Room Tour: Maha’s booklover room in Islamabad, Pakistan

If I tell you when I took these photos for this post, you’d laugh. Just know that it was a long time ago and only because the beautiful lady that lives in this room recently got married that I was inspired to finally finish this post.

I am so excited to share this gorgeous room with you guys. I’ve known Maha since she was a little girl and seen her grow into the beautiful person she is.. Her dad was in the air force too and a great friend of my dad’s. After retiring from the PAF they recently moved into their own house and this dream room was idealized.

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The room is an ode to Maha’s love for music and of course books. You could spend hours gazing at her beautiful shelves and the pretty little pieces sitting in the midst of them. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was one of the inspirations behind the bookshelves and glimpses of this inspiration are all around.

Maha also started a music fan blog sometime ago where she would share some of the awesome songs she discovers, being the ardent music lover that she is. I loved the idea for ordinary people like us who love good music but don’t know where to find good non-mainstream stuff.

I asked Maha about some resources for her room and here is what she had to say:

“The typewriters and vintage cameras were all given to me by my then fiance, who bought them off of thrift stores. Same for the telephone on my bedside (it doesn’t work, and in this age of cellphones, I don’t need it to, but it sure looks great!) The crochet quilt on one of my purple sofas I bought from Sunday bazaar for like two hundred and fifty rupees (which would be like $2.50).”

“As for the bed, I actually saw a picture of the headboard in a magazine and loved it so much I wanted to recreate it for my own bed. Prior to this, I’d been sleeping in the same bed I’d had since I was nine years old, and my feet always dangled off of the footboard. So it was a welcome relief to finally have an adult sized bed!”

“My wall mural was done by my best friend, Zainab who is artistic beyond measure! I knew I wanted a cherry blossom tree on there, and after showing her some tumblr images of the kind of look I wanted, she knew exactly what to give me! I picked out a teal base colour to paint my wall so that the mural’s pinks and browns would really stand out against it.”

“And the lamp base, the one with Asian inspired decor on it, is actually a really old house piece that my mom had in storage since forever. It didn’t go with anything in her living room, but I loved it so much she let me have it for my space, and it looks pretty great there.”

“Bookshelves and ladder were custom made, and totally inspired by my favorite scene from Beauty and the Beast when the Beast finally pulls back the curtains, let’s belle open her eyes and reveals the library in all its majestic glory. I also perused tumblr quite profusely to find the sort of look that would work for a room with my dimensions in particular. My parents were not keen on spending the cash that building the shelves would entail (it was quite an expensive project) so I saved up until I had the 50,000 rupees (around $500) required to pay off the carpenter’s bill. Like most of what gives my room character, I was responsible singlehandedly for bringing this feature of my room together. (The carpenter and I drew on the walls to mark where each shelf would come and how tall or deep each would run and would meet for hours to discuss other finishing details)”

“All in all, the room is pretty much a testament to how a collection of old and random objects and artefacts, when put together with an aesthetic eye, can really brighten up a space. None of the stuff I own was specially procured. I just messed around a whole lot for a couple of weeks until finally there was a balance to the room that I was happy with!”

Also since she is here, I asked her for some music/book recommendations just for you guys, and here are her recommendations:)

BOOKS

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis

The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson

Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern

I, Coriander by Sally Gardner

MUSIC

Faded (vocal version) – Alan Walker

Worn – A Minor Swoon

Take Yours, I’ll Take Mine – Matthew Mole

Chills – Down With Webster

Demons at the Door – Sleeping Wolf

Irregular Love – Sonny Allen

Reality – Lost Frequencies (Radio Edit)

Gold – Thomas Jack (Radio Edit)

Thank you so much Maha for sharing your gorgeous room and the story behind it here. Loved having you here and best of luck in the exciting new chapter of your life. May all your dreams come true!

Thanks for reading and lots of love.