me, ‘It’s not possible. The luminosity here is just too strong.’” ››
‹‹ Schoucair was particularly keen for the furnishings not to be too precious. “It already resembles a mini-palace,” she asserts, “and I wanted to keep things light. It’s majestic enough as it is. Plus, I wanted to give the impression that things had been here a long time. I don’t like it when a decor looks forced.” The fifirst thing that found its place is actually the most ostentatious — the delicate gilt-wood chandelier in the sitting room. “We hadn’t even moved in and I turned up one day and it was there in the middle of the house,” she recalls. It had been brought by her mother-in-law, who decreed it was made for the place. “I won’t let anyone else touch it,” Schoucair declares. “I go up a stepladder myself to dust it and when I have dinners, I sometimes switch offff all the other lights and just use the candles on it.” The furniture is an eclectic but happy mix. There are more traditional pieces, like the two marble side tables (a wedding present) and the dining table, which was found by local antiques dealer Jacques Oueiss. Then there are some stellar pieces of design, many of which come from the Beirut store Over the Counter. They include the Frank Gehry Cloud ceiling light in the dining room and the Marni chairs in the offiffice. Schoucair spotted the mid-century Danish dining chairs, meanwhile, in the offiffices of a company owned by a friend and persuaded him to part with them. Some of the photos in the house also have personal connections. There are two black-and-white images by the Schoucairs’ friend, Ziad Antar, and another of a bus stop in Armenia, the country of origin of Schoucair’s paternal grandparents. ››
‹‹ The display cabinet in the dining room was created especially for the owners by designer Karen Chekerdjian, who christened it ‘Carole and Georges’. “She took about a year to make it,” Schoucair says, “and then it took an extra week for the craftsman to mount it. Everything slots together. It arrived like a set of Lego.” Many have had the chance to admire it; the Schoucairs are great socialisers. “I love having parties,” Schoucair says. “I feel the house lends itself to them.” Dinners are held in the garden — one of the home’s main assets. “There are times when I’m there in the evening and I feel like I could be in Tuscany,” she says. “I really take advantage of the best of what Beirut has to offffer. We’re in the centre of an extremely noisy city and you can’t hear a thing. It really is a haven of peace!”