Cover Feature 15
to their Dubai base. The décor, brimming with character and detail, is full of talking points: “We have a very eclectic taste,” says Simon. “We are big art collectors, and we like to decorate to suit the space available. Paintings work perfectly because we can keep the walls blank and just pack up the artwork if we want to move on. We’ve also inherited many pieces that have travelled around the world with us.” One such item is a vast lion rug that has been in Shimi’s family since the 1960s. “The lion was shot legally when we lived in Kenya,” says Shimi. “It has become part of the family – all of us kids would play on it. There is so much history attached to it.” As for more conventional décor, the couple have taken to duplicating key pieces throughout their numerous homes. “We have multiple copies of photographs, music and movies in all of our houses,” says Simon. “It’s brilliant to be able to leave and not have to pack a suitcase. We do think of the apartment as home, but then we feel like that with the other properties too.”
‘We’ve inherited many items that have travelled around the world with us...’
November 2012