I posted saki101 privately about the house because I just love it and want to live there. Okay, I want to be able to afford to live there :)

Anyway, she said it was based on a real house, The Arabian House, and was lived in by an artist named Frederic Leighton. It has been turned into a museum and there is an interactive guided tour available here:

http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/leightonarabhall/tour/arab.html

Here is a blog entry with pictures from someone who toured the house:

http://aracelisrandomness.blogspot.com/

Oh, and she also sent me this link to a youtube video of the Scheherazade ballet
that the dance sequence was based on. That's here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1aFrAV3d1o

I always find the real-life inspirations for stories interesting and thought I would pass this along. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Anne