" THE ZODIAC ROOM "

"Unlike most of the project which was done at various intervals ,this room had to be done in record time.
After stripping the whole place from its content of carpeting, furniture and old decorations, I began by covering the floor with a large golden sun and its family of planets, each in its color: a blue earth ,a green Saturn ..and so on, the whole placed against a white mirror background .
I covered the lower part of the walls with a mural of stars and planets, galaxies and black holes in a white mirror background
124 cm high .
I decorated the ceiling with two large golden stars at the center and four blue stars at each corner.
The corners have been decorated with opposite crescents in white mirror against a golden background ,the whole composition in the ceiling has been framed with an edge of multi-colored mirror-mosaic .

The upper portion of the walls was reserved for the Zodiac 's signs , with symbols in blue mirror within a white circle of mirror mosaic ,alongside each sign is the emblem of the respective planet in golden mirror .
After I painted the walls and ceiling I redecorated the furniture with black mirror swans against a white mirror mosaic ,to symbolize a welcome-home to Jalila ,my daughter .This room was completed in 85 days .

" ROOM OF THE UNIVERSE"

Another room in which I worked full time without interruptions was the master bed-room , which in the project is " Room of the Universe" .
This room is larger than the Zodiac's, it was completed in 75 days, with a wall-to wall aluminum wardrobe reaching the ceiling decorated with gold figures against a white mirror background ,and the rest of the furniture,decorated with mirror mosaic and golden figures matching to whole subject in the room .
The ceiling is decorated with exploding supernovas , the ensuing cosmic cloud , Earth -like planets bearing life , space ships and a writing in large figures.
The whole composition is framed with a mirror edge .
The corners are decorated with golden mirror .
The lower part of the wall is covered by a mural with forms in black , gold and blue mirror,which suggest the three stages of the Big Bang,.... other figures suggest cosmic movement.
The upper part of the wall is covered by a writing, and multi-colored birds flying about ,which symbolize human beings and their individual response to religious teaching
The floor is an abstract composition of movement and cosmic bodies in black and golden mirror against a white mirror background , which symbolize the inter-relation of energy and matter.

The " BASIN OF THE SHARKS" is an anti-room leading to the bathroom , the master bed-room, and the stairs .
Here the floor is covered by a large blew fish of the shark family, against a white mirror background .
The lower walls are covered by sharks and rays ; a mother dolphin and her new-born calf swimming in a different direction is also included .(This was done for a special reason )
The upper wall have been decorated with branches of trees of white mirror, and blue and golden birds flying about or perched on the branches .
The ceiling has been decorated with a large golden star and the corners with golden mirror . The whole composition has been framed in multi-colored mirror mosaic .
You now step " INSIDE THE SEA" ( The bathroom )
The entire room has been covered with mirror mosaic .
The floor with a golden wave against a white background.ack mirror swans against a white mirror mosaic ,to symbolize a welcome-home to Jalila ,my daughter .This room was completed in 85 days .

" ROOM OF THE UNIVERSE"

Another room in which I worked full time without interruptions was the master bed-room , which in the project is " Room of the Universe" .
This room is larger than the Zodiac's, it was completed in 75 days, with a wall-to wall aluminum wardrobe reaching the ceiling decorated with gold figures against a white mirror background ,and the rest of the furniture,decorated with mirror mosaic and golden figures matching to whole subject in the room .
The ceiling is decorated with exploding supernovas , the ensuing cosmic cloud , Earth -like planets bearing life , space ships and a writing in large figures.
The whole composition is framed with a mirror edge .
The corners are decorated with golden mirror .
The lower part of the wall is covered by a mural with forms in black , gold and blue mirror,which suggest the three stages of the Big Bang,.... other figures suggest cosmic movement.
The upper part of the wall is covered by a writing, and multi-colored birds flying about ,which symbolize human beings and their individual response to religious teaching
The floor is an abstract composition of movement and cosmic bodies in black and golden mirror against a white mirror background , which symbolize the inter-relation of energy and matter.

