{"id":119288,"date":"2018-08-01T16:51:39","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T16:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/houssein-jarouche-s-art-filled-sao-paulo-apartment-is-a-medley-of-modernism\/"},"modified":"2022-12-20T12:46:28","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T17:46:28","slug":"houssein-jarouche-s-art-filled-sao-paulo-apartment-is-a-medley-of-modernism","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/houssein-jarouche-s-art-filled-sao-paulo-apartment-is-a-medley-of-modernism\/","title":{"rendered":"Houssein Jarouche\u2019s Art-Filled S\u00e3o Paulo Apartment Is a Medley of Modernism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pop art is alive and well. Just step into the São Paulo apartment of furniture dealer Houssein Jarouche<\/a> for proof. It’s a reminder that while the movement was born in the 1950’s U.K. and U.S., it not only flourished contemporaneously in Brazil but also continues to do so a half-century later. The residence’s furnishings tell the parallel story of the country’s ongoing affair with modernism, how its post–World War II designers took European and American models and imbued them with a sensual ease that’s as singular as the samba, the insinuating dance-rhythm that embodies the relaxed sexiness of Brazil’s vibrant multiracial culture.<\/p>\n

Jarouche himself is a product of that distinctive cultural mélange. His Lebanese-Muslim parents emigrated to Brazil in 1962, eventually opening a furniture store and factory near São Paulo. “When I was about 14, my father sent me to Lebanon for five years to study Arabic and Islam,” Jarouche recalls. “On my return, I went to work in the family business, which led me and my brother to open our own store in 1998.” At first, they sold only Brazilian designers and manufacturers but gradually added leading global talents and brands to the mix. It proved so successful that in 2004, Jarouche was able to launch MiCasa<\/a>—the first store of what would become a three-building compound dedicated to cutting-edge residential furnishings—in the city’s Jardins district.<\/p>\n

His three-bedroom apartment is located in the same leafy neighborhood. It’s one floor below his previous much-published loft, a take-no-prisoners paean to brutalism by Triptyque Architecture<\/a>, which also designed Jarouche’s first MiCasa. “I still own that apartment but now use it as a studio,” he says. “I got married two years ago and needed a family home, which requires a different kind of design.” Jarouche’s wife, the model and fashion entrepreneur Fabiana Mayer, collaborated with him on the renovation of the new 3,200-square-foot apartment. “We installed a lighting system but made no structural changes,” Jarouche notes. “All our effort went into choosing furniture and art that would create a comfortable environment in which to live and entertain.”<\/p>\n

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