Interior decorator Laura Nazir opens the doors to her weekend getaway home on the sparkling Red Sea coast.
Photo: Mark Luscombe-Whyte
Set in the coastal city of Jeddah, a pristine bungalow has been crafted by interior designer Laura Nazir – a space with impressive sunset views providing the perfect escape from city life. Born in New York, the Argentinian-American decorator has called Jeddah home since 1989, moving from the United States to her then husband’s country,
Photo: Mark Luscombe-Whyte
where she successfully juggled a family life and a growing design business. Decades later, Nazir now boasts a booming business, an impressive portfolio of prestigious projects, and recently, the contract to produce the architectural drawings and interior design for the home of a Saudi royal. Her eponymous boutique firm, located in Al Hamra District of Jeddah, has been creating luxurious homes in the city and internationally for more than 25 years, specializing in developing lavish palaces, as well as private residential, commercial, and hospitality projects. Now, her most recent venture is one that is close to her heart – the decoration of a beachside bungalow overlooking the Red Sea, located at the recently renovated Silver Sands resort where the designer had been vacationing for over 15 years.
Photo: Mark Luscombe-Whyte
Photo: Mark Luscombe-Whyte
“I had a front row tiny cabana only a few feet from the water,” she says, referring to the weekend residence that would years later undergo a massive renovation. “At the time, there were only a few cabanas, and all the neighbors were like one big family. I had used the space as my weekend getaway during my divorce because I had always felt welcomed while surrounded by friends who felt like family.”
Photo: Mark Luscombe-Whyte
Now, three years later, the tiny cabana of over a decade ago no longer exists, but Nazir was able to reclaim a piece of her private getaway within the now restored luxury seven-star resort. “During the three years of the construction of the new Silver Sands Resort, I immediately signed my name and reserved my bungalow. When I moved in, I just had to fully furnish it, and then I slowly started purchasing and manufacturing furniture.”
Photo: Mark Luscombe-Whyte
As the first to move into the resort, the owners asked Nazir, knowing her background in interior decoration, to help design the bungalow as they needed a show house when the space was not in use. “They asked me to select the outdoor furniture of the bungalows and then hired me to add the final touches to the decor for the resort’s hotel,” she says. “Other pieces for the weekend home were hunted down at auction houses in Argentina, such as the Louis Vuitton chest in the guest bedroom, as well as an antique Venetian chair, and adjacent side table.” Nazir also discovered an antique store in Jeddah where she acquired two leather vintage French chairs. It took the decorator approximately two weeks to move into the beach bungalow and three years of collecting her favorite objects during her travels.
Featuring an open space and bohemian aesthetic, the two- bedroom, two-bath bungalow is highlighted by a veranda that envelopes the entire cottage. The porch features an open dining area, living space, and a desk where the designer loves to work in the day, either decorating or designing new homes with breathtaking views of the sunset and the sea as a backdrop. Inside, wooden clad beamed soaring ceilings adorn the space, inspired by the islands of the Caribbean. The space is brought together by one huge open room, anchored by a modern kitchen. All the bedrooms benefit from stunning sea views and high ceilings. Within the resort, Nazir has dubbed the infinity sand pool the “most spectacular pool in Saudi Arabia.”
Photo: Mark Luscombe-Whyte
The home decor is further accentuated by fresh flowers, antique white lace tablecloths on every table, and the calm of blue and white willow porcelain. The designer was heavily involved in the overall decoration of the space, customizing pieces and adding her signature touch. “I designed the marble and iron, three-shelf buffet anchored on the porch, alongside a black, four-wooden shelf furniture piece that I placed opposite my canopy bed,” she explains. “I also created a modern buffet glass table with stainless steel legs that is now located by the kitchen,” she says, explaining that the most spectacular item she made was a magnificent canopy bed, draped in mosquito curtains in her master bedroom. “Hopefully, these will be available next year when I launch my furniture collection online,” she reveals.
When embarking on the decor of her bungalow, Nazir’s main intention was to create a home away from home. With it, she brought in beloved artworks and objects, with each including a personal story from her life. “I painted five pieces inspired by Uruguayan artist and painter Carlos Páez Vilaró, whom I met personally when I was young,” she says, adding that the artist was her neighbor while spending time at her family beach house in Punta Ballena, Uruguay. “Known as the Picasso of South America, a lot of his work was in collaboration with his dear friend Picasso. I have five of his works hanging next to my own in the living room,” she says.
Alongside her paintings, Nazir has dotted her space with personal memorabilia from her travels that include a unique plate from China that features prominently on the table by the kitchen, a wooden piece from Thailand, and an intricate rug from India – a collection of her favorite objects from around the world. “If you’re going to create your dream home, you might as well fill it with all your favorite pieces, and that is exactly what I did,” she explains, adding that there is no one single thing that she would change or remove.
Nazir is still as busy as ever, currently renovating three homes, while decorating a house in Marbella, a palace in Jeddah, and a home for a newly engaged prince and princess in Riyadh. Her firm’s next hospitality project will be a boutique hotel in Taif. Nazir’s personal plans, however, involve creating and decorating more dream homes that include her own. “I just completed the architectural drawings for my next beach house on a Greek island. I even named it Lavender Cottage for my dream of owning an expansive piece of land with a lavender field. Now, just to find the land!”
Originally published in the June 2024 issue of Vogue Arabia
