Marie Soliman is an interior designer who discovered her passion for design at the age of 15 when she was tasked with creating a spa and wellness concept for her uncle. This experience, coupled with a significant project designing the Château Latour Restaurant and wine room at the Four Seasons Hotel in London, has shaped her professional identity. Marie believes that design transcends mere decoration; it’s a continuous learning process. She emphasizes the importance of listening to clients, understanding briefs, and fostering enthusiasm, while also highlighting the need for technical knowledge and creativity.
Drawing inspiration from her Egyptian heritage, Marie appreciates the rich architectural history that influences her designs. She embraces diversity in her projects, adapting to different locations and climates. Her design philosophy values the beauty in imperfection and the charm of mixing old and new elements. Marie recommends starting with art to create personality in spaces, incorporating sustainable practices, and using green as a transformative color in interiors.
Her notable achievements include the Other House Hotel and the Where is Laowai project in Vancouver. Passionate about her work, Marie encourages aspiring designers to seek opportunities that allow for creative exploration, learn from mistakes, and actively engage with the world around them to fully appreciate the beauty of design.
Helena Costa: What led you to pursue your passion for Interior Design?
Marie Soliman: The earliest memory regarding design that I ever had was at age 15, just when I started university, with no experience at all. I got asked by my uncle to design a full new spa and wellness concept. I was so thrilled and I remember the butterflies in my belly! But also I felt so scared of the what if! What if I fail or do something wrong? I spoke to my mentor, and he said, you jump and then you learn how to swim. He encouraged me to accept the job and so I did, and I still remember that it looked beautiful. The whole process was 9 months from design to completion, putting together the concept, sourcing materials, hiring builders to do the work, managing the budget, learning to handle pressure and most important learning never to moan, remember it is a paid job not a university project. I do believe it truly honed my skills and boosted my confidence. Strangely enough, the education I got from this experience is what made me who I am today, not studying in university.
On a more professional level, designing the Château Latour Restaurant and wine room in Ten Trinity Four Seasons Hotel London in 2013. I was asked by my previous employer (pre-founding Bergman Design) to look into the space of a Grade II listed landmark building of power and prestige a few steps away from Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. To design this room/restaurant with all the existing listed walls. I remember not just that I was fascinated by the architecture and the interiors of the listed building but by the amount of knowledge I gained and learnt about wine and about the Château Latour wine house.
Design is not just a style or decorating a space, it’s truly a way of living and learning constantly about different topics too. A very enjoyable process when one embraces it. The same happened when I started working on the golf course at the Windsor Golf Hotel in Kenya, I learnt so much about golf in order to design this resort. There are so many exemples!
HC: What do you think are the most important skills for an Interior Designer?
MS: Listening and knowing the client well. Whether it’s a private residential client or a hotel operator. Make sure you understand the brief, followed by thinking out of the box and how to create an experience. Always show three options, one vanilla, one pushing the boundaries and one total marmite - you will get better feedback, but you will also be surprised what the client could actually like!
Don’t forget enthusiasm - positive energy is contagious, so when presenting na idea, one has to belief in the design in order to make the cliente believe as well. Last but not least, know your businesses inside out, talent is so important but functionality and the technical knowledge is equally as importante.
HC: Cultural and natural heritage is what defines us as a people. Do you have any cultural or natural characteristics, a tradition... something that is intrinsic to what you consider to be your "home", your culture and that you have with you when you create or design?
MS: I enjoyed growing up in Egypt, with so much history, architecture and a different kind of beauty. The architecture part was always my favourite. As you see from the Pharaoh temples, Ancient Egyptian architecture was mostly monumental temples and tombs, and featured obelisks, battered walls, pylon-towers, pyramids, cavetto cornices, large columns with lotus, papyrus, palm, and other capitals, hypostyle halls, and courts, that is so different compared to the early ages of Christian monasteries and churches. This was followed by the Ottoman and Islamic art and era. Then modern architecture and the influence of British and French architecture, a melting pot of so much history for everyone to enjoy and embrace. I believe that this was a big part of my identity and my love of sketching from a young age, also creating sculptural forms leading to interior architecture at a later stage.
HC: Where do you derive your inspirations from?
MS: I don’t have a house style, I am not a decorator, all my houses are different on a personal level, and every project is different too--different location, different building and heritage, different climate etc. I love dreaming, creating and most important having fun! Where would the fun be if all the projects had the same style?
HC: Do you think beauty is something that is accepted by the majority of people or an Interior Designer can decide whether something is beautiful and that’s what matters?
MS: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, everything has its own beauty. Sometimes things are obviously beautiful and sometimes you find the beauty in the imperfection. Mixing the old and the new been always my own personal mews, I find so much charm of sourcing antiques and odd objects - they look odd on their own but with the right layering they stand out in the space creating a wow factor with instant authenticity too.
HC: What are three interior design tricks that you always like to recommend?
MS:
1. Start With The Art
A wall should never be void of personality. For colour, detail and joyful character, large scale wall murals are always a good choice. More refined than a wallpaper and more interesting than a coat of paint, adorning a wall with an oversize brush, a colourful stroke or sculptural bold 3d gesso is a shortcut to making a room to stand out with a wow factor. The most successful spaces are the ones that evoke an emotional experience.
2. Le Flaneur is the muse
A sustainable approach should never be hard to embrace. Mix the new with the old and vintage, give old treasures a second breath of life. Creating an intimate connection and creating a stage of meaningful luxury. There is so much history, fun and beauty behind hunting the good antique pieces that create a very original design story!
3. When in doubt use Green
Green is having a bit of a moment. Symbolising nature, freshness and vitality, the colour green is an enduring favourite when it comes to interiors. Beautiful when layered with natural linens or silk. This colour can totally transform any space.
HC: What is your most significant achievement in your Interior Designer career to date?
MS: Arh! this is like asking me if I have a favourite kid. I love all my projects and each stands out differently, but I can’t be more proud of the Other House Hotel and Club residence we designed and also Where is Laowai in Vancouver.
HC: If you were about to be reborn, what would you like to be — Still an Interior Designer?
MS: I don’t see myself enjoying anything else: colors, art. architecture are in my blood and I can’t be more proud that I am living my dream. I also love people (!) and interior design is a people facing career, so really I cannot ask for more.
HC: If a student wanted to enter the field, what advice would you give them?
MS: Work for someone who asks you to design and not just draft, make mistakes and learn from them, be confident and never shy about your ideas, no idea is stupid, no question is stupid, listen, look up when you walk in the streets and see the beauty of the buildings, go to an art exhibition every weekend, go to textiles workshops, have a digital print, don’t be a ghost.
