House Crush: Sublime Color Combinations in Beirut

I was on the plane to Florida when I first laid eyes on this gorgeous piece of real estate in the last issue of Architectural Digest. I was immediately drawn to the color palettes which, unlike I've ever seen before, coordinated perfectly together to create the most wonderfully serene rooms. That's what I call color mastery.

Take a look at the shades of purples, lilac, pinks, creams, blues, dark woods, gold... It's a mix that shouldn't necessarily work but that does because of the repetition in textures and shapes.

The Beirut inner-city 19th century villa belongs to international interior designer May Daouk (who trained with Bunny Williams) and features a sea view and a tree-shaded terrace. Sigh.

I remember staring at the photo above (and all the other ones) for a good 10-20 minutes thinking: I wouldn't change a single item in this picture. Believe me, that is a rare occurrence my friends.

While not everything is necessarily my style, everything feels in its right place (yes, like the Radiohead song). Every item just belongs.

I discovered a while ago that a soft grey-blue purple like on the walls above is the perfect backdrop to accommodate every color under the sun. It will tone down any shade of green, red, blue, pink.

Looking at those images again, I'm even more amazed than last time. Those are types of interiors where I stare and wonder: how can I find a way to absorb all of this designer's knowledge and implant it into mine?

Do you see what I mean? Shapes, colors, textures, patterns: it's all simply perfect. It's like Bunny Williams meets the Middle-East meets the Pantone gods. There is no better way to describe it.  Please excuse me while I go and pick up my jaw off the floor.