Our Founder: Mia Kitsinis
Our Founder and Head of Interior Architecture & Design, Mia Kitsinis, reveals her favourite artisans, talks about her design process and sources of inspiration within her 16 years in the industry and gives us a glimpse of the next trends in design globally.
What inspired you to become an interior designer?
When I was young, I was fascinated by the possibilities of building and reconstructing houses in the virtual world, presented to me by the game Sims. I was delighted by the challenge to unlock infinite resources, allowing me to build whatever I wanted in the game. This sparked a passion in me for architecture and design, and I decided to pursue it further. I took up freehand drawing and architectural drawing in high school and continued to develop my skills. After two years of practice, I was able to gain admission to the university and continue to pursue my passion for architecture and interior design.
Describe your experience as an interior designer.
No day is ever the same! Every single day/minute there’s always something new to learn, challenging, fun, exciting, surrounded by new people, dear colleagues. I love what I do and I would never change it for the world. It's something that I love waking up to every morning.
Which are the most important factors when designing a room?
When designing a space, I believe it is important to consider the purpose and intended use of the space. It is essential to understand the brief and any specific requirements or needs of the client to create a design that meets their needs and also works with their culture and lifestyle. To create a cohesive and unified design, I take into account all of the factors from the very beginning and then build upon that to create a design that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, if it's something to do with someone’s culture, we have to consider everything from the very beginning and then follow with a design that kind of completes and unites all those elements.
Which is your favorite project (finished or ongoing) and why?
Well, every single project is completely different and we learn from them. I would say I am very excited to start our next project. We had a very big loss in our industry recently. One of our Studio’s biggest fans, and mentor, Barry Breed, passed away. A very bright and talented man who always played a big role in my career, personally appointed us as an interior designer for a very big project that is starting this week. We're deeply honored and I'm very excited to start this project in his memory.
How would you prioritize tasks for a renovation project?
We generally follow the RIBA stages, to be aligned with our consultants such as architects, project managers, etc. I think that the key priority for a project is the brief. So, we start from the feasibility study and the brief while trying to understand what exactly we are asked to do, who the project is for, how we’re going to implement it if we do need to bring any other consultants on board, etc. So at that stage, there is a lot of back and forth and meetings with our clients and other appointed consultants. Then, following the RIBA stages we dive into the concept design and design development, the technical information stage, then during the construction we will oversee our elements, the manufacturing period for the furniture and goods, and then we end with the final installation of the project.
Would you ever prioritize aesthetics over function when designing a room?
I wouldn't say we would prioritize aesthetics over function. Around 90% of our projects are for our clients - not so many developers. Hence, our client is the biggest factor in our project and we prioritize delivering a product that works in the space and meets the client's needs while designing something that we truly believe in. Of course, we want to make everything look gorgeous and - you know - “Instagram-able” if you want to call it that way. But the key thing is making sure that everything works within the space. Whether your sofa is comfortable or if it's for the looks, we would highly recommend a client goes with something that would work with their lifestyle rather than something that only looks good. If they do have ample space and it’s such a big house with 2-3 living rooms, of course, we can be a little bit more playful and explore other options on aesthetics and kind of like that “magazine look”, in secondary areas. But again, it's all down to the client what they want to prioritize. Ultimately, it is the client's decision on which factors to prioritize and we strive to meet their expectations.
How do you keep up-to-date with the latest trends in interior design?
Generally, I make sure to stay ahead of the latest trends and ideas in the world of architecture and interior design by subscribing to publications such as Architectural Digest and World of Interiors. Additionally, when I travel to different countries, such as Italy, France, and Spain, I like to get the foreign versions of architectural digest for an even deeper insight into the local design scene because you just see a different kind of look and feel and, and it's quite different to our UK publications. Finally, there are countless digital sources of inspiration available, such as Instagram, Pinterest, and other similar websites, which allow me to access thousands of images and trends in a matter of minutes.
Which are your top 3 favorite home brands?
My top three favorite home brands are Bernardaud , L’objet and Soho Home . They are all renowned for their quality, unique designs, and beautiful craftsmanship. Bernardaud is renowned for its high-end porcelain dinnerware and decorative pieces, while L’objet is known for its luxury home decor and accessories. Soho Home is a great option for high-end furniture and home decor items, with pieces that are both stylish and timeless. All three of these brands offer items that bring beauty, sophistication, and style to any home.
