When Nicolette Pouw and her husband moved into their villa in Dubai, the first person she could think of to help decorate her new home was her friend, Osca.
"I have always been a big fan of Osca's quirky, mix and match style," she says. "Her eye for detail and her extensive experience means she really knows how to put things together. I needed someone to make my house look stylish but different from all the houses that I have seen and I knew that Osca was the right person to achieve just that."
Walking into Nicolette's home, Osca Blom's design sense becomes immediately palpable. The colours around have a pop art buoyancy but overall, the design is one of ethnicity. This ethos is peppered with European reserve and it makes for an interesting fusion. Originally from Holland, Osca's knack for interior design runs through her blood as she comes from a long line of style makers.
"My mother opened a shop back home in 1978 when I was four years old," she says. "It was an interiors shop which stocked furniture pieces and luxury gift items. She was always ahead of her time and was deemed by many to be a trailblazer, scouring the world for interesting finds that she would then display in her store."
The first glimpse into the home reveals a comfortable sofa, made cosier with the addition of colourful cushions. This sits against wallpaper by Elitis. While this, in itself, looks fun and modern, the Moroccan pouf table and animal head table from Global Village, plus the colourful carpet on the floor picked up in Damascus, takes it to a design level that Osca is garnering a following for.
When it comes to decorating, the designer's unpretentiousness makes itself evident. The only thing that leaves this lady from Holland cold is a very modern, minimal space. And so, homey touches abound in this colour-infused arena where mother of pearl mirrors are placed next to a cabinet filled with books and other knick knacks. "This helps to keep clutter contained within certain areas," she says. Osca's love of quirky earthenware, in luscious jewel shades, further augments her homegrown, soft romantic touch.
The master bedroom, a normal boxy room, has been given the Osca treatment by injecting a lot of colour and ethnic touches, such as an Indian mirrored throw, cushions from Uzbekistan, stools from Indonesia and a kilim by Andrew Martin. This famous brand played a large role in deciding Osca's career direction. Growing up, Osca and her sister would both help their mother; her sister with the store and Osca with the business side of things.
After her mother's untimely demise, she decided to lend her sister a hand. It was then that the sisters became design names to reckon with, twice chosen for the prestigious Andrew Martin Design Awards. Their beautiful work has also been featured in House and Garden magazine, in addition to various other publications.
The guest bedroom is a fun, tongue-in-cheek look at how different elements and colours can come together in a cohesive whole, while Nicolette's favourite space is the dining room. The painting, by Dirk Pols, an artist from the Netherlands, played an important role in the general colour scheme of this area. The cloth on the chair is an African tie-dye material bought in Belgium and all the dinnerware has been sourced from the Sofa Studio. "Osca has given each and every room a different atmosphere," continues Nicolette. "The living and TV rooms both have light base note colours, combined with splashes of brights. In the formal living room, we went with deeper colours and it looks very beautiful, especially in the evenings when the lights come on. The bedrooms are a mix of classic and modern, much like the rest of the house."
Dubai's interiors scene, as far as Osca is concerned, is a burgeoning one, underpinned by a fact she believes - as a designer - she needs to always keep in mind; the tenet that the population is mostly transient, which means a lot of people live in rentals or they have a holiday home or an investment place here.
"Because of this," says Osca, "the attitude towards interior design is different. They do not want to spend too much on their homes but they do like to give their homes atmosphere, and all this needs to be achieved quite quickly. Which essentially means interior work over here is more about pragmatism and problem-solving, and it becomes a bigger challenge as one tends to operate within tighter parameters, largely governed by budget and timing. What I really like here is working with clients from different countries and cultures. It broadens my own perspective because Arab and Indian style is in complete contrast to Dutch style. I have definitely amalgamated these styles into my personal decorating ethos and even when I do move back to Holland, this influence will play a large part in what I do as a designer."
