Viviane Debbas and her abode epitomise what H. L. Mencken once said, “A home is not a mere transient shelter: its essence lies in the personalities of the people who live in it.” Mencken was not wrong. The driveway is obviously the first feature a visitor notices about any home. While I drive through to reach the main entrance of the residence, the driveway presents a warm, welcoming and inviting feeling through eye-catching, well-trimmed and lush green hedges that leaves me with the promise of more to come.
As I step over the threshold, taking me into the house proper, two flights of marble stairs come into view – one leading to the living room, bar, terrace, garden and swimming pool, and the other to the upper deck. I notice striking modern art paintings hung on either side of the walls; I am later informed they are the creations of renowned Lebanese painter Shafic Abboud. I am led through the house to the large swimming pool and its open-air seating area, which is surrounded by a well-kept garden and decorated with dozens of pine trees, covering the entire outskirts of the grounds.
Debbas greets me with a warm and friendly smile, and gestures me to take a seat. She is busy organising for a party she is holding later on that night. The tables are beautifully set and adorned with Turkish-made covers that are traditionally woven for newly-weds in that country. At her house, they now have a new and novel function. For a successful businesswoman who also plays a prominent and charitable role in Lebanese society, she is soft-spoken, polite and extremely elegant – every inch of her a lady of good breeding.
I am curious to find out more about her. “I am a normal person – just like everyone else,” she replies, modestly. Yes, that was the impression I got; however, she is an ordinary person living an extraordinary life. Viviane not only owns a jewellery line that carries her name, she is also extremely passionate about helping the underprivileged, promoting Lebanon and taking care of her family.
Viviane started drawing and creating unique jewellery during the raging Lebanese civil war. “I was in Paris at the time, and a friend of mine used to like my designs, so I created designs for her. In fact, she encouraged me to expand on my talent. I took her advice and enrolled in the Gemmology department at the Paris institute. During that time, I participated in various exhibitions and eventually opened my first shop in Paris. In 1994, I opened my first shop in Beirut at the Sofil Center, and then a shop at the Phoenicia hotel with more on the way,” she tells me.
Although she travels widely for her business while simultaneously helping others through local foundations and international NGOs, such as Innocence in Danger, which is based in Switzerland and several other associations, which are linked to it by charter in France, Germany, and the USA. It is against not only paedophilia, but also paedo-criminality, which includes searching for children on the Internet among a list of other web-based crimes. She is currently making great efforts to distribute a new software program that will help to protect children from predators who use the Internet as their tool.
With a husband, three grown children, four grandchildren and one on the way, a hugely successful business and never-ending charity work, how does she find time to upkeep her awe-inspiring home? Surprisingly, she does and seemingly with effortless ease. Looking around from my vantage point near the pool, the external structure is large, but not overly so, and a very picturesque subject.
Constructed of concrete, but beautifully covered with green climbing plants and designed in the true rural taste, it is sequestered from the public gaze by close pine trees, yet still leaving enough room to view the Mediterranean from a beautiful perspective. A large area of the garden has been portioned to accommodate a children’s play area for her grandchildren. In short, it commands a most charming view and superb atmosphere.
“When we bought the house, it was already built. It was during the civil war. When we decided to come back, we wanted to avoid the shelling, so we chose this house in Rabieh. The house was nothing like this. We had to put in a lot of hard work by creating the gardens, adding structures and revamping the interior,” Viviane explains.
The deadly summer heat starts to get to us even though it is almost sunset, so my host invites me to the curtain-glassed terrace to continue our interview. “You always have to work on a home,” she explains, on the way to the terrace, “it’s an on-going process. Our house is attached to the way we live. If an aspect of our life changes, almost automatically something changes in the home. It’s not as if I bought a house and said, ‘Well, this is how it is and that’s how it’s going to stay.’ Rather, it has become a part of my personality and it changes with my evolution in life.”
