Shangri-la Exotic Home Decor Ltd

The literary Shangri-La is a mystical, harmonious valley, synonymous with any earthly paradise, and stepping into Shangri-La Exotic Home Décor is like stepping into a whole different world. The sounds and sights of traffic from Gateway Boulevard fade behind chimes, soft, mysterious music and the scent of rich wood and incense.

Everyone who comes in is greeted personally and offered a mug of Chinese tea by owner Norideen Kitchell, who emigrated from Hong Kong in 1996. “I always offer our guests a drink, because anybody who comes in here, I don’t treat them as a customer – I treat them as a guest, as a friend,” says Norideen. “So, if you have a friend coming into your home, wouldn’t you offer them a drink?”

Norideen’s ‘home’ is an eclectic display of colour, black teak wood, red lacquer, brightly painted Buddhas, art and jewellery. There are full-sized dressing screens with carved images of Buddha’s face, painted and inlaid with mirrors, a table full of carved sitting Buddhas, and graceful elephants carved from a single piece of wood. Everything is imported from Indonesia, China or Thailand. Norideen travels to Asia at least once a year to meet with artisans and place orders.