Emma Angharad James

In Cairo, a city defined equally by its rich history and relentless modern-day cacophony, British decorator Emma James (@emmaajames ) has carved out an apartment in an Art Deco-inspired building from 1932; it is at once a quiet refuge and a vivid declaration of style. Born to an architect-trained father and a philanthropist mother, James spent the first 18 years of her life in a leafy suburb of Cairo. “As a little girl, that garden was my life,” she recalls. Summers, meanwhile, were spent in the Welsh and English countryside, where her grandparents lived. Her paternal grandmother was a painter and potter, her grandfather an architect, an environment that quietly shaped her early understanding of creativity and space. It was this world of flora-filled gardens and homes, alive with sketches, models, paintings-in-progress and made-and-found objects that left the deepest imprint. Today, that influence is on full display in her six-room apartment, with its wraparound curved balcony and corner view of the Nile. Tour inside the Cairo apartment at the link in bio. Photography: @shewifa | Words: @yasmine.rashidi في قلب القاهرة، المدينة التي تتسم بتاريخها العريق وضجيجها العصري المتواصل، استطاعت مصممة الديكور البريطانية إيما جيمس أن تُحوّل شقتها في مبنى مستوحى من طراز آرت ديكو يعود تاريخه إلى عام ١٩٣٢ إلى ملاذ هادئ، وفي الوقت نفسه تعبيرٌ نابضٌ بالحياة عن ذوقها الرفيع. نشأت جيمس في كنف أبٍ مهندس معماري وأمٍ منخرطة في الأعمال الخيرية، وقضت السنوات الثماني عشرة الأولى من حياتها في ضاحية هادئة من ضواحي القاهرة. تتذكر قائلةً: "كانت تلك الحديقة كل حياتي وأنا طفلة صغيرة". أما فصول الصيف، فكانت تقضيها في ريف ويلز وإنجلترا، حيث كان يعيش أجدادها. كانت جدتها لأبيها رسامة وخزافة، وجدها مهندسًا معماريًا، وهي بيئةٌ ساهمت بهدوء في تشكيل فهمها المبكر للإبداع والفضاء. كان هذا العالم من الحدائق والمنازل المليئة بالنباتات، والنابض بالحياة بالرسومات والنماذج واللوحات قيد الإنجاز والأشياء المصنوعة يدويًا والموجودة في الطبيعة، هو الذي ترك أعمق أثرٍ في نفسها. واليوم، يتجلى هذا التأثير بوضوح في شقتها المكونة من ست غرف. يمكنكم القيام بجولة داخل الشقة في القاهرة عبر الرابط في البايو.

Inside interior decorator and designer, Emma James' (@emmaajames ) Cairo apartment, she describes the colour of her bedroom's limewash walls as “almost like grapefruit, with sunlight streaming through it.” Across the room, a painting of silver birches with golden autumn leaves hangs on one wall; a tapestry of sunflowers by Ramses Wissa Wassef (@wissawassef ) on another. Above them, hand-painted golden sun rays, borrowed from the Hathor Temple at Dendera beam from a hanging brass plate. “I wanted to feel like I'm in a Maadi garden,” James explains. Watch the full video at the link in bio. Creative Producer: Fatma Hassan Video Producer: @nourhonwhonik DOP: @mohamedfathalla1 Production Manager: @mustafaakrram Editor: @mohameednabiil Grade: @gergeshelmy Production: @Redpepperfilms.uae ; @nadineyasserr1

In the centre of Cairo, interior decorator and designer Emma James (@emmaajames ) has made her home. “Cairo is my greatest muse,” she says. “I feel the most alive, I just can’t imagine not living here.” Tucked away in Zamalek — one of the capital’s storied heritage quarters — the British decorator’s 1930’s, six-room apartment uses maximalism as a fundamental form of storytelling, where a richly composed portrait of life is shaped by travel, artistic lineage, and self expression. Watch the full video at the link in bio. Creative Producer: Fatma Hassan Video Producer: @nourhonwhonik DOP: @mohamedfathalla1 Production Manager: @mustafaakrram Editor: @mohameednabiil Grade: @gergeshelmy Production: @Redpepperfilms.uae ; @nadineyasserr1

Color is the thread that connects us to our surroundings. For Emma James, the Egyptian landscape offers a palette that is both grounding and transformative. Maison Solare is reimagined as a living canvas, where the colors of the coast inform every texture, creating a destination that moves in harmony with the light. Solare Ras El Hekma launching Now Maison Solare Boutique Hotel and Serviced Residences

