Culture Connections

May Daouk’s 19th-centuy villa in Beirut, !lled with antiques from around the world and decorated in vibrant shades of lilac and pink, re"ects her vivacious personality and eclectic tastes

Since Lebanon’s civil war ended three decades ago, Beirut has been rebuilt and revitalised into a city of soaring apartment blocks, pop-up art galleries, chic restaurants and bars. Risen from the rubble of the old souk there is now a gleaming shopping mall ! lled with luxe fashion brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vui"on. But, sadly, few of its oldest buildings remain – those that do are scarred by smoke and shelling. ‘ It’s a tiny city,’ says interior designer May Daouk, who moved back to Beirut from New York 10 years ago. ‘ There’s no planning authority and, like everywhere, it’s cheaper to tear things down and rebuild rather than preserve.’ She was, she admits, exceptionally lucky to

! nd a charming, single- storey late 19th- century villa.

Situated in the smart Achra !eh district, the house is a tranquil oasis in the frenetic city. A walled garden provides privacy and a tree- shaded terrace o"ers a magical view of the Mediterranean. The move was prompted by her then-husband’s job and the plan was to stay for a year.

‘ But you know how it is,’ she laughs. ‘ I’m still here and my children are all grown up – my sons are living in New York and my daughter is in the UK!’ Fortunately, her work takes her back to New York several times a year, along with trips to Paris and London.

Brought up in Beirut by an English nanny, May was educated in Switzerland and Boston before taking a job as a receptionist for the interior decorator Bunny Williams in New York. ‘She is the grande dame of interior design,’ says May, explaining that her own career as a designer grew out of this chance appointment. As soon as Bunny Williams was aware that her enthusiastic receptionist was #uent in several languages, it wasn’t long before May was a$ending European auctions for overseas clients. ‘ I learned so much from Bunny,’ she says. ‘Above all, design is not about theory – it doesn’t ma$er whether pink and green go together, what ma$ers is the objects. They’re what give soul

At the back of the house, mature ficus trees provide valuable shade, without obscuring the view of the Mediterranean from the terrace. TOP RIGHT May Daouk at the door of her home in Beirut, which is flanked by a collection of sculptural antique water vessels. RIGHT A modern trestle table filled with blue and white ceramics strikes an informal note in the main living room.

ABOVE Victorian armchairs, upholstered in velvet and linen, and modern ceramic garden stools are arranged around a low table to create an informal seating area within the large central living room.

RIGHT A colonnaded walkway, which looks onto a courtyard garden, leads to May’s front door.

LEFT Every surface in the house is filled with fascinating decorative collections, such as these metal flowers, including a seed pod cast in bronze.

The triple arch at one end of the sitting room is typically Lebanese. Cushions on the sofa reflect the dominant colours in the room, from the blue and white china to the pinks and reds of the oushak rug on the floor. The Italian chimneypiece is in the section of the living room that serves as May’s study.