Some of the best memories I have of my childhood are growing up with my six siblings in our home in Hampstead, (North London)
During the holidays we would be thrown out into the garden after breakfast and were only allowed in at meal times. I enjoyed myself outdoors.
My dream was to be a gardener as I liked designing and landscaping. But that dream changed along with other changes in life.
My father (the late hotel magnate Lord Forte) had around 13 hotels, and insisted that we work in them whenever we had some time. So, even during holidays, we were behind the counters or in the kitchens, working and getting to know every aspect of the hotel. On hindsight, this was a good thing because it helped us get familiar with the business.
I was initiated into designing by my father before I went to Rome Art School. I am sure I have done more bedrooms than anyone in the world! When my elder brother, Sir Rocco, took over the franchise in 1996, he enlisted my design expertise in building up the Rocco Forte Collection hotels. As director of design for the hotels, I am excited that we now have a presence in Abu Dhabi.
The Rocco Forte Collection prides itself in giving people a sense of the place. If you are in our hotel in Rome we make you feel you are in Rome. If you come to Abu Dhabi, our hotels make you feel the splendour and ambience of Abu Dhabi. Every Rocco Forte hotel is different as we emphasise more on comfort and common sense and try to retain the local ambience. We don't repeat ourselves.
Things do change
Trends are never the same, so you want to add a little bit of ‘today' into conventional designs. But you don't want to push it so far that in five years time it looks dated. It's got to be something that lives for many years. Comfort is essential. Obviously, there is absolutely no point in tables that aren't solid and chairs that aren't comfortable.
When I start to design a hotel, first I try to understand the place
Once I get one good idea, I add on other things to it and it all comes together. When we felt we had to venture into this part of the world, Abu Dhabi came across as the most interesting and exciting place.
You have a lot of star hotels here but I feel ours is more contemporary with a little less of all the frills and fancies. From what I have seen of Abu Dhabi, the marbles are beautiful. Some of the buildings here are very aesthetic. Being Italian, I enjoy the brightness and the heat. The stress on family here is also something which touches a chord in me.
While shopping for the interiors in our hotels, I do not go for big names
I buy whatever pleases my eye. And you never know when some artist might get recognised. For instance, I bought three stone heads from a new artist called Emily Young. They were priced at literally nothing. But she went on to become a renowned stone carver. And now they cost a fortune!
I have been asked to design for others but I am too busy with Rocco Forte. My brother, Rocco is the boss and he gives me a lot of freedom. He trusts my work and I trust him.
My hobbies include some wild gardening in Sussex with columns and water features
I also love the opera. I wish I had a good voice so I could sing.
I am a bit of a perfectionist
Maybe it is because I am never really happy with anything. But you have to be a perfectionist to get the proper final result.
When it comes to designing, I can never see anything in empty spaces. I have to do it all on paper beforehand.
My advice to budding designers is to never compromise on style. That spoils your artistic creativity and bogs you down. Build up on experience and gradually learn new techniques till you get your foothold in the industry.
Quick Question: What are your favourite designs?
1. The five-star Augustine in Prague is a marvellous hotel. I've tried to recall the [original] monastery in some ways, with the wood floors and the heavy linen everywhere.
2. Hotel de Rome in Berlin is a conversion of an existing building constructed in1889 by architect Ludwig Heim.
3. The Verdura Golf & Spa Resort is set in a valley of olive groves near the small village of Verdura, Sicily. There was this tile from the 1900s and we took that print and blew it up and put it on the curtains, sofas, rugs and cushions.
4. The Lowry in Manchester, an award-winning hotel, makes a bold contemporary architectural statement with its dramatic, curved, glass-fronted façade.
Zenifer Khaleel is an Abu Dhabi-based freelancer
