Mimi believes that "living in a truly comfortable and harmonious environment helps not only to ease the tensions of the day but nurtures your soul and impacts on all aspect of one's life! Homes of Bangladesh has been conceived from such a conviction. The first edition of the book thus adopted a unique approach towards home décor and interior design and pioneered the concept of beautiful interiors as the basis of good housekeeping in Bangladesh. Documenting the lifestyle changes over the decades, the book took readers back to the village courtyards of a long-lost era, to intimate tea parties held in verandas in posh duplexes of the 60's, and to the beautiful living rooms of the 80's, while showing the possibilities of crating chic interiors worthy of contemporary life. Five years have gone since Homes of Bangladesh was published but the demand for the book has been growing by the year. Since it was time for a new edition, Mimi decided to not only revise the book completely for a new edition but also to bring it up to date to incorporate the latest trends in interior decoration and good housekeeping. Sophisticated, insightful and thoughtful, this edition will be of interest to anyone who would like to view the latest and best options in interior design and who has an eye for beautiful living.Whether you are building a new house from scratch or refurbishing an established home, and no matter what kind of interior you fancy, be it country comfort, formal classicism, edgy urbanity, or postmodern interiors, this book will help you to create an environment that will truly enhance your lifestyle. It will allow you to glimpse eye-catching and elegant room styling and convenient and practical furniture arrangements and soothe you with calming effects achieved through blending of color and pattern. It will encourage you to eliminate clutter and make the best use of space, re-establishing your connection with the natural world whenever possible. All of those exciting possibilities and more await you in this updated, expanded and re-visioned edition of Homes of Bangladesh.
Nazneen Haque Mimi, who holds an Honours and a Masters degree in Sociology from Dhaka University and a LLB, chose not to enter the legal profession. After the birth of her son, she opted to join her husband's graphic and design firm, Journeyman. Consequently, she enrolled in the first batch of the diploma course in interior decoration offered by Exterior-Interiors (P) Ltd. in 1994. There would be no looking back for her from this point. While her husband Tarik Sujat specialized in interiors for corporate clients, Mimi made a name for herself in turning houses into homes with her designing magic. She credits the spick and span household in which she grew up in for sowing the seeds of good housekeeping in her. In 2004, she began to contribute to a decor column in "Star Lifestyle, a weekly supplement of The Daily Star. In researching for her work, she re-lived the transition in homes and lifestyles in Dhaka from the 1940's onwards, and in the process the idea of writing a book on the subject began to germinate in her, culminating in her first book Homes of Bangladesh. Also she hosted many shows on interiors on the ATN television network.
"My critics might feel that there is lot more I could have said but of course there is no such thing as the last word on any subject" she says. "These thoughts that I have penned down in this book are mine alone. Dhaka and its rich culture of housekeeping grew for four hundred years and will continue to grow even after this book."
Such an incredibly complex story! I had to buy it because there was a waiting list of 30+ at the local library for this book. Thrilled that I made the purchase
I read this book shortly after I got it and didn't just put it on my TBR shelf mainly because I saw it on Reese Witherspoon's bookclub September read. It was one of the best books I've read this year, and reminded me some of Kristen Hannah's The Great Alone.
