MODERN CL ASSIC WITH A TOUCH OF FUN
INTERVIEW WITH THERESE LINDBERG, CO-FOUNDER OF DIANA DOMINIQUE INTERIORS
Tell us about Diana Dominique… Diana Dominique is the upgraded and refined result of merging three long term companies in the interior sector. We decided to come together and combine our skills and assets into an exciting new brand. With Diana Dominique we have created a platform that brings together all aspects of interior and exterior design, including reformations, architecture, sourcing and international logistics, under the one roof. Most importantly, we wanted to do this while still staying open to both professional and end-cli ents through our Atelier and stores. After a period of construction, the first 500 square metres of our new show room is now open for business and a further 200 square metres is currently under construction.
What is special about your showroom? First of all, we are of course happy about the distinct style that is Diana Dominique. I would describe it as an elegant modern classic, with a fun twist. The look is achieved with a large selection of brands from all over the world (some exclusive to us), in-house designs and an excellent combination of minds. The shop features a great range of furniture and décor, fabrics, wallpapers and rugs. Our assistants go out of their way to help clients source that one perfect chair. At the bar we invite designers and clients to have a coffee or a drink and browse our stock at leisure. There is a co-working station for free lance designers looking to benefit from our portfolio of suppliers and crafts men. We believe that the willingness to share and cooperate with the market is really important for maintaining the dynamics and fun of the whole process. Down the road we have another two warehouses full of ready-to-collect stock, making us a particularly interesting place for those in a hurry. We al ways carry a good selection of Swedish beds as well as international acces sories, rugs and furniture ready for same-day delivery.
What is your key philosophy when it comes to decorating? We have the benefit of working in a town with many talented decorating companies. I think all of us would answer more or less the same. We want to meet and exceed the expectations of our clients with quality, service and accuracy – and of course a great design! Furthermore we go a long way towards properly getting to know our clients and their tastes, enabling us to adapt our look to their vision. Ultimately, dec orating should be a joyful experience, whether it is commercial or private. Bringing together the project by understanding the client, the location, the ambition and the budget is the key. It is also what we love to do.
Where do you see the future for Diana Dominique? We are grateful to be growing and are constantly on the lookout for new talent to join our team. The goal this year is for another store to open in the area, and we are currently negotiating a couple of international locations. A parallel team is working on a really interesting webshop to take our products further afield. The sky’s the limit. Meanwhile, I would love to welcome everybody to visit us and have some fun. If you want to design a special cushion, find a perfect table or design the house of your dreams, we are there to help. Diana Dominique Atelier is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 7pm, but we are happy to see you outside of hours by appointment.
Diana Dominique Interiors Pol. Ind. Nueva Campana 54, Marbella Tel. ( +34) 663 568 988 info@dianadominique.com www.dianadominique.com
EXPERTS IN NATURAL STONE AND WHY ANY LUXURY HOME SHOULD INVEST IN IT…
INTERVIEW WITH MERCADO DA PEDRA MANAGING PARTNER RAMI EL JAMIL
Tell us more about the concept of Mercado da Pedra and how you approach your work. Our general concept is to offer a wide range of stone with a superlative ser vice while ensuring the utmost respect to the planet’s natural resources. We use technology and honest craftsmanship to offer beautiful stoneware for the home as we love working with this raw material, and we are experts in the field so we always stay true to the precious natural stone itself – working with its natural beauty to create exquisite and unique products to enhance the aesthetic of ambiences. As a result, interior designers, architects and home owners alike realise their dreams with us through the beauty of stone in a magical and harmonious process.
What services do you offer? With more than 17 years of experience and expertise under our belt, we are fully committed to offering superlative guidance and the product to clients who are interested in installing stone into their project. We know that every
home is unique and special to the homeowner, and each project deserves attention to detail and excellence of production. We are meticulous when it comes to the finishing of our stone and always try to enhance the natural stone’s beauty so that the installation elevates the decorative aesthetic and the homeowner will be able to enjoy it for many years to come. From the creative approach to the final application, we extend our com mitment to the after-sales service, making sure the result truly achieves the dream. Not only have we made installations in residential homes, but we have also installed our stone in glamorous hotels, museums, offices and much more. No matter who our customer is, we will communicate with them throughout the whole process so that they feel assured that the installation is done perfectly and to the highest standards.
What is so special about natural stone? Stone is a green building material, so it is environmentally-friendly. It is recy clable, durable and requires only low maintenance. While engineered mate
Photos by Johnny Gates
rials might need lower maintenance than marble, they could never have the same depth, versatility and uniqueness in colour and character as natural stone. No slab of stone is the same, which is why it is so special and also is timeless.
What can you offer in terms of finishings and design ideas? Many. There are anti-slip finishes that can make the limestone suitable for outdoor use, honed finishes that are made safe for indoor use, and other unique tumbled, waterjet or sandblasted finishes that can add more tex ture and character to the stone. Our craftsmen are mind-blowing with their innovative creativity and can design anything you want out of stone – from decorative wall art, tabletop finishes and artistic tiles even to sculptures.
Why choose Mercado da Pedra? In the case of Mercado da Pedra, we offer tradition, credibility and a great deal of experience. What makes us different is the diversity, quality, know
how and specialised application. The combination of these four aspects provides a firm decision point for the client to go ahead, and that is why they have chosen us because we have a longstanding reputation in this field. My job, from the very first moment, is to advise on the purchase decision and the search for alternatives, and to analyse possible technical or budgetary constraints, helping each client – professional or private – in the execution of their vision and project so that the experience for all of us is harmoniously beneficial and rewarding.
