photography by Yehia El Alaily
designed: 2022 by ramzi makram-ebeid
Having previously worked with Ziad Zaki as a contractor, we were already familiar with each other when he became a client for this residential project. Getting to know Ziad from a different lens, I had to study his daily routine, his habits, and his style. Most importantly, I had to get to know Ziad outside of work.
After a couple of walk-throughs and “getting to know yous”, we decided to create a space that would evoke the spirituality of Islamic design while being Swedish in its zen and minimalism.
Function First
As always, I tackled the functionality and layout of the space first. The original space allocated the best views and sunlight to the bedroom, while the kitchen was small and the main bathroom was lackluster; I changed all of it. I swapped the living room with the bedroom to give it the best views, the main kitchen took over a central area while a smaller functional kitchen remained hidden. This allowed for enough space to revamp the bathroom, create a cozy office nook, and add storage to the hallway.
Style and Decor
The color scheme was based on the stunning green marble that Ziad had chosen. Its light beige hues inspired me to use light woods throughout the space. I used a rich green for the doors, and the walls and ceiling were painted white for a crisp effect.
The wall cladding is inspired by colored walls found in Islamic design, except I used wood. This feature allowed me to introduce recessed lighting and some texture to the space.
The Entrance
Ziad wanted a shoeless house, so I designed a simple, clean mastaba with space for storage below. The blue fabric brings balance to the blue custom-designed console; both colors were extracted from the beautiful rug found at the entrance. Across from the shoe bench is a clean white wall reserved for hanging Ziad’s growing art collection. The flooring throughout the space is a super light, natural stained wood, which keeps everything modern and bright.
The original main door is gorgeous and was painted white because stylistically, it was very different from the space and I wanted to show a clear distinction between the main door and the green mashrabia doors. Their mashrabia design was taken from a mosque near my house, and we used semi-translucent textured glass to spread light and create cool shadows throughout.
Heading Inside
The closest room to the entrance is the back, hidden kitchen. With white cabinets, beige marble flooring (which mirrors the pattern of the wooden floor), and a beige counter/backsplash, the room works well with the rest of the apartment and is extremely durable while saving money for the client.
The lush green marble comes alive in the bathroom. To create an earthy feel while respecting the maximum cut sizes marble can have, I designed a subtle pattern so that the grains were continuous and easy to install. The brass accents break the green and complement the golden streaks in the marble. The flush mirror doubles as a medicine cabinet and the wooden cabinet is the same stain as all cabinets in the house minus the pattern.
The bedroom is mostly storage space with a hidden twin-size bed (for guests). To maintain consistency, I used the same wood pattern throughout the house. This is an important part of my design philosophy and there are several ways to achieve this. For Ziad, we repeated finishes, colors, and patterns.
The Living Space
Ziad loves cooking, so the main kitchen was made central and large; it triples in function as a kitchen, dining area, and bar. The cabinet’s pattern was inspired by a Moroccan Islamic design and kept minimal with the knobs and handles fitted into the pattern. The sizable island can accommodate more chairs if needed, but we selected four as the standard. The stools were manufactured at the same factory as the flooring and are extremely comfortable. Function first, style second is my rule for seating. To avoid water damage on the floor in front of the sink, a marble “rug” was added. I wanted to hide the kitchen hood and piping, so I added a little half-circle gypsum board cover.
The apartment’s small balcony overlooks Ziad’s mini office space. The desk we installed is minimal and functional, using the same stained wood as in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. To pay homage to the flat’s history, we purchased a vintage chair (Ziad didn’t want an office chair) and placed one of his grandmother’s beautiful paintings asymmetrically on the wall. This made the painting very central, even though it was quite small in size.
The living room, which used to be the master bedroom, now had the best views and the most sunlight. The original balcony was too large for Ziad’s needs, so we used some of it to expand the interior space. The media center was custom-designed and inspired by the kitchen, however, it uses the color of the cladding and mashrabias to tie it all in. In front of the TV unit is an octagon custom-designed coffee table, which mirrors the light distribution above. The lighting pendant was inspired by yesteryear’s beautiful mosque pendants, like those in Cairo’s Muhammad Ali mosque. Using beautiful Kelo units, I arranged them in a manner befitting a mosque.
Inspired by mastabas, the sofa was custom-designed to be as large as possible, with an added counter for working, eating and TV-watching purposes. It is placed in the center of the room to walk freely around it with space for plants. Natural fiber sliding shading units were also designed for privacy and to control the intense sunshine of Cairo’s summers.
I always tell new clients to invest in a good contractor if they want a designer’s work to shine. Having a client who is also a very talented and hardworking contractor was a blessing. I encourage everyone to be very particular about their contractor and of course, who is the appropriate designer for them.