From Cookie-Cutter to Culture-Rich: Fariha Nasir’s DIY Journey Home
In this episode, I talk with the wonderfully creative Fariha Nasir about how she transformed her builder-grade house into a deeply personal, heritage-rich home through bold DIY projects and meaningful design. Fariha shares how reconnecting with her Pakistani roots shifted her entire approach to style, leading her to incorporate block prints, color, pattern, and handmade details throughout her home. We walk through her favorite spaces, discuss the power of learning new skills, and explore how she creates a beautiful, intentional environment for her family. It’s an inspiring reminder that our homes can tell our stories—and that we can build them with our own hands.
Watch this episode on YouTube HERE
KEY TAKEAWAYS
In this week’s episode of The Slow Style Home Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with the talented and brilliantly creative Fariha Nasir—a woman whose home in Houston is a masterclass in blending culture, color, and courage.
Finding Her Style: From Pakistan to Houston
When Fariha moved to the United States from Pakistan 12 years ago, she wasn’t just adjusting to a new culture—she was living alone for the first time, trying to figure out who she was, and what her home should feel like. I loved hearing how she experimented in the beginning: bright colors, intuitive choices, a little bit of everything.
But like so many of us, she got swept up in the trends. At the time, farmhouse was everywhere, and she tried hard to make that aesthetic work in her first home. Eventually, she realized it wasn’t her. True style, the kind that holds meaning, wasn’t something she could mimic—it had to come from within.
And that “aha moment” came when she returned to Pakistan after eight years away. Surrounded again by walnut wood-carving, block prints, stained glass, intricate textiles, and the colors of Sindh, she felt a deep reconnection. Those motifs, those memories—they became the new compass for her home.
DIY Beginnings: From a Single Nail to a Fully Built Fireplace
One of my favorite parts of our conversation was hearing Fariha describe her DIY journey.
She truly started from zero—never even having held a hammer—and yet here she is, building entire architectural features in her home. Her very first big project? Ripping the carpet off her stairs on a whim one afternoon. She showed her husband a chunk of carpet she’d cut off, and that was it: the project was in motion.
From sanding and tenting off dust, to stitching runners together to mimic a vintage rug (since the real ones were out of budget), she taught herself every skill along the way.
And then there was the fireplace. Oh my goodness—the ambition! She and her husband framed the entire structure themselves, added drywall, and finished it in a feather-light concrete to give it the appearance of stone. The horizontal lines—firebox, bench, and landscape artwork above—bring the 20-foot ceilings down to a human scale. It’s stunning. And bold. And fully hers.
Heritage on the Walls: Block Prints, Patterns, and Meaning
Everywhere you look in Fariha’s home, there’s a sense of personal story.
The staircase, for example, features a wallpaper inspired by ajrak, a traditional dyeing technique from Sindh. I loved hearing how meaningful this pattern is in her culture—traditionally used to honor guests. How beautiful, then, to place it right where guests enter her home.
In the breakfast nook, she layered block-printed café curtains, grasscloth wallpaper, patterned pillows, and salvaged architectural corbels to create a soft transition from kitchen to dining. While she uses oranges, greens, reds, and blues, the tones are earthy, gentle, sun-washed—never loud. The room feels airy and warm all at once.
And then there’s the dining room, where a larger buta motif covers the walls—a pattern reminiscent of Pakistani bridal embroidery. Paired with blue-and-white plates, it becomes a perfect marriage of cultures: early American pottery layered over a deeply South Asian backdrop.
A Jewel Box for Guests
When I tell you her guest room took my breath away… wow.
She designed it with long family visits in mind (a month or two at a time!) and wanted it to feel like a jewel box. The entire room—walls, trim, beadboard ceiling—is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Sulking Room Pink, which reads mauve and sophisticated in the light. Fluted alabaster sconces sit on either side of a mirror above a Facebook Marketplace fireplace she transformed.
Layered block-print bedding, a curved upholstered bed, handwoven throws—it all feels worldly, curated, elegant. This is a room anyone would be thrilled to stay in.
A Handmade Bathroom to Match
The guest bathroom is a triumph of craft. Before Fariha ever imagined creating a wallpaper line, she stood in this room with a laser level and a paintbrush and hand-painted a block-print pattern across the walls. Fireclay Tile later partnered with her on the remodel, and she chose vertical stacked tiles in the shade Cardamom—warm, stone-like, full of variation.
She added a slate-blue liner tile around the penny tile floor, because… well, she couldn’t not add something special. The result is cozy, earthy, artisan, and completely original.
Designing for Kids Without Designing “Kid Rooms”
This was one of my favorite topics. As someone who believes kids can absolutely live with beautiful things, I loved hearing how intentional Fariha is.
She avoids “kid furniture” entirely—no changing tables, no nursery-only gliders. Instead, she chooses furniture that can evolve with her boys. The older one collaborated with her on a tropical-safari room with wallpaper on the ceiling (yes, the ceiling!). Both boys now sleep in the younger child’s room, curled up on a daybed—because that’s where they feel happiest.
Their playroom is equally thoughtful: elegant enough to become an adult space someday, but full of joy right now. There’s a DIY swing hanging from the ceiling, a vintage chest topped with art, block-printed wallpaper, kids’ tables, a play kitchen, and shelves where toys and “grown-up” objects mix comfortably.
It feels real. It feels lived in. It feels loved.
What I adore about Fariha’s home—and her story—is how deeply personal every choice is. Nothing feels generic. Nothing feels “done for the internet.” It’s all rooted in memory, culture, beauty, and bravery. The bravery to learn new skills. To reject the trend cycles. To create her own patterns, literally and figuratively.
And that, to me, is the heart of Slow Style:
Designing with intention. Honoring your history. Making a home that tells your story.
This conversation left me inspired, and I think it will do the same for you.
Until Next Time
-Zandra