Where is your favorite place to be, when you want to get inspired?
I love to be in our Studio Miaki office. I get inspired by our space and the design team. I love sitting around with the girls and just seeing them create beautiful schemes that are just so inspiring for me. Yes, I love the interaction in the office, and my biggest inspiration is definitely my team.
What is your dream home style?
I wouldn't say I have a dream home style. We don't have a look, within the Studio Miaki company. But, I would say my dream style is the location that I'm in. So if I'm designing a house in London, I do love the traditional Victorian houses, and just, capturing the inter architecture and just enhancing that. Likewise, if I'm in another country such as Ibiza, Athens, or the Greek Islands, I would want to keep the style of the location in mind and strive to capture the beauty of that particular place. I believe that the location should always be the main source of inspiration and just live that moment there.
Where in the world have you stayed where interior design & architecture has really stood out, and why?
I would say that I 100% love London. I chose to continue my career, and the majority of my projects are in London. I think it just has so much to offer. Every property we go in is completely different, but still in keeping with the architecture of the city and the town. So I just absolutely love doing London-period homes. That's why I'm living there, and that's why I love doing projects there.
Home is …
Even though I love living in London and I've been there for the past 14 years, I must say home is Athens, Greece, and the wider the Greek islands and everything that Greece has to offer.
How do you translate design into language that your clients and investors would understand?
When it comes to private clients, how we can create a design that fits their brief, creating a bespoke item or something completely tailored to their lifestyle, and their brief. When it comes to investors, such as the development, we would be looking at how we can optimize their assets and basically add value. I think the one thing in common is both the client and investor would love to know that our designs will add value to their asset, property, etc.
Can you tell us about your design concept and how do you approach a space like that?
It all comes down to basically how well a brief has been captured from our client and therefore if our client is available for meetings in person or through Zoom. We would ask for quite a few workshops, so we can work together. Sometimes they like to come into our office so they touch and feel the materials that we have and just make them a part of our scheme. So that's one way of approaching our concept.
If it's someone abroad and they have trust in us, which does sometimes happen where we rarely see our clients and we generally ship our samples and materials over to them. We would basically design from our experience or knowing from previous properties that we've done either for this specific client or again just looking at that brief and making sure that we're following and reminding ourselves why we started this, what is this for and who is this for the concept basically as an extension of our brief stage.
How do you see the future of spaces? What is the market expecting?
Generally, as you may have seen, an office space within the home interior is a key factor in having that space available. Whether it’s for a private client and they want a hot desk for one or two days from home, creating that environment that is enclosed, kind of away from their main living space, so they don’t have that feeling that they’re constantly at home. So, creating that kind of space is very important, but equally, another thing that we’ve seen is the open-plan living/dining or wellness space. It is a huge part of the interiors now and we hear this from a lot of our clients.
Equally, even if I’m looking for my own space, I will only look for something like that because entertainment, such having your loved ones home, or cooking with your family, you want to be engaging throughout the whole entire space as much as possible. Of course, you know, either you’re watching your kids from the living room whilst cooking or you’re having a drink with some friends around your kitchen island. So, I think the kitchen has become more of a focus and the heart of a home and it’s more of an extension of our living space, which is a big deal these days.
Are there any differences in terms of demand: what people want or what the market wants in Asia and in Europe or the rest of the world?
Open-plan living has become increasingly more common, and clients often ask us to design according to Western standards. For example, a kitchen used to be secluded and closed off, but now what we might be able to do if we have the space, is to create a support kitchen in the back where if there's anything that the client wishes to cook that may have some heavy orders, then that could be in the back, but then they have that gallery, entertainment, home kitchen in the front on show. This way, clients can enjoy the benefits of both open-plan living and a more traditional kitchen!
We certainly have quite a lot of similarities globally! I believe there is a high demand for Western design in the global market, especially from clients in the Middle East. We often get a lot of clients from the Middle East asking us to design according to how we do things here in the UK or in Europe. So they do like the Western type of interiors or spaces, layouts, etc. So, I definitely see a demand for Western design going global.