Welcome to AD Middle East’s April-May ‘26 #ArtIssue. In this edition, we shift our focus to the art of collecting and those who have made it their mission to archive, showcase and support the work of artists from across the Arab world and beyond. To collect is, in many ways, to insist on continuity, especially in moments when the world feels anything but stable. This issue arrives at such a moment, where across the region and beyond, uncertainty has become a daily condition, its reverberations felt not only in headlines but in homes, in studios, and in the quiet, persistent act of making. And yet, it is precisely here, within these interiors, that another narrative takes shape. In the #ArtIssue, Christian Louboutin (@christianlouboutin ) opens up his transportive world in Paris (and his extensive collection of objects from Syria, Egypt and beyond); gallerist Leila Heller (@leilahellergallery ) showcases her nurturing New York abode; art patron Tariq Al Jaidah (@tajcollectionqatar ) takes us into his cartographic residence in Doha – a living map of Middle Eastern art, photographed on the very day of the Israeli–US attack on Iran. Interior stylist Emma James’ (@emmaajames ) Cairo apartment is an eccentric cabinet of wonders, while collector-turned-gallerist Amal Rakibi’s (@amalrakibigallery ) deeply intuitive space in Dubai graces our cover. The homes in this issue are not simply sites of display. They are living archives that resist erasure, that gather and preserve, and insist on presence. Elsewhere in the issue, we also turn to artists whose practices are shaping the region’s visual language. Safwan Dahoul (@safwan_dahoul ), one of Syria’s most prominent voices, offers an unusually personal reflection on his latest body of work. While alongside him, a younger generation asserts itself with equal clarity, namely the up and coming Saudi artist Hayfa Al Gwiaz, who we also profile (@hayfa_algwaiz ). At the link in bio, step inside our April-May ‘26 #CollectorsIssue. Photography: @zigamihelcic , @ambroisetezenas (styling by @sarahdebeaumont ), @pernilleloof , @zigamihelcic , @shewifa | Words: @aidannovaa

@SceneHome : In the home of Cairo-based interior decorator Emma James, objects come alive. They are carriers of memory, of travels, and together, they anchor the room in personal stories and cultural dialogue. Having grown up in Cairo, James’s home is a love letter to the city that raised her - to its designers, its craftsmen, and its architectural influences. The result is a laboratory for creative experimentation: limewashed walls by local brand GEB Surfaces, regional textiles, antique statement pieces, and objects that travel effortlessly from ancient Egypt to European classicism. Having used her own home as a personal experiment, James now extends what she has learned from the design process outward, into others' homes and spaces. Her home is a reminder that design is not about perfection, but about the stories told through layers of collected objects and patterns. Curating a home that looks like James’ takes time. Some objects you find, and some find you. Thankfully, James has given us all a good place to start this Valentine’s Day with a curated wishlist of locally sourced textiles, lamps, artwork, and other design statement pieces you can find here in Egypt. Her wish list is full of character, artisanal depth, and layered stories that will transform your own personal space. So, let’s take a peek at what Emma has in store for us this romantic season! Read the full feature on scenehome.com (link in bio). 🖊️ Hannah Harris 📸 @abdallah.sabry_

Sisterhood ❤️

Meet Emma James-Creative Director and Interior Decorator. Raised in a family of artists and architects, her eye was trained from childhood-seeing the world through an artistic lens, honoring art and beauty at all times. Watch the full episode on YouTube.

We had the delight of exploring and documenting this characterful home off Faisal Street, Giza. Completed in 1952, it was inhabited for just under 70 years. Designed by architect Sharif Naumen and built by Hassan Aboul Fetouh. Seven years on, this dwelling stands almost vacant and the threads that remain feel to be the elements that leave the most tangible traces of the life that was once lived here. Photography @yehiaelalaily Art Direction @emmaajames

A moment in between @egyptfashionweek2025 Cairo never fails to Muse and amuse ✨✨✨

We had the delight of exploring and documenting this characterful home near Faisal Street, Giza. Completed in 1952, it was inhabited for just under 70 years. Designed by architect Sharif Naumen and built by Hassan Aboul Fetouh. So much attention to idiosyncratic detail and bespoke craftsmanship not often seen in contemporary homes. Special thanks to @fadiabadrawi We each had our favourite pockets…which are yours? Photography @yehiaelalaily Art direction @emmaajames . . #cairohomes #interiör #vintageinteriors #retrohome #interiorstyling #cairopalaces

WITNESSING WONDER | STANDING IN AWE The moment we stop concealing and start seeing. Opening night at Brush it Under the Rug, Cairo Design Week where seven designers transformed vulnerability into vision, and 150 years of craft became a meditation on what lies beneath. The rugs, the conversations, the courage to reveal rather than conceal. This is what happens when you honor the complicated ground from which beauty grows. Featuring: @bosainastudio @emmaajames @kanjodesign @karimmekhtigian @m_fares @ramzi.humannature @yasminamakram 1908 Courtyard, Korba, Heliopolis