Tall window framed by heavy dark curtains and painted panelling, opening onto a lake and misty mountains

Islamabad, Pakistan · 2025

Margalla House

A hillside house facing the Margalla range. Stone, walnut, and a long view.

The brief

The client is a retired diplomat and his wife. 30 years abroad, then home to Islamabad. They brought books, carpets, and very few chairs. The house was new and empty.

The plot climbs toward the hills. Every main room looks north to the ridge. Winters are cold and bright. Summers are hot and long. The glazing is generous and unrelenting.

The constraint was the view. Nothing could compete with it. Nothing could block it either. Furniture had to sit low and stay quiet. The clients wanted a house, not a showroom.

The approach

We let the hills set the palette. Local sandstone on the fireplace wall. American walnut on the floors and screens. Textiles in undyed wool and mohair velvet. Colour arrives only with the light.

The Atlas dining table sits under the north glazing. Calacatta top, 260 cm, on twin brass columns. The Atlas centre table answers in travertine. 2 Solace armchairs turn toward the ridge. The Solace bed is made in oak and boucle. Atlas floor lamps and vessels mark the corners.

The road up is narrow. Every crate was measured against the last bend. Stone tops came on separate pallets. Install ran 6 days in early spring. The carpets went down last, to the client's plan.

Interior design
Bespoke furniture
Art curation

Before and after

Before · awaiting photographyAfter

Curved beige sofa and stone coffee table before a grey plaster wall hung with two carved square panels
Marble dining table on an oak base with dark green chairs and a black three-arm wall lamp
Dark green panelled bedroom wall with a lit brass linear sconce above a cherry nightstand
Black metal demilune console with a ribbed vase of peonies beneath a monochrome abstract canvas
Backlit textured stone panel between draped curtains, black floor lamp arching over a low black chair
Travertine walk-in shower with matte black fittings, a lit stone bench niche and a framed abstract print
Sculptural camel upholstered bed and curved pouf in a dark room, cut by low afternoon light