A Realm of Scented Candles in the Midst of the Town
By Tasnim Jarin
When we enter into the house, some sweet and secret fragrances lead us into the mysterious land. It draws us inside the wooden door where lights and shadows are already there to welcome us. And we were totally mesmerized and amazed by the surroundings of ‘House 22’. It is a tale of that beautiful journey towards a house full of fragrances and lights. Let’s hear it about it.
So it was almost 4 o’clock in the watch when we entered into the house. It is a 4 storied building that built upon more than 15 thousand square feet area. Starting from the entrance the two things that took our whole attention, were the magical Yankee candles and the beautiful mirrors on the wall. “The reflection of each corner of the room on the mirror will definitely cheer you up right after you enter into the house”- and that “magical fragrant from Yankee will refresh your mind and will give you a peaceful feeling immediately”; these two thoughts popped up in our mind when we were going through the entrance.
The idea of choosing the perfect elements for this fabulous house is done by the owners of the house Shabnam Shehnaz Chowdhury, who is the Managing Director of the fashion house ‘Noir’ and retail store ‘Miniso’, and her husband Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez is the Managing Director of Evince Group. This house tells their journey of being as successful in business and as well as maintaining the joint family, where they live with their daughter and two sons, with their wives and children.
In between our conversation, we have asked the owner of the house, what is the unique feature of her home? In reply with a very spontaneous tone, she said, “It is none other than my most favorite scented candles”. She loves candles this much that every day from evening to 10-11 pm all of the candles remain lit up.
Whether she stays at home or not these candles must remain in a turn-on mode to spread fragrance inside the house. It is like an everyday image that is being maintained for years as per her instructions. Another important thing is the humidifier that she has kept in all the rooms to maintain fresh and clean air inside the house. So in short as soon as you enter into the rooms you will get a sweet fragrance to welcome you inside the house.
The other significant element of the decoration is the neon spotlighting systems all around the house. Talking about the long-living space, the owner of the house gives us a brief about the plan behind choosing this lighting system. Basically she prefers the vintage look more than the modern style of lighting. Thus she has thought to bring some twist by selecting table lamps, candles and neon lights over the typical extreme lighting systems.
And added on that, the Fresh Cut Roses, Lavender, Sweet Strawberry, Lemon Lavender, and Island Margarita; these fragrant candles are already there to light up space beautifully.
To make the living space livelier the owner of the house thought to decorate the surroundings in a simple and soothing way. Basically the whole idea of decorating the house is based on the off white color. From choosing the paint, theme and curtains the color of white gets the priority with other contrast shades. The living space is separated into two portions and both portions are designed in two different themes.
One is the off white and black theme, and the other portion is decorated in red and off white theme. In both ways the double layer off white curtains and number of cushions in every corner of the room presents it with a unique look. The red couches in off white surroundings shower the room with a lavish look, whereas the black couch on the other contrary justifies the existence in the image.
The next thing that we liked most in the house is an artistic antique showpiece collection from all over the world. For the business purpose family members need to travel in different countries. And from there they buy special pieces of souvenirs for their home.
Living room
For the living room, the owner’s first choice is always off white-based color decoration plus some color blend feature in it. Like to give a different touch she has chosen off white and black, and red and off the white combination. And above all the basic golden vintage theme was there. To break through the monotonous look Shabnam Shehnaz Chowdhury thinks for this unique decor idea. All it is quite difficult to maintain the off white color in our weather but still she makes it possible to look better in every possible way. And this contrast twist is not just for the couch or paint theme, she applies the idea for different decor pieces along with cushions, lamps, and runner for the dining table.
Favorite Place
Even though Shabnam Shehnaz Chowdhury spends a very tough time throughout the day, but at the end of the day when she returns from work, she likes to spend time with the family members in their cozy family living room. This specific living area is situated on the 2nd floor of the building. This living area is known as their family space. At the end of the day, all the members of the house gather here. They watch movies or series together, along with doing some chit chat and having some desserts at a time. At the same time they get some togetherness and recreational activity here.
One interesting thing about this house is, it is a ‘Technology friendly’ house. And why am I saying that? It is because of the CCTV cameras set up all around the house. Therefore even if the owner is out of the house or the other members are busy, the little kids of the house are always under supervision. For her grandchildren’s safety and security, Shabnam Shehnaz Chowdhury has taken this important step to ensure each and every corner of the house is safe and secured for them.
For paintings, Shabnam Shehnaz Chowdhury prefers to decorate the house with in-house painting skills. And it is none other than her daughter, whose’ beautiful paintings are chosen for the home wall. Her daughter is currently living in Los Angeles for completing higher studies. But whenever she gets time to visit her family on vacations, she creates new paintings that get space in different corners of the home.
“Home sweet home”, that is exactly how everyone should feel entering into the house after a long tiring day. A sense of belongingness should always be there. Thus this house tells us the story of being the ‘House 22’.
