Dar Kawa is my home, in the medina of Marrakech. It is a former ‘Zaouïa’, a place of prayer and meditation for the Sufi brotherhood. I bought it in 1996 and spent three years having it restored. At the time, I was living in Moscow. I arrived in Marrakech without a single piece of furniture.

The architect in charge of the restoration, Quentin Wilbaux, had surveyed the medina for UNESCO. He suggested I live in the house as people did in the 17th century: cushions, rugs, no furniture at all. I refused straight away. I wanted to restore an old house and live in the 21st century.

So everything had to be found. I commissioned beds from Marrakech designers and furniture from blacksmiths, and I spent a lot of time in the flea markets. The wardrobes, washbasins, kitchen, floors and walls are all the work of the city’s craftspeople. Working with them was a necessity, since I had nothing. It was also a choice, from day one.

It took me a long time to appreciate what that meant. In October 2023, I attended a seminar by Li Edelkoort, the trend forecaster. She spoke about UXUA, a hotel in Trancoso, Brazil, built entirely by local artisans, and about the book devoted to it, UXUA Utopia. I thought it was wonderful. Then I realised that this was exactly what had happened at Dar Kawa: at least 95% of what furnishes the riad was made or found in Morocco.

Always Keeping an Eye Out

Since the works ended in 1999, I have never stopped filling the riad and changing it. I have visited craftspeople, flea markets, markets and souks all over Morocco, and I also bring back objects from my travels. I hunt for treasures everywhere, at any time. My eyes are always open.

Antique and more recent rugs, along with antique pottery, found their way here like that, simply because they were beautiful. It is the best way to buy: when you need nothing.

At the flea market, the seller almost never knows where an object comes from. So the known story of these finds usually begins at Dar Kawa. My favourite? I couldn’t say. What matters is the moment an object stops me in my tracks.

The Artisans

There is no fixed method when working with artisans. I am a home linen designer: I designed every textile at Dar Kawa myself. Designing furniture is not my profession. For that, I work on scraps of paper and explain to the craftsman what I want.

In Morocco, nothing is ever guaranteed with a workshop. Some artisans are fantastic for a while, then change jobs, or disappear. I accept that, and I no longer try to understand it.

Abdelhadi, on the other hand, has been by my side since September 1996, a month before I bought Dar Kawa. He was twenty-two and had never held a job when he came to work for me as a handyman. Since then he has taken on many roles at Dar Kawa, always learning. Today he is my all-round assistant.

Could all this be done again today in Marrakech? I think so. Some objects are simply harder to find.

In the Sale

Almost everything here has a story. Here are a few.

Two beds made from antique carved wooden panels, turned into beds by Fabrizio Bizzarri and Alessandra Lippini, in the days of Ministero del Gusto, their space in Marrakech, now closed.

A coffee table made of two antique wooden couscous dishes, stacked one on top of the other and held together with wire. It looks like a yo-yo. Wooden lamps I designed from old mortars.

A painting created by two Russian artists, Ivan Kolesnikov and Andrei Karpov. I knew them from Moscow. From 1997 to 2004, I organised artists’ residencies at SahArt, in a riad in the medina and at a desert camp. They came to stay.

Three bowler-hat pendant lights, the Jeeves model by British designer Jake Phipps, which I brought to Dar Kawa.

Two embroideries on paper that I designed: a mask, and a triptych of three khamsa hands (the Hand of Fatima, a symbol of protection in Morocco).

And finally, the linens made for Dar Kawa over the years. Some pieces are one of a kind and have never been made again.

The Only Exception

Apart from a few taps, only one piece of furniture at Dar Kawa was not made in Morocco: the large sofa in the patio. It was designed by Françoise Dorget, and I bought it in Paris at Caravane, her iconic shop, which she has since sold. Françoise Dorget was also my very first customer when I launched my home linen line. The sofa, also handmade, first lived in my Paris apartment, and I had it brought to Marrakech in the early 2000s. The funny thing is that the exception became the heart of the house.

It is not part of the sale. Its cover, however, is going to change.

21 November

Dar Kawa is getting a complete change of scenery. On 21 November, around one hundred lots of furniture and objects will be proposed online, as auctions or at fixed prices.

I am attached to them. But you can’t accumulate things your whole life.

Stay tuned, a link to register to the online sale will be available soon.