The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

At first glance, Tanis is a shop that sells curtains and upholstery; look closer and you’ll find table napkins and tissue boxes, lamps and light fixtures, tables, pouffes, chairs and sofas. This curiously low-key shop that became famous for its Arabic calligraphy curtain prints holds more than meets the eye.

The shop itself is cosy and reminiscent of a classy Arab home, with light fixtures, furniture and paintings that tie it all together. Tables carved in their signature calligraphy designs (2000LE to 4000LE) and sofas are dispersed throughout the shop, merging ambience with functionality. A more comprehensive selection of woodwork is available in their catalogue or at their showroom at The Patio in Maadi. Paintings by Britt Boutros Ghali, Rana Shalaby, Reda Abdel Rahman and Fotna Galal are also exhibited in the shop for between 11,000LE to 25,000LE.

While their glass light fixtures are pretty standard and not very impressive, their copper fixtures are reminiscent of Zeinab Khatoun styles and will save you the hassle of making the trip down to El Hussein. All fixtures range between 2500LE and 6000LE. Lamps (mostly lanterns and side-table lamps) are customisable; so you can pick out the fabric, colour and print that will best suit your home. Prices of lamps and lanterns range between 150LE and 800LE.

Cushions, sofas, tables, pouffes and even rugs are custom-made – again, a blessing if this season’s colours and prints are not what you’re looking for. Prices are difficult to predict; the cost of fabric is variable, but sofas and chairs range between 2500LE and10,000LE while pouffes lie in the range of 800LE to 900LE. Rugs are only made to order and a variety of wool, silk and cotton materials are available, although prices vary by the season.

What is perhaps most impressive about Tanis is that all fabrics are customisable – with a large range of colours to choose from, allowing you to pick the print, the colour and the fabric. Printing on fabrics purchased from the shop takes up to ten days to be completed and will cost you about 75LE to 100LE per metre for single colours and 95LE to 160LE per metre for several colours. You can bring your own material to be customised, in which case it costs around 75LE per metre.