Muscat Travel Series: Souq Mutrah

Happy Wednesday all! 

I got a lot of responses on the Muscat posts yesterday from people asking me if I was still in Muscat, but I am not. I was there few months ago and I finally have time to blog about it. It is totally worth a visit! This travel series started with Ten Things to do in Muscat and now it continues with a new post about shopping! Muscat has few big malls that have the usual American and European big brands like Zara, Mango, Aldo, H&M and the rest. Personally, I am sick of those brands because I am surrounded by them everywhere! I was really pleased to go to the traditional Mutrah Souq.   

Shops are arranged inside, outside and all around. They all sell similar things such as key chains, lanterns, wooden boxes, jewellery, scarves, some clothes and so on. There are few cold beverage stalls around the souq. There was only two traditional desert -halwa- shops there. If you are walking around with a camera people will stare. I liked that the sales men weren't too pushy with sales, unlike Turkey and Moroco where it feels like you are being attacked by the sellers.  

It was midday when I went in, but it was sunset by the time I got out. Time really flies when you are shopping.

A little snap of the souq interior. 

After the Souq, I checked out the surrounding area. There is the sea front known as the corniche, a little museum called Bain Albarnda, few local restaurants and some lovely architecture like the one in the pictures below.

Lovely old mosque

Part of the mosque

Arches are loved & used a lot in Omani Architecture. It's part of their heritage and it looks really nice. Just look how beautiful arches make the space look:

Beautiful Islamic Patterns

If you are in Muscat, I recommend a visit to the souq. It's close to the Ritz resort. More Muscat posts are coming!  

Feature Friday: Four Corners Interiors Ltd

Happy Friday everyone!

This Friday I am featuring an inspiring story and of course full of colours and designs. 

One day on Instagram, I was looking up the #interiordesign hashtag like any cool kid these days and I found an interior design account, Four Corners Interiors, that looked interesting and one of the posts said that the company was present in a networking event, so I asked for more details. Few emails later we became real life friends. Don't you just love it when you get to meet creative, like minded people on the web? Then happen to be in the same city and meet up in person! Anyway, without a further ado, let's get to the interview:    

Alimah, Four Corner Interiors MD

Tell us a little bit about your business, Four Corners Interiors; What services do you provide? What do you sell? How did you start? Why did you start? 

Four corners interiors ltd is an interior soft furnishings and interior design company I formed as a way of returning to my young passion and utilising my growing business mind! At the moment I sell custom, handmade and hand selected cushion covers, photo frames, lamp shades, bean bag chairs and other small decorative pieces like vases.

I started by learning to use a sewing machine and sewing samples of cushion covers from random African fabric I found around the house. I then got my first set of cushions made based on my samples in Nigeria. I have always loved interior design! All my friends know this about me. Whenever I would go shopping for food in supermarkets I would always go missing spending ages looking at candles and cushions in the home sedition. I began decorating my own room at 13 while I was obsessed with the bbc show Changing rooms! I have redecorated my own room several times and done everything from building furniture, stripping wall paper, painting squares and bubbles on my wall to designing the precise floor plan.

I provide interior design services ranging from design consultations, personal or collaborative shopping, space planning and new room installations. I am currently trying to build a portfolio of work and clients so I can take this element to the next level.

I started because I want to make something I love, what I do for a living...eventually! Currently I work as a corporate paralegal so there isn't much room for creative expression! Though i do enjoy my day job.

At the launch sale

Why did you pick Four Corners Interiors to be the name of your business? 

When drawing up my business plan I needed a USP (unique selling point). A lot of small businesses are doing the African thing. I love to travel and my room is a reflection of this. I pick up pieces for my room wherever I go, so I decided that the concept would not just focus on African custom pieces but items from everywhere!

Playing around with the beautiful cushions that happened to match my red shoes

What inspires you/motivates you? Is there a special place that you like to go to get inspired?

Living a fulfilling life inspires me! Travelling inspires me and meeting amazing people inspires me. Mostly my religion inspires me. I am motivated by my peers who are doing better than I am and I am motivated by the vision I have for myself and where I think I can go if I work for it!

Hotels inspire me because I love great decor. Parks and open space inspires me as it allows me to clear my mind and my creative juices to flow! The clouds and flying also inspire me so I spend a lot of time reflecting and thinking while on a plane or at the beach or in the park! I love flowers so I love new gardens though it has been a while since I have been there. My imagination is quite wild so I tend to inspire myself by allowing it to wonder!

