DESIGN TALKS
© Interior-Treasures
© Interior-Treasures
Dining Mansion Dubai Living Apartment Monaco
red ,’ these are basic questions . But the soul of an interior is something which you can only attain when you really reach the soul of the client . When you can translate what the soul of the client is into an interior , then you succeed . The chemistry between us has to include trust . If you don ’ t have trust , if you don ’ t feel it , there ’ s no reason to start this journey , because it takes a long time .
: Have you had a situation when a client comes to you but does not have a clear vision ?
Marieux van den Broek : Of course , it ’ s a journey . You present several projects which you have done in the past . You present colour combinations and materials . Very quickly , you see it in their eyes and in the reaction of people when you are going in the right or wrong direction . I don ’ t think that , these days , there are clients who go for completely rococo , or completely baroque or any of those styles . My clientele are people of the world , people who travel — like you . You go to Dubai , Singapore , New York . You see all those flavours , you absorb them and that ’ s the same with me . Another thing that is very important is to have the latest materials to show my clients . We have two people in my company who are solely looking for the newest materials in the market and are going to all the most important exhibitions in the world . So , we have a constant library of all the newest materials . This way we stay ahead and are able to provide our clients with the best and latest materials . Being ahead is extremely important for me .
: In fashion and interior design , there are trends . Do you always follow the trends ? Are you a trendy designer ?
Marieux van den Broek : I believe I am , but I do it instinctively without really knowing it . You are a designer , you see something , you absorb it without knowing . You are passing by a shop , or you see someone walking and you say , ‘ Wow , that is nice .’ So you absorb all these influences and they are in your head .
But if you look very , very carefully , you can see a connecting line , you can see something recognizable which comes back in my work . You can recognize me because of my detailed quality and my materials . I love Art Deco and there is always a touch of Art Deco in the design . But that ’ s it . I ’ m not an interior designer who does ‘ copy , paste ’.
: Can you name three main things in design that are important to you ?
Marieux van den Broek : Harmony in design is important . How do you create harmony ? With colour , measurements and materials . People are buying a sofa , a table and a carpet because they think they are nice . Then everything arrives at home and they say , ‘ Oh my god , this is too small . I need another table there .’ Or ‘ What do I do with this wall ?’ Or , ‘ My carpet is too short , it ’ s a beautiful carpet , but I should not have done this .’ Those kinds of problems arise when you do your own decoration without an interior designer .
We do a layout plan , I will show you that the distance between this table and that sofa has to be a minimum of 45 centimeters , so you can , for example , reach a cup of coffee . The height of the table has to be measured exactly to your sofa . It cannot be lower or higher . All these things are important . When you buy a sofa , how tall are you ? What is the
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Entrance Hall Bulgari Villa Dubai
distance from your knee to the floor ? This way you combine beauty with comfort .
: You create almost everything , from furniture , carpets and chandeliers , all from scratch . Does it get very expensive ?
Marieux van den Broek : Many people think so . But , if you go to a shop , the shop is making its margin : 100 – 120 %. With me , you have the factory price plus my margin . Meaning , you can have a made-to-measure sofa for the same amount of money . And it is an exclusive sofa , it really fits in your room . That is an enormous advantage .
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