A local DJ turns her home into and oriental palace

Jamjuree "Julie" Kasher, who's better known as DJ JJ of 95.5 FM Virgin Hitz, has always dreamed of living like an oriental princess. And her home certainly resembles a palace, with walls covered by paper in a rich red tone, doorways veiled by beaded curtains and rooms glit¬tering with a collection of chandeliers and mirrors of all types and vintages.

"I'm fascinated by Eastern art, especially the colours and the graphics," says the ThaiAmerican DJ. "I think all those movies I watched about Queen Cleopatra when I was a kid must have planted the seeds.

"There's something very mysterious about it. I love vintage and classic acces¬sories, the beauty of line draw¬ings and tassels, and the way the crystal reflects the light," she adds.

Her bedroom is decorated  Indianstyle with two red and yellow bead curtains, one over the door and the other screening the entrance to the bathroom. The yellow curtain was made in the 1970s and JJ found it in Melbourne, Australia.

"There's a story to that yellow bead curtain," she says with a smile. "I was a student and he was a creative direc¬tor with an advertising company. We met by accident and found we had a lot in common af¬ter both trying to buy it at the flea market."

Today, she has more than 10 bead curtains, collected from Chatuchak Weekend Market, as well as from stalls in Turkey, Nepal and Australia.

All the rooms in her house are soft¬ly illuminated by lamps and crystal chandeliers, most of them from Italy and Spain, with a few made in China that are copies of vintage European designs. Their prices ranged from Bt10,000 to Bt20,000.

"The white crystal of the chandeliers serves to tone down the strong colours in the rooms and sets a calming mood," she explains.

JJ also uses her collection of vin¬tage mirrors to give more dimensions to the living and sleeping areas. Her first mirror, bought for Bt7,000 from Suan Lum Night Bazaar, has an Indian design. Over the stairwell and in the bathroom, she's hung Malaysianstyle mirrors decorated with flower mosaics.

"The trapezoid mirror is the most expensive one I own - I paid more than Bt20,000 for it. But the one on the first floor is a Chinese copy of a vintage Louis XIV style, so it was quite cheap."