Past and Present
The Baz family gives their 200-year-old home a new life as a guesthouse in the mountains of Lebanon.
By Farah-Silvana Kanaan
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK CHEBABI
In the village of Kfour, high in the Lebanese mountains flecked with pines, mighty oaks, cedars, olive and fruit trees, it is easy to tell which way the wind is blowing. If you can see Beirut, an hour by road and almost a kilometre lower in altitude, it comes from the east. Western winds drape the city in a summer mist.
Distance from the capital, both physical and metaphorical, has long been the main attraction of these mountains, where hikers come to walk amid natural springs and impressive views of the Bay of Jounieh. At Indira Kfour, a 200-year-old mountain home turned guesthouse, the lights of Beirut may be in sight, but the city bustle is far from anyone’s mind.
Long before it opened its doors as a guesthouse, Indira—“splendid” in Sanskrit—was the home of the Baz family. Carla Baz, a light and furniture designer who now lives in Dubai, was raised here—the family acquired the property in 1986. In the four decades since, it has been witness to many family milestones.
The mountain home offers a refuge from Beirut, almost a kilometre below in altitude. Wild roses and ancient olive trees perfume the outer courtyard. Lush greenery contrasts sharply with Beirut’s lack of it. The dramatic dining room, its ceiling dominated by a beautiful wooden rose from which hangs an exquisite antique chandelier.
“After all of us children had moved abroad, we decided to turn the house into a guesthouse, not only to safeguard its future and protect our local heritage,” Baz says, “but also to give others the opportunity to enjoy the warmth and beauty it had engulfed our family in for all those years.” The project took a year, from brainstorming with hospitality consultants to opening last October. The mission was clear: to fuse past and present, transporting visitors to a golden age of understated luxury.
Much of the eclectic decoration predates its transformation. Baz’s parents were passionate collectors, and the house is home to an art collection that reflects their travels in the Middle East and Asia. Artefacts, sculptures and artworks from Thailand, India, Bali and Vietnam are scattered through the house like a living scrapbook. The Burmese bronze bells that hang outside were brought to Kfour from Bangkok in the 1990s, says Carla’s mother, Dany Baz, a communications expert with a finance background who runs Indira with her friend, Isabelle Eddé, a former Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts executive and founder of its fashion school. Carla remembers ringing the bells as a child, to mark happy occasions.
The vaulted-stone piano bar was once a stable and is among the family’s favourite spaces.
Dany is a whirlwind of charisma and titillating tales, a modern hakawati. Guests find it hard to leave her side, afraid to miss another colourful anecdote. Like her mother, Carla regales visitors with fascinating details about the property.
It has plenty to share. The labyrinthine house evokes Alice in Wonderland, with different levels, nooks and crannies. Doorways set in deep stone arches and metal-framed mirrors on endless landings are portals to undiscovered parts of the house. Each guest room—there are nine in all—has an assortment of books. “We have 3,000 books from our personal collection dispersed throughout the house, in every room,” Carla says.
The house is home to an extensive collection of art and artefacts that reflects their passion for travel. Carla Baz portrait by Cherryl Caliva.
The reception is in what looks like a living room. Comfy couches in a rich, turquoise velvet face a beautiful stone fireplace, with a blue eye right above it—one of many around the property. Many Lebanese believe that these amulets guard against the evil eye, even if they won’t admit it. Next door, a cosy lounge holds design books from all over the world, some older than any visitor. The vaulted-stone piano bar downstairs was once a stable.
As in other traditional mountain houses in the region, life revolves around the courtyard. This is where the family would congregate. Typically, there is also a large reception room, with a three-arched window as the centrepiece—the trifora echoes the Holy Trinity. Thick stone walls ensure warmth stays inside on cold days in the mountains.
For the refurbishment, Carla teamed up with Maison Tarazi, which has specialised in fine oriental crafts for almost as long as the house has been here, and with former ELLE fashion-editor-turned-interior-stylist, Carole Tarazi Nasnas. Together they sought to honour the home’s identity.
For the refurbishment, the family joined forces with Maison Tarazi, once a supplier to the Imperial Ottoman Sultan. Editor-turned-stylist Carole Tarazi Nasnas sourced the rich upholstery and bedding fabrics and styled the rooms and communal areas.
Renovated Damascene mural panels, ceiling cornices and intricate mother-of-pearl furniture and marquetry blend seamlessly with colourful Chinese portraits. Antiques contrast with sophisticated modern lines. Tarazi Nasnas sourced all the upholstery and fabrics. Rather than clash with the historical surroundings, turquoise velvet couches and playful patterns accentuate it. Sophisticated bedrooms offer eclectic touches. An air-conditioner is painted Barbie pink. Tigers lurk on floral wallpaper. Buddha statues abound. The designers aimed to escape the mundane.
Dining here is similarly multicultural—two chefs fuse Levantine and Thai cuisines. Meals are served communally, either in the dramatic dining room—its ceiling dominated by a hand-carved wooden rose from which hangs an exquisite antique chandelier—or on the terrace, shaded by walnut trees with views of the Mediterranean.
Exquisitely tiled fireplaces make for cosy reading corners.
Even without the eclectic decor, Indira Kfour is anything but mundane. Wild roses and ancient olive trees perfume the outer courtyard. Lush greenery contrasts sharply with Beirut’s lack of it. But Indira’s biggest strength, Carla says, is its ability to be different things to different people. Guests are a mix of visitors from Beirut seeking sanctuary in the mountains and curious visitors from overseas.
“Whether you want to interact with other guests or remain in a private space—each room has a living area or an adjacent lounge, and there’s a roof terrace for the upstairs bungalows—it’s a perfect mix of private and public spaces. So people can choose whether they want to socialise or have a retreat in the real sense of the word.”
How does it feel to see your childhood home, where some of your family’s most precious memories were created, filled with strangers? “Actually a lot of people ask me, ‘Is it weird to have your bedroom turned into a public space?’” Carla says. “But no, on the contrary, I made peace with it. I love this house so much, for it to be sustained and for it to be able to live, it had to embark on a new chapter.”
Her face lights up. “I was just a small chapter of it and now it’s going to be the start of other stories. Our family’s energy is still all around and contributes to the intimate feel of the house.”