A selection of the Asian Line

What do you enjoy the most about having an interior design business?

Supportive friends and family is great! Having something to call my own that I control the success and or failure of! Having something to be proud of but without the added pressure because I have a job alhamdullillah. 

What do you like to do for fun?

Everything! Theatre, poetry, parks, picnics, dinner, museums, spas, cinema, bowling, mosque, tea parties and of course travelling! I also love a good nature walk and adventures like climbing a mountain ;)

A selection of the African Line

Do you have any tips for people who want to start making their hobby into their business? 

Just do it! The time is now! Analyse the market, make your business unique. Utilise social media as much as possible. Network. Talk to people. Be organised. Be driven. Be someone who does more than pay lip service and be proactive! Follow your passion and working will never be work!

A selection of the oriental line 

Make sure to checkout the website!

Rosewood Hotel

Happy September everyone! 

I had the loveliest start of the month and the week at the Mirror Room at the  Rosewood hotel, where I spent the majority of my Monday enjoying a wonderful afternoon tea experience drinking up their delicate loose tea, eating their delicious, moist deserts while being surrounded by one of the most beautiful interiors. My friend, the owner of Oriss Magazine, was invited to try their afternoon tea when the hotel first opened and she loved it so much and told me all about it. We were there from 3pm to 8pm! You can tell it was heavenly just by the amount of time we spent there.  

The interiors were done spectacularly that I couldn't get enough. The hotel is in a historic Grade II Edwardian estate. It was originally designed by the architect H. Percy Monckton in 1914. It was recently renovated by EPR Architects, who worked in collaboration with Interior Designers Tony Chi and Martin Brudnizkii  (more on the hotel's story on their website). 

Let the pictures speak for themselves.   

The black and white geometric flooring goes so well with their wood and glass panel walls and door. It gave the corridor depth and warmth.  

I liked how each corridor has its own character with different floorings and lighting. 

I just love how the tables are styles so elegantly with flowers, lights, notebooks and various objects.  

This is a mirror wall, hence the name, the mirror room. It was also used in the ceilings above the ceiling lights. The reflection of the lights on the mirror expanded the place.   

The Flower choices were great. I thought it was stylish using four big vases instead of the usual one. The orange bloom was a perfect greeting for fall! 

The afternoon tea menu was stylish and set really well with two choices of vegetarian sandwiches, fresh scones and unlimited supply of the yummiest London deserts.  

The sandwiches were creamy and yummy. 

Their followed with scones, jam, butter and a lemon custard that was very summery.  

Then the desert buffet! All the choices were tried were mouthwatering and delicious. I loved the setup of the buffet. It was simple and in the back there was a fire place that added to the drama of the place.

Our picks!

The macaroon addiction had to be fulfilled. 

We concluded with pie. 

It was all beautiful! I felt so pampered being there. 

By the time we left, the whole atmosphere changed and the candles and fires were lit. Inside and outside. 

The afternoon at the Rosewood hotel was such a treat. A splurge now and then is always needed. Well surly go there again!

House of Hackney

The first time I heard about House of Hackney was in the Interiors UK show in Birmingham, when the director of MRA, Anshu Srivastava gave his insightful presentation, "Art, Fashion and Architecture in Luxury Retail Stores." I loved hearing about the HOH concept and vision of "more is more" and "less is bore", which lead me to investigate and read more about how it started. 

The brand started recently in 2010 by a British couple, Javvy M Royle and Frieda Gormley, who their mission was to "take the beige out of interiors." What makes the brand different is the mixture of different cultures and age groups, which makes it appealing to many. The couple initial plan was to make wallpaper and bed linen, but their fashion love directed them to add a fashion line. More about them in this interview from the Guardian. HOH is a wonderful success story that I would like to follow in the future or collaborate with one day.   

Source

I spotted HOH while I was walking around Shoreditch, but I didn't go in until I was in Liberty -full review of Liberty could be found here- and saw their shop there.  

I loved how the lady working their was wearing on of the HOH pieces that matched the shop!

If you notice, they have few very distinctive prints and surface patterns that they have applied on a multiple product line, which makes it an example to follow for starting surface designers. Instead of producing million prints and illustration focus all your efforts on a few and apply them differently on a range of products from kitchen accessories to full scale furniture.  

Aren't these cups gorgeous? 

I love the products of HOH and what this brand stands for. First, their support of the local market and the manufacturing of goods in England. Second, their charity work that extends a hand to international causes such as Gaza, check their charity blog post here.