A SENSE OF WARMTH

The ceiling light in the master bedroom was created from wicker in Thailand. The bed linen is from Society Limonata. The bedroom of Carole's son, Thomas, is done up in a similar style to the master bedroom

暖意四溢

主人房的天花燈以泰國柳條製作而成；睡床的亞麻布來自Society Limonata。Carole兒子Thomas的睡房以主人房相類的格調裝飾佈置

The first thing that found its place is actually the most ostentatious: the gilt-wood chandelier in the sitting room. "We hadn’t even moved in – I turned up one day and it was there in the middle of the house," she remembers. It had been brought by her mother-in-law, who decreed that it was made for the place. "I won’t let anyone else touch it," declares Carole. "I go up a stepladder to dust it and when I have dinners, I sometimes switch off all the other lights and just use its candles."

The furniture is an eclectic yet happy mix. There are more traditional pieces, such as the two marble side tables (a wedding present) and the dining table, which was found by the local antique dealer Jacques Ouaiss. Then, there are some stellar pieces of design, many of which come from the Beirut store Over the Counter. They include the Frank Gehry-designed ceiling light in the dining room and the Marni chairs in the office. Carole spotted the mid-century Danish dining chairs, meanwhile, in the offices of a company owned by a friend and persuaded him to part with them.

Carole特別鍾情不太貴重的傢具。「它本身已活像個迷你皇宮，其他物件最好保持輕盈簡約吧。空間已夠宏偉了。」她堅信：「再者，我想營造一種每事每物已在此長久存活的感覺。我對造作的裝飾毫無興趣。」

客廳的金箔木吊燈無疑是空間最豪華矚目的焦點。她憶起說：「那時我們還未遷進——有天到來便見燈坐在大屋中間。」後來知道原來是外母帶來，並表示是特別為空間訂造。「我不會讓任何人碰它。」Carole聲言：「吃晚飯時我會爬梯抹淨塵埃，有時會關掉所有燈，只用其燭光。」

傢具各備特色而又能愉悅配搭。傳統作品為數較多，例如兩張大理石邊桌(結婚禮物)和餐桌，由當地古董交易商Jacques Ouaiss尋得。更多精彩之作陸續有來，大部分來自貝魯特店Over the