Mercado da Pedra Avda. de Salamanca 17-18, San Pedro de Alcántara (Marbella) Tel. (+34) 610 004 356 rami.jamil@mercadodapedra.com www.mercadodapedra.com
CREATING CUSTOM-MADE KITCHEN FURNITURE FOR STYLISH HOMES
INTERVIEW WITH CONSOLACIÓN OSUNA
Director of Grupo Monasterio
What is your company’s background in the industry? Grupo Monasterio is a Spanish company with more than 25 years of experi ence in the design and manufacture of kitchen furniture. Our identity is de fined by three key factors, quality, service and design, with the added value of German-made kitchen style and expertise. We have our own team of ar chitects, designers and interior designers.
Grupo Monasterio is relatively new to the Coast but has been operating in other areas of Spain for many years. What made you decide to come to Marbella? Marbella is a charming city, which we were already familiar with as manufac turers of kitchen furniture, and where our products and services fit in very well. From this magnificent focal point of the Costa del Sol, Grupo Monasterio can develop projects for the homes of clients anywhere in Europe. What areas of design do you specialise in? We only specialise in the area we know best and which we are passionate about: the integral design of kitchen furniture. It is wonderful to enter an un inhabited space – where nothing exists, perhaps some walls – and project an idea with its own character, and featuring an exceptional, functional and ergonomic design. The interior design industry is booming at the moment. What services do Grupo Monasterio offer that make you stand-out from the rest? Throughout my career as a designer specialising in integral kitchen furniture, I have acquired knowledge that can only be achieved through training com
plemented by experience. That is why at Grupo Monasterio we are commit ted to high quality, of the brands we represent and the designs we create – and the impeccable installation of our furniture products. In short, we always aim to provide the best service to our customers. You work with a major German kitchen brand. Tell us more about this and why you chose to work with them. As I previously noted, our overriding objective is to offer quality products to our customers, which is why we place our complete trust in Nobilia, the larg est European manufacturer of German kitchens. What are some of the more interesting projects that stand out for you, and why? All projects, or almost all, are especially interesting for us. However, above all else we are flattered that clients choose us for our service and profession alism. Also, as part of our “Be Smart” concept – highlighted by innovative designs, with resistant and sustainable materials – we are committed to digitisation and introducing cutting-edge technological elements in our designs.
Grupo Monasterio Avenida del Mediterráneo Edif. Corona, N º 4 (Local 19) San Pedro de Alcántara (Marbella) Tel. (+34) 951 669 889 / (+34) 604 406 374 administracion@grupomonasterio.com www.grupomonasterio.com
PROVIDING EXCEPTIONAL FABRIC OPTIONS FOR ELEGANT HOMES
INTERVIEW WITH LOANI HOME CEO LOLA AGUADO
Tell us about how Loani Home started out… María Rosa Arrabé, my grandmother, founded the first home textile store in Marbella in 1981, with a French firm named Descamps. Her taste for high-qual ity and well-designed fabrics meant she enjoyed years of success, dressing the best houses in Marbella and the surrounding area. A few years later, she decided to include the Habidecor brand, a small high-quality bathroom rug firm that was just starting out. It was already clear then that Celso, its founder, was doing things really well, highlighted by his love of textiles and his considerable industry knowledge. Some years later, he created Abyss and, of course, my grandmother did not hesitate in incorporating what has become the best towel firm in the world into her small store. In 1998 the Descamps brand suffered some ups and downs. My grandmother and my mother, Lola Alario, decided to change to another French brand, Yves Delorme, a new firm that had been launched with significant impetus. The company continued to grow, and after five years they realised that they needed to be able to offer more options to clients, so in 2003 my mother and I created what is now Loani Home. Loani Home began as a multi-brand tex tile store with firms such as Abyss & Habidecor, Yves Delorme, Bellora, Trus sardi, Missoni, Armani, Frette After years working with interior designers, helping them dress beds for their projects, we saw the need to create a brand that would give them total freedom when designing and choosing colours, fabrics and measurements. This is how Loani Custom was born in 2018. Now we have incorporated into our family of firms the exclusive bedding brand Celso de Lemos, something completely different to other brands.
You have carefully selected the brands that you work with. Tell us what these main brands are and why you chose them. After many years working with the best brands around the world, we made the decision to focus on the most exclusive brands – those with which we shared values. So we stayed with Abyss&Habidecor and Celso de Lemos, who work with the best quality cotton, always taking meticulous care of each detail, and who are also able to work on special orders. Plus, of course, with our own brand, Loani Custom.
Tell us more about Loani Custom… With Loani Custom we help clients design and create exceptional bed linen that is ideal for their homes. We work with fabrics of varying qualities sourced from Europe, with the best raw materials from around the world. In our factory in Andalucía, we transform these fabrics into unique items with the highest quality finishes, all by hand. Each item is made to order, designed for each bed individually.
What do you particularly enjoy about your work? It is beautiful to work with high-quality fabrics, designing and creating unique items. I’ve been at this for 20 years, travelling the world and learning, and I never have enough knowledge. It’s nice to think that I help people sleep bet ter, which we do for one-third of our lives!
Loani Home Avda. Jaime de Mora 2, Marbella Tel. (+34) 618 591 305 clientes@loanihome.com www.loanihome.com