The " BASIN OF THE SHARKS" is an anti-room leading to the bathroom , the master bed-room, and the stairs .
Here the floor is covered by a large blew fish of the shark family, against a white mirror background .
The lower walls are covered by sharks and rays ; a mother dolphin and her new-born calf swimming in a different direction is also included .(This was done for a special reason )
The upper wall have been decorated with branches of trees of white mirror, and blue and golden birds flying about or perched on the branches .
The ceiling has been decorated with a large golden star and the corners with golden mirror . The whole composition has been framed in multi-colored mirror mosaic .
You now step " INSIDE THE SEA" ( The bathroom )
The entire room has been covered with mirror mosaic .
The floor with a golden wave against a white background.
The walls with a variety of sea creatures plants and water-movement in white and golden mirror
The fitting cabinet bears a blew and golden creature, and blue and
golden designs against a white mirror background .
The built-in bath-tub has been decorated inside-out with golden motives in a white mirror background
The ceiling bears golden figures against a white mirror background ( The whole gives the sensation of being inside the sea ).

In your tour you will also come by the " HIDDEN WORLD" (the pantry), this is a little room under the stair-way .A mural of white mirror mosaic covers the wall up to 150 cm in height , the floor is also covered in white mirror mosaic .

"ROOM OF KNOWLEDGE" (LIBRARY)

This is the last room I completed , the reason for the delay is due to the fact that over three thousand books had to be removed and the built-in shelves had to be stripped off before I could do my job . Till carpenters were brought in to remove the shelves I could not touch this place .
Finally, on the 12 of June 1994 Khalifa brought some people to strip-down the library; by then he had lost about 220 books! As I suspected the termites had completely over-ran the place, their tunnels were running in all directions from walls to ceiling . It was a ghastly seen .
Although I was prepared for something big ,I was appalled by the extent of the invasion .As soon as the shelves were removed I got to work .
All the holes and cracks in the wall and floor were treated thoroughly with kerosine and both-balls and covered with black cement in which I added a special binding fluid . I then covered the lower part of the wall with an edge of mirror mosaic 30 cm high .

I covered the sealed windows with a heavy layer of black cement and decorated it with a central golden figure against a white mirror background .
, The same was done with the entrance connecting the library to the studio of Khalifa ,which is in another wing of the house attached to the main building .
The floor I covered with a golden and blue mirror abstraction against a white mirror mosaic .
When I completed the decoration and painted walls ,the carpenters repositioned new shelves all around the room ,leaving a 30 cm distance from the walls to allow ventilation, When their job was finished I decorated all the edges of the shelves with white mirror mosaic .
(This work was the most painstaking decoration I ever did with mirror .I spent two months of continuous work in doing it! )
The ceiling is decorated with a large flower of white mirror with some Arabic writing in golden mirror. Other Arabic writing is in white mirror all around the perimeter of the ceiling .
Golden corners complete the composition ,which is framed in white mirror.

You now ascend " THE STAIRS OF INSPIRATION"

The inner stair-way leading to the gallery has been covered with multi colored mirror mosaic .
On the lower walls alongside the stairs is a mural rising like a sea-wave , with a variety of fish in gold and blue mirror and large leafy plants in gold against a white mirror background; a hungry seal is catching a fish and the whole suggests movement .

The top part of the wall has been covered by flocks of sea birds in white mirror mosaic .

In order to cover large blemishes I made two large multicolored butterfly (Metamorphosis) and a large round structure of black and white mirror , which symbolizes opposite values - Yen -yuan, positive-negative , left-right- etc.

The ceiling has been decorated with deep space flying ships and the whole has been framed with white mirror mosaic .
The entire ground floor has been painted in light blue , for, seen from space our lovely planet is a sparkling blue jewel.
DOORS

Every door at ground floor has been covered front and back with motives according to its place .
For instance , the door opening into the Zodiac room on the corridor-side has been decorated with a bird diving to catch a fish , while from the inside bears a galaxy and a star.
The door opening into the room of knowledge bears "The seed of knowledge "from the outside ; while from the inside it bears abstract motives in gold against a white mirror background .
The door of the "Inside the sea" bears a fish on each side .
in gold mirror

The most spectacular door is of the entrance, seen from the Corridor of the Nations.
With the exception of the library the whole ground-floor project was completed in 1993 . that included not only decorations but also painting the entire walls .

THE HOUSE ON THE OUTSIDE

In having completed the interior I then extended the decoration on to the entire facade of the house up to the height of the demarcation line ,which separates the ground floor from the first floor .
The front part has a variety of birds , some white some golden and blue , some flying and other nesting among leafy plants . The demarcation line itself is decorated with mirror .

