Classic heritage meets glamour at this antique dealer’s home in Beirut

“The key to our decorating style is the context of our location at the crossroads of the East and West,” explains Boutros. “We are people of the Silk Road, but also of colonial heritage, so our tastes are incredibly eclectic.” Evidence of this can be seen in disarming touches such as the Mughal-style fireplace on the ground floor, the doors found in Turkish souks, and the kilims used as hanging covers in the doorways—a nod to one of their traditional uses.

The most tangible thread to the interior is the plethora of inlaid pieces, glinting with mother-of-pearl crescents, medallions and calligraphy. Travelling regularly to Egypt, Syria and India, Tohme collected inlaid furniture and objects en masse, talking eloquently about the differing styles and quality between the two regions.

An Ottoman mirror found in Damascus, from the noble Alahadin family house, was a particular treasure of Tohme’s and lights up the upper hall landing, which leads out to the triple arched balcony so redolent of Levantine houses of the era.

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He replicated the most exceptional examples of the style, inlaid with both white and coloured mother-of-pearl, sparking a craze in Lebanon at a time when traditional furniture had fallen out of fashion. “My cousin was the ultimate tastemaker,” says Boutros. “He started the trend for mingling these traditional pieces with contemporary art, contrasting wallpapers and vibrant textiles. In a sense he was a pioneer as much as his father was—just in a very different field.”

Tohme restored the 19th-century first floor to its original glory using materials faithful to the century. Seen here is the guest bedroom with restored tiled flooring and stencilled art nouveau frescoes on the walls.

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Perhaps Tohme’s most significant work was designing furniture for the Cochrane family’s private apartments at Sursock Palace. He was in his element here, combining the grand swagger of Regency and neoclassical pieces with an intuitive sense of cocooning comfort, which dilutes the space’s formality. “He was, above all, an aesthete who showed us how to live in an elevated way that celebrated our heritage, at a time when it was being ignored,” adds Boutros. “Lebanon will never see the likes of him again—but we were blessed to have this shooting star in our midst.”