In pursuit of perfection
There’s always a debate in the interior design world between following the trends and staying with timeless pieces. This dilemma, and the never-ending pursuit of perfection, are topics we discussed with the various design experts we sat down with for this issue.
Aerin Lauder, granddaughter of beauty mogul Estée Lauder and founder of the New York-based lifestyle brand Aerin, says it’s most important to be authentic. Her design philosophy? “Living beautifully should be effortless, and every room should be useful and serve a purpose.”
Hee Welling, the renowned Danish furniture designer, told us during a recent visit to Jakarta that making, say, a chair long-lasting is the best thing any designer can do, so that people will want to keep it for life and pass it on to the next generation.
When we visited the newly opened Apurva Kempinski Bali recently, we were astounded by the 475-room resort’s massive lobby and the many original carvings it contains by artisans from all over the archipelago. Interior designer Rudy Dodo explains how he spent more than five years researching archive texts and centuries-old literature to recapture the golden days of the Majapahit Empire.
Meanwhile Prasetio Budhi, the man behind Indonesia’s Plus Design, also believes in beautiful details. “I love to add a touch of glamour to a room with statement pieces, such as cabinet or a mirror,” he says.
Elsewhere in this issue, we meet up with busy-as-a-bee interior designer Kezia Karin to learn about her recent triumphs, most notably a glamorous apartment for Louis Vuitton, while Charles Sutanto of BWI foresees Indonesia’s furniture industry enjoying a golden age.
As always, it was an inspiring experience to discover some of the best ideas in design for this issue, particularly as this is the last edition of Prestige Living. Curating products and looking up stories for this series of special issues has always been a highlight of the year for us at Prestige. Moving forward, however, we will incorporate content related to design and living, from product reviews to exclusive interviews, in our regular issues.
On that note, we thank you for following the journey of Prestige Living and invite you to share what we learned from our exclusive interviews and more.