Daher Interior Design mixes global with room in its new retail for retail, mixture, in Kennebunk, Maine.
The store is designed as an experience with configured vignettes so that customers can view what items can look like in their own house. This gives them the opportunity to imagine their spaces with a new perspective. / Photo by Jessica Delaney
Daher Interior Design’s mother-son-in-law of Daher Interior Design is one of a mixture of treasures they come from world trips and those they have discovered from local craftsmen. / Photo by Jessica Delaney
Mixture is a French word that means a mixture. For Paula and Clayton Daher – the mother -son duo of interior design Daher awarded – it is also the best way to describe their latest business, a new store of lifestyles located in Kennebunk, in Maine. “For us, it is a mixture of furniture, accessories, lighting, custom padding and works of art from all over the world as well as Maine,” explains Paula Daher. “For years, we have been going to Morocco and Paris. But it was also important for us to discover craftsmen of the state so that we can show what they do. »»
How was the concept born? After buying a house in Kennebunk four years ago, Paula worked remotely from there Friday and Monday. But it was always difficult to get the word on the company, even if it is well known in the Boston region. “We have therefore made the decision to expand our studio importantly. We bought a building that had been empty and made a complete renovation, ”she explains. “We have replaced absolutely everything. Two -thirds are now mixed, and a third is an extension of our interior design studio. The result is that when people pass to the building today, they are intrigued enough to enter.
“Before, it was so horrible as a destroyed building, so they are amazed at the transformation,” continues Paula. “This also shows what our team can do as interior designers and architects,” adds Clayton. “We have made all the architectural drawings for the building itself and managed the design. I went to the school of architecture, so it’s my journey before the interiors. In addition, the company has teamed up with Gregory Lombardi Design for the landscape of land design and Richardson Corp and Adams + Beasley for construction.
An external image of the revitalized structure at 135 Port Road in Kennebunk, which now houses both a mixture and a new studio for the Boston -based interior design. / Photo by Jessica Delaney
Given a large part of what Daher Interior Design does with its full -service residential customers is to buy accessories or finishing keys that occur at the end of an installation, the team thought that a retail store selling the items they put in their customers’ houses were a natural progression. “Now when the end of the project arrives, we can withdraw from our own inventory,” explains Paula. “It also allowed us to stretch the creative muscles in different ways.” In addition, a mixture as a whole, notes Clayton, is practically a postcard of what the company does. And to achieve this, the space of 3,000 square feet was designed in a very specific way. “We have created a store that is an experience. We have set up stickers so that when people enter, they can see what things could look like in their own house, and this also allows them to think about their spaces differently, ”explains Paula. “For example, we have configured it so that you can understand how to mix a beautiful Moroccan pottery with a luminaire made by a Portland lighting designer.”
While the team knew there was a market for their idea, favorable comments certainly helped to strengthen the concept. “It was welcomed with such positive enthusiasm by people who arrive because the mixture of product looks like nothing in this area,” concludes Paula. “For years, I have come here in search of different sculptures and ceramics for customers, but it was such a joy to find even more – and that these artists want to bring their articles to the store were a winner.”
From crockery and ceramics to lighting and furnishings, Mémis offers treasures abroad from destinations, notably Paris and Morocco, as well as articles made in Maine. / Photo by Jessica Delaney