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Interview with Director Deirdre Renniers from Deirdre Renniers Interior Design

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About Deirdre Renniers

Deirdre is a Singapore and Cape Town-based interior designer. Her passion for delivering a remarkable yet meaningful customer experience through interior environments has taken her into airport lounges, aboard luxury yachts, and as far as exotic tea plantations.
Her career began following her interior design studies at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. After working for highly-regarded design studios in the UK and South Africa, Deirdre relocated to Singapore to take up a position with renowned and award-winning architect, Kerry Hill, where she worked on multiple prestigious hospitality projects.
Deirdre has since, with her team, completed various interior design projects internationally. Her expertise and passion is experiential-travel design, focusing on small resort, and travel-orientated projects worldwide.
Deirdre also collaborates with leading branding companies and has worked on notable corporate projects such as Thai Airways International, Royal Brunei Airlines, and The Singapore Exchange.

 

Image by Deirdre Renniers via Deirdre Renniers Interior Design

What inspired you to become an interior designer?


I actually wanted to study theatre design but changed my mind at the last minute when applying. I thought that interior design would provide a more stable career path.


How do you maintain the size of your teams in Singapore and Cape Town? Do you keep them relatively the same in numbers or is one bigger than the other?


I have small teams in both locations and the teams work on all our projects
regardless of location. We also work remotely with our preferred freelancers and
independent contractors, so our team can contract and expand depending on
workload.

Image by Deirdre Renniers via Deirdre Renniers Interior Design

What is one key principle that you follow for any interior design process?


Attention to detail.


How do you think your childhood influences your design thinking?


I think that it does to a certain degree - you are influenced by your surroundings
and culture.


Do you think it is essential for an interior designer to follow their homeowner to look for loose furniture? Why or why not?


I think they should consider the needs and then propose items that work. I think the designer should lead and select items that suite the scheme and the homeowner’s lifestyle.

Image by Deirdre Renniers via Deirdre Renniers Interior Design

In relation to the previous question, how important do you think loose furniture is in creating the essence of a home?


It’s most important - furniture should be a part of the ID from the start, so the items need to be considered holistically along with the interior architecture, artwork, accessories etc. in the concept phase of the design project.


Some people relax by reading a book, some do so by watching movies or shows. How do you take a break from interior designing?


I love to cook and read, and travel if possible.


Some may think that approaching a contractor directly, instead of consulting an interior designer, is more beneficial due to the difference in costs. What are your thoughts on that?


Probably in the short term, but overall a designer will save the client a lot, as there will be better planning, coordination, and cost control. The end result will also, obviously, be much more beautiful.

Image by Deirdre Renniers via Deirdre Renniers Interior Design

Due to the pandemic situation that has been going on, meetings with clients might have to be done over video chat applications like Zoom or Google Hangouts, instead of a physical meetup. How has this affected you and what are the biggest differences that you’ve faced
with this change?


We just finished a project abroad that was done completely remotely as it was not possible to travel to the site. We had our site meetings on Zoom, with a project manager based there. We communicated via WhatsApp and photos. With good communication and reliable contractors, it is possible to work this way. We also save a lot of time and cost by not travelling. Of course, we were unable to make the critical last minute changes that one would make on site after looking at and ‘feeling’ the space.


What is the future you have planned for yourself and Deirdre Renniers Interior Design?


We would like to venture into eco and sustainable design. I personally would love to renovate restore old farmhouses around the world.

 

Deirdre Renniers (Director)

Deirdre Renniers Interior Design

360 Orchard Road, International Building #08-02
Singapore 238869 

Tel: +65 6511 9521

Email: studio@deirdrerenniers.com

https://www.deirdrerenniers.com/