The part stretching above the demarcation line has been decorated with large figures and writing in white mirror, and two golden and blue stars
The left side of the facade has been decorated with flocks of blue and golden birds , large plants and a large nesting bird made to cover a large blemish .

The entire top-most edge of the house has been decorated with white mirror mosaic with large figures, but Khalifa had other ideas ,insisting that the part allowed to be decorated was the lower part, which is the original house and being comparatively old it has undergone various alterations, hence left with many blemishes .
To cover the spoiled parts I had to chose some suitable figures therefore there is a huge nesting bird covering a badly walled window and gigantic herbs covering other imperfections .

For the same reason I had to cover with mirror the bottom edge of the house up to 50 cm high ,to solve the problem of mildew, which necessitated a constant repairing and painting of the place

THE WALL FROM THE INSIDE

Having completed the facade of the house I continued with the decorations on the inside part of the wall surrounding the house

I started with large butterflies of many colors and shapes to symbolize the metamorphosis of the house from a simple duelling into a work of art .

Later I added life-size gazelles and plants ;these were done on the suggestion of Khalifa ,in remembrance of those beautiful creatures ,which used to be part of the fauna of the Kuwaiti desert in the older days, but sadly are now extinct.

THE WALL ON THE OUTSIDE

Having decorated the inside part ,I continued the work on the outside of the wall surrounding the house ,which is the first thing that attracts people's attention.
I covered the top part of the wall with two large murals in mirror mosaic , one on each side of the entrance.

The work began in the seventies but its original design was altered in 1995 when I finally completed it .
The mural on the left-side concerns the house itself and bears the name of its original owners (Khalifa, Lidia and Jalila ).

Of the old theme only the stars and palette remain, the multicolored birds and butterflies and golden writing against a white mirror mosaic are a later addition .

On the lower part of this wall the couple of gazelle chewing on leafy plants and a baby camel were done in 1996
The mural on the right symbolizes the forces of the universe and the creation of life. Of the original design are the couple of mammals .
The multi-colored birds ,butterflies, golden writing and symbols of life and the cosmos , are all of a later addition .
On the lower part of this wall are large figures symbolizing the cyclic forces of the universe , it was completed in March 1997

THE FRONT GATE

The front gate is a metal door completely covered with mirror mosaics from the outside and on the inside .Having completed the facade of the house I continued with the decorations on the inside part of the wall surrounding the house

I started with large butterflies of many colors and shapes to symbolize the metamorphosis of the house from a simple duelling into a work of art .

Later I added life-size gazelles and plants ;these were done on the suggestion of Khalifa ,in remembrance of those beautiful creatures ,which used to be part of the fauna of the Kuwaiti desert in the older days, but sadly are now extinct .

THE WALL ON THE OUTSIDE

Having decorated the inside part ,I continued the work on the outside of the wall surrounding the house ,which is the first thing that attracts people's attention.
I covered the top part of the wall with two large murals in mirror mosaic , one on each side of the entrance.

The work began in the seventies but its original design was altered in 1995 when I finally completed it .
The mural on the left-side concerns the house itself and bears the name of its original owners (Khalifa, Lidia and Jalila ).

Of the old theme only the stars and palette remain, the multicolored birds and butterflies and golden writing against a white mirror mosaic are a later addition .

On the lower part of this wall the couple of gazelle chewing on leafy plants and a baby camel were done in 1996
The mural on the right symbolizes the forces of the universe and the creation of life. Of the original design are the couple of mammals .
The multi-colored birds ,butterflies, golden writing and symbols of life and the cosmos , are all of a later addition .
On the lower part of this wall are large figures symbolizing the cyclic forces of the universe , it was completed in March 1997

THE FRONT GATE

The front gate is a metal door completely covered with mirror mosaics from the outside and on the inside .
Externally it carries the message of a happy relationship between husband and wife .
The surrounding walls of the entrance is covered with blue or golden birds flying or resting on branches and two large black birds stand sentry at each side ;the whole is against a white mirror background .

The inside part of the door has a bird on a branch made of white mirror against a golden background.
Two black birds stand sentry at each side .

AN ESTIMATE INVENTORY

The estimate material used from the beginning of the project in 1966, till it was finally completed in 1997 is :

Mirror 77 tons
White glue 102 gallons
White cement 44 tons
Black cement 2 tons
Working hours 7 years