The corner: Ayesha Danish Monnoo

Ayesha Danish Monnoo, assistant designer at the House of Nasreen Sheikh, invites us into her favourite corner for a cup of tea and an insightful conversation.



If you’re friends with Ayesha Monnoo, you automatically befriend style and taste. Even though she lives in the bustling neighbourhood of Gulberg, her house is a quiet sanctuary tucked away from all the traffic and chaos of the city. The room she chooses is her drawing room. Even though this space is formal, there is an eclectic feel to it. There are structured sofas with artistic cushions and oriental urns and sculptures, but the space also includes a more casual daybed by the fireplace.

“I like a bit of drama, the room needs to feel alive and when it comes to interiors, I don’t like following rules.”

The space is open with large windows on both sides so that natural light can penetrate and give the room an airy feel. The piece that instantly caught our attention was a sculpture of a woman on the centre table. “The sculpture was produced by an NCA artist but was rotting away in my mother’s swimming pool area, so I rescued it.”



While there is an eclectic feel to the space, Ayesha has a special association with history and believes that while modernity is good, a room needs a healthy dose of history in order for it to become timeless. “You need substance, too modern or too contemporary equals bland to me.” The minimalism in the room is what sets it apart from most formal seating areas. Most of the urns and accessories have been procured from Jade — a go-to place to order beautiful things from the Far East, run by Aaliya Monnoo and Mahvish Elahi.



Ayesha is also deeply fascinated by art. “I love my art; I’m into nudes and pieces that are rather morbid! But in this room I love this calligraphy by a Chinese artist that my mother gifted me.”