Interior designing with Nazneen Haque Mimi

Having studied in sociology and law before zeroing in on interior designing, Mimi is a consultant worth her salt. For this statement to retain any merit, we must uncover those 26 years.

Getting a start from her husband's graphic and design firm, Journeyman, in the early '90s, Mimi now boasts a stellar repertoire of projects under her belt. Trained by international programmes, Mimi has travelled the world and been to Nepal, Japan and Singapore to learn her craft. Having decorated over 200 residences, countless medical centres, banks, offices and even cafes, Mimi has made a name for herself in turning drab, plain spaces into homes, retreats and chambers inspiring creativity, even history.

If you're familiar with the first-ever Bangabandhu Corner installed to grace the halls of Government Titumir College, you've already been in the presence of a visionary interior designer. Identifying herself as a Bangladeshi woman above everything else, Mimi's ode to her roots and her heritage are what keep her grounded. A true testament to this is her work on museums such as the Toshakhana Museum and the National Museum to which she has been dedicating the last decade of her life. What fuels her, however, is her late mother's memory.

"I'm very closely connected with decorating. I learned the art of décor and the intrinsic meaning behind it from my mother. From organising the bed so that the bed cover and then the duvet follow the sheets in that specific order to organising the spice racks in the kitchen, I learned the tricks of the trade from her. Her practices, ideals and legacy are what I've kept alive in my own life that I now share with others through my craft," recalls Mimi.

"My mother loved any medium with life, specifically plants. And, so, as an interior consultant, I believe without green, you can't have a home," Mimi further shares.

Few would oppose Mimi in her stance; blobs of green in leaves and plants distributed around a home is a fantastic way to uplift any four walls. Take the liberty to go down to a nursery this weekend to pick up anything green that can be bottled or potted. Use the open spaces in your balcony and the emptiness in front of a large window and dress these spaces in the most refreshing and soothing way possible. Reflect a pastoral, back-to-nature lifestyle with vertical gardens and hanging plants and vines dripping to the floor. This is sure to change the whole vibe of the place!

You can even take a more heavy-handed approach and add tints of green to the ceiling to create a protected atmosphere or hues of the shade in the walls to contrast/complement furniture and the overall space. Mimi's expert services and consultations as an interior designer can help you revamp your house and transform it into a true sanctuary.

Another quick makeover that Mimi swears by is the addition of history and paintings to any room. "Your house is an empty bowl if no paintings hang on its walls," she opines.

Allow us to define: art tells a story. It offers character and talks of the owner's philosophy and ingenuity without ever uttering a word. With its bold and eccentric strokes and patterns, a painting can breathe life into a boring room. Seeing as to how art makes or breaks it, you can either choose to decorate your haven around a central masterpiece or layer the elements of your room to finally add a focal canvas that exudes a "finished" look from the space.

Whatever you choose to do to your space is an individual decision. And it's this individualism that Mimi targets to highlight in every piece for which she's enlisted, "However you decide to decorate your space, you must think about consistency and harmony. You don't want, for example, texture of the wallpaper to offset the design of the carpet. You want complementary styles rather than harsh cacophony in your space and this is what I stride to bring out every time."

Money may well buy expensive things but it certainly doesn't warrant beauty. The smallest tweaks in your home like a different polish for your furniture, addition of texture in the walls or even layering accessories like curtain holders, tassels or a lamp with a unique pattern can change the entire look of a room. Without changing your furniture, think about recycling them to revel in the creativity that's sure to be unleashed. If you fall shy of changing your space, you call always fall back on Mimi. Her experience is sure to carry you through.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Model: Nazneen Haque Mimi and Sohana Mahmood Odri

Website: https://journeymaninteriors.wordpress.com/nazneen-haque-mimi/