With neoclassical interiors reminiscent of a modern-day chateau, this Jeddah home is an ode to quiet luxury.
In the living/dining area, the wallpaper from Nicolette Mayer brings a sense of serenity and grace. Photo: Sebastian Böttcher
Jeddah-based mother-daughter duo Mona Al-Esayi and Nahla Binshihon of Modassic sure know how to bring an interior design dream to reality. Located in Jeddah’s Al Mohammadiyyah district is a sprawling four-bedroom home they worked on for three years. Referencing classic Parisian walls and motifs from a German castle, the duo injected a dose of modernism to create a neoclassical home for their clients. With its intricate wall moldings juxtaposed with contemporary sofas and handmade chandeliers, the home echoes quiet luxury in every nook and corner.
The main salon features intricate gypsum work that was sketched an made especially for this project. The chandelier is from Officina Luce. Photo: Sebastian Böttcher
“We started this project from scratch. The original house was smaller and ultra-modern with lots of woodwork – we stripped the whole thing from the inside. The clients bought an empty plot next to the house, and we extended it,” says Al-Esayi. She founded Modassic in 2007 initially as a showroom retailing exclusive pieces of furniture, art, and luxurious home accessories sourced from all around Europe. “It later evolved into an interior design company offering A to Z solutions for projects,” explains Binshihon, lead designer at Modassic. For this home, they were responsible for the entire renovation – from construction to furnishing. The husband-and-wife clients had very different tastes, which wasn’t easy, but Al-Esayi adds she loved the challenge. “The wife had a more feminine aesthetic and loved everything classic. Meanwhile, the husband preferred a more practical appeal. So, I mixed their tastes and remodeled the home with a neoclassical design.”
Mona Al-Esayi and Nahla Binshihon of Modassic. Photo: Sebastian Böttcher
The ground floor comprises a large salon, living, and dining room spread over 6 733 square feet. The salon’s separate entrance features a high-tech glass door that turns frosted to transparent via a remote control. The entrance foyer is reminiscent of a modern-day chateau – an elaborate Belcor mirror placed over a sleek marble and gold-tone metal Prophilo console under a ceiling with intricate gypsum moldings. After observing old buildings in Paris where changes to the walls and ceilings aren’t permitted, Al-Esayi had the idea of playing around with modern furniture against classic walls. Al-Esayi referenced a 300-year-old castle in Germany for the salon. They decorated the walls and parts of the ceiling with intricate gypsum floral moldings that took three months to finish. Following much trial and error with artisans, they perfected the final design of the motifs. “The work process required hand sketching, then tracing it into Autocad, after which we scaled the drawing and gave it to the wood factory to carve it on wood to create the gypsum molding,” elaborates Binshihon. Unlike other formal areas in a home, placing no artwork in the salon was deliberate. “If we added any paintings, it would have taken away from the beauty of the walls and ceilings,” explains Al-Esayi.
The master dressing room was executed by No.7factory with solid wood painted in cream and dressed in Rubelli Silky wallpaper. Photo: Sebastian Böttcher
Aside from the walls, the salon’s focal point is the two large four-layered chandeliers from Officina Luce featuring leather-lined lampshades. Binshihon adds that the chandelier was one of the first pieces that the salon’s concept was built upon. They then furnished the space with contemporary sofas, armchairs, and poufs in muted tones from Prophilo. “Our client explained that she wanted classical furniture only, so we took her to Milan to the Salone del Mobile furniture exhibition to change her mind by showing her some modern designs, and she did,” smiles Binshihon.
In the diwaniya bathroom, a mirror from Deknudt designed to look like a log of wood sits above lots of marble. Photo: Sebastian Böttcher
Regarding color, Al-Esayi wanted to stick to white and beige, but the client wanted something more, so they opted for pastel-colored accents, which are seen on the cushions and armchairs. They ensured uniformity with the color palette by matching the upholstery fabric to the shade of the marble-top coffee tables in the salon. French-style double doors lead to the living and dining room from the salon – a space where the clients like to host close friends and family. Here, the focal point changes to the walls covered in resplendent Nicolette Mayer wallpaper – a label known for its luxurious grasscloth wallcoverings made from handwoven strands of natural fibers like bamboo, raffia, and seagrass. “I wanted to incorporate blue and green in the room – they’re calming colors. And I really liked this wallpaper because of the garden print, the light colors, and the birds,” says Al-Esayi. Elsewhere, lighting from Portuguese label Serip specializing in unique nature-inspired pieces lends an artistic touch to the space. A textured bronze tree branch with handmade glass swallows perched on it hangs from the ceiling of the living and dining room. Meanwhile, the Baxter furniture in these rooms doesn’t go unnoticed, especially the sleek 12-seater marble table complete with gold-tipped chairs. “The dining table is unlike others and is so beautiful with its decorative brass inserts,” adds Al-Esayi. Large windows allow daylight to pour in, offering a soothing view of the swimming pool.
Located in Jeddah’s Al Mohammadiyyah district, the four-bedroom home references classic Parisian walls and motifs from a German castle. Photo: Sebastian Böttcher
The upstairs boasts four bedrooms – each designed like a suite, complete with a living room and walk-in closets and built over 3 000 square feet. The same understated luxury aesthetic was applied throughout the rooms. Case in point: the Rubelli wallpapers on the master bedroom closets and the Bocci bedside table lamps crafted from handblown glass. Outside the main house is the diwaniya, a separate building where male family members receive their friends. “The couple’s boys are between the ages of 18-28, and this is where they chill with their friends, so we designed it differently. There’s a more masculine feel with darker colors here,” says Binshihon. While herringbone flooring imported from Germany adds a soft touch to the dining area in the diwaniya, the bathroom, on the other hand, has a raw appeal with a mirror designed to look like a log of wood, lots of marble, and little baroque accents. “The woodwork here, including the doors, partitions, and the kitchenette, was done in our factory locally.”
In the diwaniya, woodworks executed by No.7factory matching the wall/ceiling painting and the door’s architrave give warmth and depth to the space. Photo: Sebastian Böttcher
Over the course of three years, the mother-daughter duo created a space the whole family loved. “The greatest sense of achievement was seeing how happy the clients were with the end result,” says Binshihon. Staying true to Modassic’s aesthetic of fusing modern and classical styles, this Jeddah home transcends trends.
Empire sofa from Prophilo. Photo: Sebastian Böttcher
Originally published in the June 2023 issue of Vogue Arabia
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