Rita Chraibi

Rita recently previewed an exciting upcoming project with Haute Design. The massive structure is set to result in an exceptional and unprecedented exterior for Miami.

Haute Design: What does a project of this magnitude mean for your firm?

Rita Chraibi: This means a lot. This kind of project is a big challenge because it is an existing house that we have to completely reconfigure. The residence is more than 30 years old. For the exterior of the house, we have redesigned all the facades. This completely affects the interior as well as it alters the distribution and rearrangement of the layout. Therefore, the interior design of the home has been completely redone.

Taking into account all the constraints of the existing house, it's a lot of parameters to take into consideration and a lot of constraints to manage at the same time. From a scale and size point of view, it requires a lot of time and very experienced interior design teams to manage a huge project - which also implies teams to manage and coordinate on-site.

It also implies a lot of creativity because this type of mansion has to be completely rethought and reconfigured, not just on an aesthetic level, but on a technological level as well. There are plenty of constraints to manage since we have an existing house with all the structural and architectural limitations. So yes, it’s a very large project in terms of its size and importance and it's a wonderful opportunity to be able to express my creativity and expertise on such a project.

HD: What is the most exciting part about tackling a project this large?

RC: It's very exciting to compare the before and after aspects of a project like this. You have a house that's over 30 years old and you have to completely changes its style and redesign it. Unlike new house built from scratch, we will benefit from this before and after concept and it's very exciting. Aside from the size (42,000 sq. ft built-up) and importance of the project, what will be most exciting is to see the house at the beginning of the project and then see its gradual transformation toward the final result. We're expecting to get the sense that it's not the same house at all and it will be somewhat of an extreme makeover.

HD: What will be the main inspiration for the design of this home?

RC: It's a house that was built in a Mediterranean style in the 80's on a private beach. The location of the house is exceptional. The owners wanted it to be modern but in a classic style that respects the shape of the house. Knowing that we were redesigning the interior as well as the exterior of the house, I proposed to my clients to do something unique and outstanding, never seen before in Miami, so we designed the exterior of the house in a “French chateau-style” as we often see in France - My clients are very refined and loved the idea of having something completely different and brand-new - it's unprecedented in Miami and the result of the exterior of the house will be truly exceptional!

The interior of the house is definitely very modern and this is often the case with renovations in France for all the old buildings and even in the “Haussmanian” style apartments in Paris. The character and the old architecture are preserved while matching it with a contemporary interior design.

I find the result very interesting as a kind of respect for the past with a foot in the future. It is a kind of confrontation between the old and the modern that gives an unparalleled result.

The post International Designers’ Rita Chraibi Teases Benchmark Residential Design Project in Miami appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Haute Design: What made you fall in love with design?

Hafsa Burt (hb+a Architects): I’d say the ability to imagine the impossible and be able to plan it out so it becomes real. As designers/architects, we have the ability to solve technical and conceptual problems, which is the reason why I fell in love with design. The potential of realizing a concept by taking it to paper and eventually making it a product is quite an addictive process. I have always loved walking through spaces and landscapes and imagining what they could become. It’s a bit of a theater in your head that you organize and churn out functional spaces or objects.

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Photo Credit: hb+a Architects

Rita Chraibi (International Designers by Rita Chraibi): What made me fall in love with design was the ability as an to project myself into a space as an interior designer before it's even been realized. It is an absolutely fascinating and marvelous process which is to imagine and create what comes to me as an inspiration and to be able to express it. It's exactly the same process a painter would go through in front of their white canvas.

I fell madly in love with the design process and the power to make things imagined and inspired come true and become concrete. It is absolutely a unique discovery!

Rita Chraibi

Photo Credit: Barry Grossman

Guimar Urbina (Guimar Urbina Interiors): The connection with fashion. You don't have to like it, you have to love it. That's what I feel every time I make a design that I present to my clients. I must fall in love with the concept to be able to present or sell it. The place where you live or work must have a connection with your personality, your lifestyle, and what you want to reflect of yourself onto others. Many people think they know what they want but many make mistakes. Love is like choosing a good or bad partner. You must get the connection.

Guimar Urbina

Photo Credit: Oscar Huespe

Leslie Saul (Leslie Saul & Associates): The Dalai Lama said, "Happiness is when you lose track of time." I have always felt happiness and joy when I get involved in an art or design project. I think my love of design came in part from my mother, who was very much into design. My mother also had a perfect color memory, so that if we were out shopping, she knew how to choose something new to go with something old, and when we got home, the colors would match perfectly. Perhaps my love of design and my love for my mother are intertwined.

Photo Credit: Matt Delphinich 

The post Haute Design Experts Share what Made Them Fall in Love with Design appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Rita Chraibi

Photo Credit: Juan Pablo Castro

Rita recently discussed her design background with Haute Design and explained how it affects her approach with high-end clients.

Haute Design: How has your rich design background influenced your career?

Rita Chraibi: When I was young, my dream was to become a fashion designer. Life has steered me toward the world of interior design. I had the chance to study in a world-renowned prestigious architecture and design schools in Paris, École Camondo, but I kept this love and passion for the world of creation and fashion design. This is why in my creations I always incorporate major fabric brands such as Christian Lacroix, Jean-Paul Gauthier, Hermès, Missoni, etc. The thought process is that they 'dress' my interiors the same way a fashion designer would dress a unique top model on fashion runways. I think, in the luxury spectrum, this touch humanizes the spaces and adds a chic and simultaneously 'haute couture' signature.

Haute Design: As we know, the process of interior design depends not only on the designer but the client as well. How do you share enough about the client but also control the design narrative all at once?

Rita Chraibi: I believe the role of an interior designer is to tell the story of an interior. This interior has to be as unique as its story. I always listen very closely to my clients' expectations in order to create and design up to the standard of expectations of their dreams. It is from those dreams that I tell a story - a unique story: the story of the interior. To me, this is the most important role an interior designer must play at the beginning of each adventure in order to determine what a project can represent.

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French-Moroccan interior designer Rita Chraibi of International Designers, Julien Bigan, Director of Roche Bobois, and Nicole Fuller of the international interior design firm Nicole Fuller Interiors were hosted by Haute Living's April Donelson. The topics talked about included some of their projects and collaborations, as well as the experiences they had individually and professionally as the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the industry.

Watch the webinar below.

Highlight quotes from the webinar:

Rita Chraibi: "The future of interior design is the future of architecture and development... I love to tell a story for a project; it's very important for me. I do not like to talk about style or about trends. It's a very particular relationship between me and a project. I try to understand and listen to a space."

Julien Bigan: "It's very interesting for me to see the complete look of a home [decorated] with Roche Bobois done by a designer because this is where the true essence of Roche Bobois [comes out] in terms of creativity, innovation, and quality. You can really see those values there. It's a journey for us to do that, and the results are very spectacular."

Nicole Fuller: "Design is always going to be based on beauty and what the client wants, whether commercial or residential. Today, it's even more exciting. We've been pressed to think of it in a different way. We want to think ahead for our clients... If people need to budget for something, I think a lot more of that is going into everyone's space."

Watch more webinars on the latest in real estate and interior design at https://dev.hauteresidence.com/.

Top: Rita Chraibi, Nicole Fuller. Bottom: Julien Bigan

The post A Conversation On The Importance Of Interior Design appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.