First Look Inside Cairo’s Reimagined Villa Magenta

Design spaces in Egypt have been seeing new light in recent years, with reimagined concepts placing an emphasis on experience while maintaining style and comfort. Among them is Villa Magenta, a historical residence in Heliopolis that has been transformed into a carefully curated lifestyle hub.

From the sculptures and art to the designer furniture, anticipation was high for the villa’s completion and we couldn’t have missed the chance to take a look during one of its series of private viewings, where Egyptian creatives were invited to journey through its revitalised spaces.

The villa originally dates back to 1911 and was brought back to life as Villa Magenta through a collaboration between Ramy Effat, founder of Blend Furniture, and renowned Egyptian designer Mohamed Fares, who revived the historical villa while maintaining its cultural heritage.

“The absence of the signature of a designer in dealing with such heritage site is an art by itself,” Fares tells SceneHome having reimagined Villa Magenta’s interiors to showcase its heritage while welcoming in contemporary design. The vision Effat had for Villa Magenta was to turn it into a destination that blends luxury furniture brands with collectible functional art.

Le Lab, the Cairo-based contemporary art gallery, joined the upheaval taking place in Heliopolis, by curating a myriad of artworks within Villa Magenta.

Artisanal food was served by Cairo-based Baxters European Kitchen in a serenely setup space overlooking Heliopolis, complemented with Italian furniture by Molteni & C and lighting by the award-winning designers at Flos.

Throughout the renovated historical residence, sculptures by renowned Egyptian artist Khaled Zaki added mysticism to the air as multiple rooms hosted a curation of designer furniture and art - one of which featured designer Mohamed Fares’ ‘iPhone Series’ photography, which was recently showcased at Nomad St. Moritz in Switzerland.

Prior to its opening, Villa Magenta hosted the Fashion Design District in the first edition of Cairo Design Week and is expected to function during the second edition in 2024, this time showcasing its fully-realised vision.

Video Credit: SceneHome