Claude Missir<\/a> more or less to his own devices. \u201cIt was complicated,\u201d admits the locally based interior designer. \u201cThey gave me their complete trust, but I knew nothing about their private life, their habits and tastes.\u201d After a while, Missir insisted on a little guidance and asked the husband for some images of interiors he liked. In return, the designer received photos of rooms decorated with quintessentially French wall and ceiling moldings. \u201cThat told me two things: that my client didn\u2019t want a zenlike contemporary home, and that he liked Parisian style,\u201d Missir states. Another five months went by before he was introduced to the wife. \u201cFinally, I said that I wouldn\u2019t continue until I had a meeting with her,\u201d he explains. \u201cI don\u2019t like bad surprises and wanted her at least to approve my color and fabric choices.\u201d<\/p>\nThe apartment is located in a newish residential tower in Raouch\u00e9, the westernmost district of Beirut. The building stands on the site of the former Carlton Hotel, which opened in 1960 and was a popular haunt for both politicians and journalists, as well as a haven during Lebanon\u2019s 1975\u20131990 civil war. The prime spot overlooks one of the city\u2019s most famous landmarks: a pair of limestone formations off the coast known as Pigeon Rocks. \u201cIt\u2019s a great place to sit at one of the roadside caf\u00e9s and watch the sunset,\u201d Missir enthuses.<\/p>\n <\/noscript>In the sitting room, Warren Platner chairs nestle up to a custom table in oak veneer and gold leaf. Photography by Stephan Julliard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe extremely spacious, 9,100-square-foot penthouse spreads over three floors, with the reception rooms on the middle level, the master suite above, and the children\u2019s quarters below. For Missir, it offered several irrefutable advantages: breathtaking vistas of the Mediterranean, an abundance of natural light, and nearly 18-foot-tall ceilings. \u201cIt\u2019s rare to find such lofty heights in new-build construction,\u201d he notes. The layout, however, needed a little tweaking. Missir moved the dining room to the front of the apartment. \u201cContrary to life elsewhere, dining rooms are still used a lot for family meals in Lebanon, and I wanted the clients to be able to take advantage of the views,\u201d Missir explains. He also reconfigured both the entry hall and sitting room to make them symmetrical. \u201cWhen you have a perfect balance, you immediately feel more relaxed,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n
Throughout, Missir installed plain, minimalistic wall panelling, which helps to give a rhythm to the very large rooms. \u201cI couldn\u2019t do anything too fussy because it wouldn\u2019t have fit with the style of the building,\u201d he says. He chose a pale gray paint and worked with a limited palette of materials. Several walls and sliding doors are clad in mirror, and marble and limestone recur in a number of spaces. They were laid in a geometric pattern on the entry hall floor and used to graphic effect on the staircase wall, where Fum\u00e9 Emperador is etched with a grid of diagonal lines. Meanwhile, a Carrara wainscot in the wife\u2019s bathroom is studded with buttons to resemble the back of a tufted sofa. \u201cWhite marble can be quite cold,\u201d Missir explains. \u201cI wanted to add a more feminine touch.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/noscript>Hans Wegner CH20 chairs populate the kitchen, featuring Poggenpohl cabinetry; the table and countertops are quartz composite. Photography by Stephan Julliard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEven more girly is the one space less attuned to Missir\u2019s minimalistic aesthetic: the teenage daughter\u2019s bedroom. \u201cMy daughter adores pink and flowers,\u201d the client confided. \u201cShe wants to feel like a princess.\u201d Missir responded by covering the walls in a candy-colored wallpaper with a graphic rose motif at the top and paired it with matching curtains. \u201cIt\u2019s not at all my thing,\u201d he admits, \u201cbut you really have to be flexible. She couldn\u2019t be happier and at the end of the day, that\u2019s what counts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest of the furnishings may be very different in spirit, but they have an equally strong visual impact. That is certainly the case with the sitting room\u2019s Yoko mirror, a blue-anodized aluminum design by Herv\u00e9 Van der Straeten, and the blown-glass Lindsey Adelman chandelier that hangs jewel-like over the dining room table. Another distinctive piece is the Taher Chemirik screen in the sitting room, a wavy sculptural form that pairs brass and steel. \u201cI liked the fact that it mixes both gold and silver,\u201d Missir explains. \u201cIt allowed me to use those tones in the rest of the room.\u201d There are several of his own creations too, including a console table from his Stick collection, which was unveiled at last year\u2019s Salone del Mobile in Milan. \u201cThe brass top is really thin. To convince people that it\u2019s actually solid, I invited them to sit on top of it,\u201d the designer recalls with a smile. Neither human bones nor furniture parts were reported broken!<\/p>\n <\/noscript>GamFratesi Beetle chairs surround a custom dining table with Bianco Sivec marble top. Photography by Stephan Julliard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nProject Team: <\/strong>Georges Sfeir, Rana Eid: Clau<\/a> de Missir Interiors<\/a>. Jamil Ibrahim: Architect of Record. Exotica: Plant Consultant. HiLights: Lighting Consultant. Mechanical Engineering Office: MEP Engineer. Zeinaty Group: Woodwork. By M: General Contractor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Beirut triplex penthouse by Claude Missir Interiors takes full advantage of its spectacular location overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3526,"featured_media":119424,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"featured_image_focal_point":[],"legacy_django_id":15422},"tags":[],"id_tax_domain":[155,16],"id_tax_product":[],"id_tax_program":[],"id_issue":[],"internal_flag":[4220],"class_list":["post-119420","id_project","type-id_project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","id_tax_domain-homes","id_tax_domain-residential"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Art-Filled Beirut Triplex by Claude Missir Takes Full Advantage of Mediterranean Vistas - Interior Design<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n