Below is an account of someone who visited the House of Mirrors before its renovation and expansion.

The only person creative enough to have imagined the Mirror House of Kuwait is the woman who built it, Lidia Al Qattan, the widow of the late great Kuwaiti artist Khalifa al Qattan.
Life between Lidia and the Khalifa has always been cheerful but something started to brew in the 1960’s. The usually cheerful Kalifa was painting some very dark images: tortured souls and burning cities. And Lidia’s creativity started bursting out in unexpected ways. Once, when Kalifa was away at an art show, she decorated their slightly shabby dinning room cabinet with shards of mirrors, making a glittering diamond out of a piece of used furniture.

Kalifa liked the surprise remodeling and encouraged Lidia to do some more experimenting. They found a mirror factory and asked for their broken pieces. Seventy-seven tons of mirror, 102 gallons of white glue, forty-four tons of white cements and many years later, Lidia has covered almost every surface in their house, inside and out (with the exception of Kalifa’s studio on the second floor) with mirror mosaics. She used different hues and thicknesses to create texture and patterns. There are shooting stars on the ceiling, quotes from the Koran on the walls and intricate patterns on the floor. There are angels and apples, dolphins and grapes, birds and planets. The bathroom glitters with mirrored swordfish and seaweed, swirling waves and leaping fish.

Even the toilet lid has golden rays emanating from a blue center. The effect is overwhelming, but nuanced. It is joyful house, but not haphazard. It is an entire, coherent work of art. Every mosaic had a purpose, every room a theme. The living room is Planet Earth, complete with mosaics of plants and fish. The ceiling features the entire solar system in multi-colored mirrors. The hallway is the Corridor of Nations. On the top of the wall (between the birds frozen in mirrored flight) is a quote from the Koran that states God has no preference for one nation over another and that only those who respect each other are blessed.

Their daughter’s bedroom was done towards the end of the project, and in record time, as it had to be finished before she returned from the U.S. where had was just completing a degree in aeronautical engineering. In keeping with her interests, it became the Zodiac Room, featuring constellations made from glow-in-the-dark stars. Other rooms include the Basin Of The Sharks (back hallway), Inside The Sea (the bathroom), Hidden World (pantry), Room of Knowledge (library), and the Room Of The Universe (master bedroom, complete with the Big Bang and an exploding supernova – you can take the girl out of Italy but....).

The Stairs of Inspiration lead to the second floor where Lidia and Kalifa have their painting studios. There are no more mirrors but Lidia still manages to push the boundaries of art. One room, festooned with more glow-in-the-dark stars, has a fabric wall. All visitors are encouraged to throw velcro-backed, multi-colored triangles at the wall, ninja star-style. Lidia then ‘reads’ the patterns to tell you your personality. But it is Kalifa’s art that dominates up here. His paintings are displayed in his private galleries, clustered by theme. One room contains a delightful group of portraits called ‘Ladies I Met’.

Here also are the dark, disturbing paintings Kalifa produced in the ‘60s. The ones of the chocking black smoke and mutilated bodies that clashed so jarringly with his usually easygoing personality.

When he first showed them to the world they were considered shocking. Now they are considered prophetic. These painting predicted, in astounding detail, the horror of the Iraqi invasion.
Call ahead to arrange a tour. No admission fee and, as this is a private house, copious amounts of tea might be offered. Some of Lydia’s pieces may be available for sale. Remember, it is most polite to extend a gift in return for the unique Kuwaiti hospitality that will be extended.
Telephone 2251 8522 to schedule a tour. Qadisiya area Block 9, Street 94, House 17 (You can’t miss it; it’s the one with the pieces of glasses glued all over it.)