The foyer of the residence of Lebanese Ambassador Antoine Chedid and his wife, Nicole, is a cool oasis on a hot spring morning.
It is a stunning space, at once art gallery, grand vestibule and passageway to the couple’s home. Croissant-color walls, a high ceiling and a white balustrade staircase with red carpeting form a magnificent backdrop for the white marble sculpture of angels holding up a pot of leafy green palms with their cherubic arms.
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To a visitor entering the home, there is a sense of calm beauty.
And that is precisely what Nicole Chedid sought. “I’ve tried to make the rooms homey with simplicity. I want people to feel comfortable,” she said.
Entertaining is the primary function of the first-floor public rooms and, over a cup of Lebanese coffee, Chedid casually refers to a cocktail reception for 75 last week and dinner for 40 the other night.
“Every year, the evening before the American Task Force for Lebanon Gala Awards Night, the ambassador and his wife open their home to host a reception for our members,” said George T. Cody, executive director of the nonprofit organization representing Americans of Lebanese heritage. “The beautiful, informal setting encourages 250 guests to engage in conversation about Lebanon and its historic relationship with the U.S.”
Chedid had intimate gatherings in mind when she refurnished the residence after arriving in Washington three years ago. Several small seating areas in the main reception room permit groups of two and three to talk quietly amid dozens circulating with drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Chedid hired Fadila Calnan, a Lebanese-American designer who, 15 years earlier, had worked for another ambassador to redesign the space and reupholster the antique furniture for the residence.
B & F International Design
Fadila Calnan
“In the main reception room, a wall of cream silk fabric gave a richness, but the curtains were flashy and covered the windows. I wanted to open them up so guests could see the decorative black wrought-iron gate outside, look to the garden and have a feeling of greenery,” Chedid said. “We chose striped silk — in shades of red, salmon, beige — over white sheers,” Calnan said.
“The colors remind me of home in Lebanon,” Chedid said.
The Oriental Room, named for an elegant Asian wall tapestry, is a resplendent seating area with four cream-colored velvet chairs closely set around a circular coffee table topped with an array of white and green glass vases. “It’s simple without being boring,” Chedid said.
The piano room, of course, boasts a grand piano decorated with framed pictures of family and VIPs, the most prominent being President Obama and the ambassador. The carpet is rich in reds and golds, and the marble and ornately carved wood fireplace mantel are works of art. Eleven plump white candles in varying heights sit in the fireplace.
“I’ve lived in Greece, Lebanon and here, and I always put candles in the fireplace because I like dim room lights with flickering candlelight,” Chedid said.
A sectional couch in beige silk-velvet circles another glass coffee table decorated with a Daum vase.
Gracious hospitality reins in the home-away-from-home of the first family of Lebanon in Washington. “It is the taste of the lady of the house,” Calnan said, but it is the pleasure of all who visit that she inspires.
