The Midas Touch
By Sana Hasan | Newsliners | Published 8 years ago
Sameena aka Sam Abbas.
Pakistan is rarely the focus of international media for positive reasons. But when we are, it is a moment of pride for us all. Enter Sameena aka Sam Abbas, wife of renowned cricketer Zaheer Abbas, interior designer par excellence, owner of Sam Abbas Design and Furniture Studio, and now recipient of the Asia Pacific Property Award 2017-2018 for the best Interior Designer Private Residence.
Sam Abbas has been in the furniture business for over 25 years. She received her training at the prestigious Inchbald School of Design, in Belgravia, London, and with a loan of Rs. five lakhs from her husband, went into business. Now, Sam operates out of her plush flagship studio located in Bath Island, Karachi, has interiors to her credit around the globe — which include royal residences — and is also associated with First Circle Furniture & Design Co., based in Delhi, which was founded by her daughter, Sonãl Malhotra, in 2001.
According to her website, the Sam Abbas design philosophy “challenges the mundane and questions the status quo.” Nicknamed “Silver Queen,” because of the Raj-inspired silver furniture she once produced, today Sam’s studio showcases pieces in multiple materials, textures, finishes and techniques. The combination of ethnic elements with an innovative perspective renders a range of pieces dubbed as ‘ethnic chic,’ but alongside, there is the cutting edge contemporary, the Victorian and the futuristic furniture that today makes her Queen of all!
The International Property Award then, though undoubtedly an honour, is only one feather more in her much-decorated cap.