Life & Style | Home & Interiors
High design: Twenty1 Middle East
We visit the Twenty1 Middle East showroom in Abu Dhabi, the new interior design store which supplies innovative furniture that will help green your home and office.
- By Naheed Akram, Features Writer, InsideOut
- Published: 00:00 October 1, 2009
Purchasing environmentally-friendly products for your living and working area is not on the top list of things many would consider when shopping for interiors. However, the trends are changing as more and more people in the UAE are becoming eco-conscious. For Torben Hildebrandt, managing director of Twenty1 Middle East, taking the initiative to supply environmentally-friendly furniture is just a small part of his big lifestyle venture.
Northern Europe has always been one step ahead in terms of design trends, so it's no surprise that the company originated from this region. Hildebrandt hails from Denmark, where creativity rules, thus most of the furniture in Twenty1's Abu Dhabi showroom, a converted from a warehouse, is by Scandinavian designers. He points out that he has not completely ruled out selling contemporary Italian and traditional Arabian furniture in future because both styles represent culture.
"Our concept will mainly focus on environmentally-friendly interiors and open-plan living spaces with a modern but classic look. We wanted to start small and focus on the contracts market at first, but we do plan to open several lifestyle retail stores at a later stage," says Hildebrandt. "I liked the concept of a lifestyle interiors showroom in an industrial area, we wanted to create that wow factor and have an open plan layout," he adds.
A lot of consideration has gone into the visual design element of the 2,000 square foot warehouse and the minimalistic furniture is elegantly displayed in the showroom's several room sets. Making use of small compact spaces in the best possible way is something which comes naturally for Twenty1. It aims to create functional commercial and residential space that is stylish and sustainable.
Hildebrandt says, "An office desk was more about ‘the bigger it is the more important I am'. It's not like this anymore." Perhaps to some extent he is right because old-school corporate companies in the UAE have ditched their retro style desks and swivel chairs and are refurbishing their offices in a contemporary
and laid-back style. Some clients in the UAE are even going as far as buying an entire ergonomic furniture package for their head offices. But despite this change, the big question is: are local residents ready to green their living spaces and spend more on furniture that is environmentally friendly?
Hildebrandt believes the market is going in this direction but at a slow pace, "Our stock is competitively priced, in fact I'd say we are medium priced. If you compare the price of the same design brands in the Far East, our products are affordable." The quality of the materials used for the company's green furniture is worth the cost, he says. "I don't look for quantity, I look for quality. In due course, we want to be the leader in providing sustainable interiors. Not everyone can afford this type of furniture but you have to understand that there is a story behind a chair which costs Dh3,000."
The showroom is useful for those looking for something which offers the Ikea ideology but with a green approach. Tvilum-Scanbirk is one of the largest furniture producers in Europe who manufacture flat-packed furniture that is Indoor Climate Certified. This means all products are tested for harmful substances.
The brand uses very low emission chipboard and MDF that is covered in foil or melamine; printed or lacquered. Everything they produce uses PERF - certified wood from sustainable forests. One name to look out for is Variér, which has a great selection of recliners and lounge and dining chairs. For a contemporary and classic finish for your office space, Fumac Classic, Fumac Design Collection and Dieffebi are also available in Twenty1.
Hildebrandt says selling eco-friendly furniture is not new in the UAE but assures clients that they're distributing some of the best brands. Setting up in Abu Dhabi has been a good starting point for the company, but it's still in its infancy. Judging by their plans, though, there are plenty more surprises to come.
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