Q & A with Luc Parietti, Managing Director of Euro Design Furniture
In this exclusive interview, Mr. Luc Parietti answers a few questions to give you an insight into his vast knowledge and understanding of interior design trends, fashion statements and the evolution of color trends over the past 20 years.
As we are celebrating Euro Design Furniture’s 20th anniversary, we thought readers would like to gain some insightful tips and learn how interior design trends have evolved over the years in the Thai market.
Conducting the interview is Mr. Sean Macaulay Bennet; with over a decade’s experience in the Thai marketing and business sectors, Sean has been a passionate lover of interior design for most of his life in the US as well as in Thailand.
Sean Bennet: Mr. Parietti, Euro Design Furniture is celebrating its 20th anniversary, how have interior design trends evolved since you started the company? What was trendy back then as opposed to now?
Luc Parietti: Over the past two decades, interior design and furniture trends in Thailand have changed tremendously, this is mainly due to the increased interest that Thai people now have in interior design.
This interest means that a lot more students are studying to be interior architects nowadays and it is easier to find talented interior designers. The second big improvement is the supply of materials. Twenty years ago, it was extremely difficult to find proper tiles or even kitchen appliances, many products weren’t available and the choices were limited.
Back then, the trend was very old school traditional wood furniture, focusing on a very heavy design. Whereas today, the trend is minimalism, limited to the necessary but still functional. This is partially due to the fact that the apartments have significantly reduced in size according to the increase of the land and property values all over Thailand.
Sean Bennet: Being a designer and having worked in the of architecture and design industry for over 25 years, how does Thailand’s architecture differ from that of Europe’s? Please give us an example of prominent structures in both regions that have a different architectural aesthetic? Luc Parietti: The difference in design and architecture is due to the different climates that you experience in Europe and Thailand, therefore needs are different. However, today, you can see that interior design is becoming more and more similar due to globalization and you can now have the same product in both markets giving the interior designer the possibility of adding a European or an Asian flavor to their interior plans irrespective of their location.
The best examples of historical buildings with completely different architecture styles would be the Royal Palace in Bangkok compared to a European castle. At that time of building, construction was limited to local supplies of material typically more stone in Europe and more wood in Thailand and the builders adapted the architecture to the local weather conditions.
Sean Bennet: Euro Design Furniture now has their own production facility in North Pattaya. What does that mean for the customer? What could I do with my private residence or commercial business in terms of renovation if I decided to go with Euro Design?
Luc Parietti: We have two locations to serve our customers; our showroom on Theprasit Road is where we can take care of all your design needs. We have two interior architects who can design your dream house or the perfect work environment for your company. This is also where you can see the quality of our craftsmanship as we have large displays of all types of furniture.
Our factory in Nongplalai, on the outskirts of Pattaya, is where we make all our furniture according to our designs or to the designs that customers submit to us. All the necessary production drawings are very precise and made after we have re-checked every dimension in your house or work place.
For renovation work like electricity, plumbing, air conditioning, floor covering, masonry tiling, ceiling, and painting, we can manage these as a one-stop service package. We have been working with the same contractors for two decades now, therefore we can replicate the custom interior of your dreams from design drawing to reality with ingenuity and ease.