JEDDAH, 4 July 2004 — With the continuing construction boom comes a big demand for interior decoration, and after decades of obsession with the new and opulent, Saudis are slowly beginning to look to their heritage and incorporate real antiques into the design.
“What’s on demand is a blend of tradition and modernity,” says an interior decorator. “Displaying homes with a combination of antiques and newly designed decorative objects is an ‘in’ thing.”
Khurshid Vakil is the executive director of Dubai-based Marina, an exotic home interiors company which has now set up two showrooms in Saudi Arabia. Marina has expanded into 16 branches across the Gulf since the idea was born in 1997.
Last year, Marina joined hands with Hassan Abdurrahman Othman of Sharaka Company and launched its first branch in the Kingdom, at Tahlia Shopping Center on Tahlia Road. A second branch in Riyadh followed last month.
The store has antiques from 17 countries — from the Far East to the West, from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and India to Italy, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.
Buying antiques has become more difficult, with each country having its own restrictions. But at Marina, everything is above board, Vakil insists. “We acquire and source antiques through the right channels,” he said.
“Once we source antiques from different countries, we enrich them with our own design,” he told Arab News. “Everything is done with one thing in mind — that it’s eclectic, unique and good value for money,” said Vakil, who hails from Srinagar, Kashmir, and grew up in New Delhi.
Marina specializes in a fusion of different styles. Thus an antique window of solid teak wood is converted into a coffee table, and an old door of historic value is turned into a dining table. “We give an imaginatively designed frame to an antique window or a door and provide legs and a glass top,” Vakil says.
Pointing at a historical teak door that stands at the store, Vakil says home owners have been using such doors in their new villas. The store has a set of six Burmese teak columns that are more than 100 years old — which are also sought-after for new home construction — as well as doors and windows acquired from the western Indian state of Rajasthan.
Rare antique beds, sofa sets covered with leather from Italy but redesigned with a new concept and style, as well as accessories made from silk and linens are among the many other items on display.
There is no business without competition, but a tour around the local store indicates that it would be difficult to find many of the antiques elsewhere. “This is because there is no concept store around. Why we stand out in the competition is we just don’t sell furniture or other home decors, we sell a concept and a lifestyle. In other words, it’s an outlet for fashion home interiors. We offer the people all that’s different. They like it. That’s how they come repeatedly to check what’s new,” he said.
Speaking about prices, Vakil said: “When visitors see our price tags, they tend to think they reflect either our introductory offer or ‘sale’ campaign. Prices are extremely reasonable for the quality and the range that we provide.”
The success of the concept store can be gauged from the fact that it is opening three more stores by September, including one at Sultan Mall on Prince Sultan Street in Jeddah. “We’ll be opening five stores every year from 2005 in the region and also in countries like Lebanon, Turkey and Europe,” Vakil says.