Just how does a house change with the evolution of a personality? “My home is open to friends and family, so obviously the décor and atmosphere reflects that,” she clarifies. I am invited for a tour of the house – an offer I eagerly accept. Viviane’s home is very spacious and of elegant appearance. It took years of embellishing alterations, considerable enlargements and eye-catching décor and lighting to get it to look this way. On the main deck, the main features are an internal garden – nestled in harmony with a ceramic tiled floor - a cosy fireplace, an inviting bar and an elaborately decorated family room. Both antique pieces and modern ornaments sit side-by-side in perfect agreement on the display shelves.
“My home is a reflection my family’s life. It doesn’t look this way to show off. Many things have changed over the course of 25 years: the décor itself, the carpets, fabric, table covers, etc. I love to create,” she tells me. “I pick everything myself, but I don’t go to choose. If I find something in particular that really attracts me, I almost immediately purchase it. Whenever I find something I like, I visualize its place in the house before I buy it,” she says, smiling.
Topping off this wonderful home is a large roof deck that houses another seating area, an additional interior garden with a sunroof, a large wooden dining table and a wooden-floored terrace that offers amazing panoramic views of picturesque Beirut, Jounieh, Jbeil and the sea. I can see why her house had been dubbed “one of the most beautiful in Lebanon” and at this point, I just have to ask the question.
Instead of delighting my host, the question receives a sober reply. “No, no. That’s a wrong perception. It has to be said, so many houses in Lebanon are very well constructed and brilliantly decorated. Maybe the only difference between them and my home is that many tend to keep their original structure and décor over long periods. My home, on the other hand, is one that changes everyday. On a daily basis, there’s something new here. I mean after every trip, every outing, every week something changes. My husband says he sometimes doesn’t recognise it when he walks in and sometimes it’s just a minor change or addition.”
I want to know more about the changes. “It could be a new painting or a new table cover, but there’s always a change. I don’t believe in stagnancy. Change is part of our goal towards attaining the most human-like perfection possible. What I’m trying to say is that many people make the statement that my home is beautiful, because it’s a living, breathing entity. It’s not an overly large house, but it’s a house where we are happy. Each area gives you the mood and feel you wish to experience. You really can’t judge it unless you spend some time in each section,” she elaborates.
“You admire beauty,” I say, unsure if I had just asked a question or made a statement. “Yes, I love beauty,” she responds. “But beauty in my interpretation is so wide. Because I love beauty, I have learnt to love humanity and respect life itself more. I love people, because people make the world go round and because I love beauty, when my kids grew up, I wanted to be involved in something that created beauty. That’s why I worked in jewellery, because jewellery design is artistic and it is a channel for creating beauty that will live on for generations.”
We walk back down to the main deck and take our seat once again on the terrace. I sip a coffee and ask if any changes have been made to this particular area. “Yes. In the past, this terrace used to be covered with vines and louvers to shade from the sun. Now, when it came time to change the décor, we left the original tiles and louvers, but removed the vines and created the upper deck terrace you just saw. This is an outdoor area, but we wanted to make sure that we could utilize it during both summer and winter. We kept it as an outdoor area with outdoor furniture. As I told you previously, this house has no pretensions; there’s nothing overdone. Look at the furniture that we are sitting on, it’s bamboo, which you can find anywhere,” she says, modestly.
“Well something works brilliantly in the whole set-up and décor, what do you think it is?” I solicit. “Well, I think it’s a combination of all the elements. Look at the architecture, there’s nothing to write home about. It’s ordinary, but the greenery that covers the balconies and the walls, the gardens, the trees, the pool and the environment in general are what add to the beauty. Our friend, Serge Brunst, was of great assistance when it came to styling the interior décor. We just made sure it was put together in a tidy yet very basic style. It’s what fills it up and the atmosphere it creates makes the difference.”
I thank her for allowing me to spend some time with her for this interview. I can tell she is a modest woman and she doesn’t like to talk about herself all that much. Nevertheless, I ask her if she has any final words before taking my leave. “Well, I’d only like to add that we as human beings can help others. In the beginning, I didn’t like to talk about my charity work, but after a while I found that it was necessary to spread the word. If you stay silent, no one will know. Life is simple really; we all have to learn to live together. It’s so important.”
As I drive off along the now lit driveway, it dawns on me; I had not been a guest in Viviane Debbas’ beautiful ‘house’; I had been a guest in her beautiful ‘home’.
