“H ere in The Pearl, I can see a little bit o Venice, Spain and many more. Look at the design, it’s there in every one’s lie and in every ace o lie,” said Thomas Pheasant, obviously impressed by what he has seen. “As long as you do not lose your identity,” he added; “it is great to use it with other art orms.” Pheasant was equally impressed with Doha’s Museum o Islamic Art. “It is antastic,” he mused. “The past, the present and the uture o interior designing in modern and technological cities like Doha, is going global. History, here, is very ancient. It is a new developed city. What is ascinating is that the art in the city is international in a way.” Pheasant, who has done the interior designing or the house o the UAE Ambassador in Washington D.C. made it clear that the Middle East is a special place or him. He urther said that it was also important that the cultures o the Middle East continue to be expressed, merged and connected with young designers, reerring to a group o students he had met at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. Reecting on the philosophy behind his designs and on his hall o ame status as a designer, he said that his love or design started rom his early childhood. “My taste or classic design started at the age o nine when a third grade trip to the National Gallery in Washington raised my interest in classic design and let me with an impression that was to stay with me till today.” Pheasant, who was brought up in beautiul and museum- rich Washington D.C., recalls the beautiul dome, the dark marble columns and the art orm he had seen on that trip to the National Gallery. “I was so impressed with all that I’ve seen that I wished I had lived right there,” he said. Pheasant is known today or his work that mixes the classic along with the contemporary. “Although my style and my roots are in classical architecture, I think I am also a modern thinker and I like to give people an emotional sense that they can eel when they walk into my space,” he said. “I use simplicity in my work and oer a serene interior.” Renowned interior designer and a rchitec t, Thomas Pheasant recently opened his gallery collection at “Living In” at The Pearl. Winner of prestigious international awards, Pheasant has carved a niche for himself in furniture design and interior decoration . During his maiden visit to Qatar , isola caught up with him for an exclusive interview where he opened up his mind to share some of his long kept secrets. Renowned Designer “Serenity follows my work” Text: Loucia Yousef Isaac Photography: Vicken Seropian Thomas PheasanT the “Living In” showroom at The Pearl’s Porto Arabia district. May - June 2011 129 May - June 2011 128