Bashayer Style: Exquisite Handmade Furniture at Cairo’s Citystars

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Bashayer Style

- 21/07/2011

Bashayer Style: Exquisite Handmade Furniture at Cairo’s Citystars

Citystars, Omar Ibn El Khattab St.
Home Accessories
024802222

reviewed by

Anne de Groot

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Bashayer Style: Exquisite Handmade Furniture at Cairo’s Citystars

Sometimes
you walk into a furniture shop and you immediately want to move in. Hidden
in a corner across from Kenoz in the Khan El Khalili department of Citystars, Bashayer
Style is one such shop. Bashayer specialises in traditional Arabic and Egyptian
furniture with a modern twist.

Entering
the shop feels like walking into Aladdin’s cave. Everywhere you look, there are
wonderful items. The ceilings are filled with gigantic traditional Arabic lamps
engraved with Arabic calligraphy. The
walls are filled with art and rugs that look more like paintings, with different seating areas plotted around. The space is divided into
colour-themed corners, such as a blue corner with blue tables, closets and couches
in addition to green, red and silver corners.

The wooden furniture
is handmade and painted, and mostly have arabesque carvings, while
some are simpler with beautiful painted designs. The furniture doesn’t come
cheap, though. A set of three couches
and three tables cost 19,000LE, while a smaller set with two couches and three
tables will set you back 14,000LE. These prices exclude the cushions arranged
on the couches.

There are also soft couches (3500LE per 1.5 metre) that you can
customise with your own individual design. Foot stools are available for 850LE and
above, and can also be customised. Special pyramid-shaped cushions are
available in kheyameya print for 250LE.

The
lamps at Bashayer Style are rather pricey too and can reach up to 25,000LE a
piece. However, several smaller standing
lamps are available from 800LE and above. Carved wooden lamps create a pleasant,
warm glow with their light and start at 2500LE.

There is
a small bedroom section as well. Bed frames are available for 8000LE, and
include two bed stands. There is also a wide array of cushions and curtains in
this section, including curtain fabric with calligraphy designs or old Egyptian
newsprints. A small rug section offers handmade sheep wool rugs from Aswan and Siwa, and depending on the size and the pattern, prices range between 360LE and
7000LE.

Next to
the rug department is a collection of ceramic dishes and tiles. All products
are hand-baked and painted, and according to the salesman, dishwasher-friendly.
The designs are the least interesting in the shop. If you’re on a budget, you
can pick up a clay figure puppet for 30LE a piece.

Bashayer
is a terrific furniture and home accessory shop full of beautiful but pricey
products. Pop over for a visit, though; the shop itself is almost like a little
museum and worth browsing through for the excellent craftsmanship and detailing.