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Majid Al-Futtaim brings Italian furniture brand Poltrona Frau to KSA
Majid Al-Futtaim brings Italian furniture brand Poltrona Frau to KSA

Arab News

time31-05-2025

  • Business
  • Arab News

Majid Al-Futtaim brings Italian furniture brand Poltrona Frau to KSA

Majid Al-Futtaim, a shopping malls, communities, retail, and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, has announced the opening of Poltrona Frau's first standalone store in Saudi Arabia at Centria Mall in Riyadh, marking a key milestone in the brand's regional growth. The store marks Poltrona Frau's third location in the GCC and part of Majid Al-Futtaim's broader strategy to expand its premium home offering across the Middle East. Located on the first floor of Centria Mall, Riyadh's premier destination for luxury and international fashion, the new 320-square-meter store offers curated lifestyle settings and a dedicated material library, which offers clients a hands-on opportunity to customize their interiors with an haute couture approach. Inspired by the warmth and intimacy of a contemporary home, the space was designed by multidisciplinary studio AMDL CIRCLE under the direction of architect Michele De Lucchi, and features layered textures, warm tones, and artisan-crafted details. Fahed Ghanim, CEO of Majid Al-Futtaim Lifestyle, said: 'Saudi Arabia is a key growth market for Majid Al-Futtaim and Poltrona Frau, as demand for premium, design-led living continues to rise. This opening builds on the brand's strong momentum following the world's first mall-based Poltrona Frau store at Mall of the Emirates and the launch of its localized e-commerce platform. It reflects our strategy to scale global brands across the region while delivering curated, high-quality omnichannel experiences.' Nicola Coropulis, CEO of Poltrona Frau, said: 'Following successful openings in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and São Paulo, our presence in Riyadh strengthens our position in a region increasingly aligned with our values of timeless elegance and artisanal quality. In partnership with Majid Al-Futtaim, this flagship store in Saudi Arabia will support both our residential and contract business growth, enabling us to serve both private clients and large-scale projects across hospitality, corporate, and public spaces.' The new flagship store will feature Poltrona Frau's most celebrated icons, including the 1919 armchair, the Vanity XC armchair, the Archibald sofa, pieces from The Five Seasons Collection of 2025 and highlights from the 2024 Imagine Collection. The Blisscape Sofa by Ludovica Serafini + Roberto Palomba, will be unveiled for the first time regionally, following its debut at the Salone del Mobile and its direct arrival from the Milan flagship store. Also on display is the Mallorca Rug from Sahrai's Underwaterlife summer collection, alongside products from Ceccotti Collezioni, the Tuscan woodworking atelier acquired by Poltrona Frau in 2018. To mark the opening, a Poltrona Frau master artisan will demonstrate the brand's handcrafting techniques live in-store, providing a rare glimpse into the savoir-faire that has defined the brand for over a century. The activation echoes the values of L'Atelier dei Saperi, a recently launched initiative aimed at preserving and passing on artisanal skills through intergenerational mentorship. Poltrona Frau's entry into the Saudi market marks a strategic milestone in its regional expansion, reinforcing the brand's commitment to meeting the growing demand for timeless, design-led living across the GCC. In partnership with Majid Al-Futtaim, the brand is set for sustained growth as it continues to strengthen its presence in the region's most influential luxury destinations.

High Turnkey Design In The Montana Pines Defines This $7.5 Million Modern Chalet
High Turnkey Design In The Montana Pines Defines This $7.5 Million Modern Chalet

Forbes

time25-05-2025

  • Lifestyle
  • Forbes

High Turnkey Design In The Montana Pines Defines This $7.5 Million Modern Chalet

44 Elk Highlands Drive, completed in 2023, sits among the majestic pines standing guard over Whitefish Lake, Montana. What happens when a property's designer is also its owner? For starters, that property is created as a home, not an investment to be flipped, not one of many projects developed to meet clients' briefs. The result is instead a deeply personal manifestation of that designer's tastes, wants, needs, emotions. A space to love and to live in. Such is the case with Florida-based designer Lori Faison, who first visited Whitefish, Montana in the early '90s while on a cross-country tour with her husband and some friends. The area's 'charm, natural beauty and endless recreational opportunities left an indelible impression,' she says. Returning in 2017, Faison was again nudged by a feeling she just couldn't shake—that she and her husband should 'plant roots in this gorgeous spot.' The serene shores of Whitefish Lake can be reached in under 10 minutes by car from 44 Elk Highlands Drive. That spot is the Whitefish neighborhood surrounding pine-lined Elk Highlands Drive. During the pandemic, Faison worked with Sonja Burgard of National Parks Realty to find the ideal lot to build 44 Elk Highlands Drive. 'This is her baby,' says Burgard of the turnkey property, completed in 2023. 'And [Faison's vision] is so evident the moment you walk inside,' she adds, commenting that during showings, 'jaws are dropping… and the words 'serene' and 'calming' are overheard a lot.' Wrapped in cedar, corral board and Montana moss rock, this home's exterior exudes warmth—a first impression that makes it seem established and settled into, not the turnkey new build it is. 'My vision for this home was guided by both early homestead cabins of Montana's past and the newer, more modern vernacular that's becoming more prevalent in new builds,' Faison reflects. 'I wanted to honor both styles and partnered with Jill Lawrence of Montana Creative to create a design that had an intentional crossover of modern and traditional mountain architectural elements, with the aim of seamlessly blurring the line between each style and creating a modern-day chalet.' Douglas fir and European white pine warm the interiors, while floor-to-ceiling bi-fold doors invite the light year-round. Inside, 4,200 square feet (390 sqm) of living space flow effortlessly throughout an intentionally neutral palette and a natural yet sophisticated aesthetic—as if this home just rose up ready-made from the mountains. Floor-to-ceiling glass enfolds you in forest, sky and mountain views so vivid that you need to remind yourself they're not 3D photo murals but a pine-scented vignette of right here, right now. 'The design intention was to create a home with walls of windows for an abundance of natural light to stream in during the long Montana winters, and of course to capitalize on the beautiful view corridors,' says Faison. Warmth is maintained, she adds, by using wood like Douglas fir on the walls and reclaimed European white pine floors. A custom tunnel-style fireplace connects dining room to great room. Tactile material natural materials tempt you to give in to the pleasure of running a hand along a waney-edged timber table, the easy glide of buttery leather, the coziness of tweedy upholstery. The great room's custom-designed tunnel fireplace is shared with the dining room, adding comfort and atmosphere to both zones. A bi-fold door system opens wide from the indoor living spaces to a heated outdoor deck that seems to float amongst soaring pine trees. Downstairs, a games room is set up to shoot pool or hunker down with Texas hold 'em, and a bunk room for guests means hosting and entertaining is always relaxed and easy. If you know you know… the singular pleasure of a moonlit dip in an open-air hot tub on a cool evening with the forest as your neighbor. Whitefish, with 10,000 residents, has the charms of a small town with a not-to-be-underestimated sophistication as well. During the pandemic, celebrities took notice and visited or purchased homes, and in 2024 Chef Todd English, four-time James Beard Award winner and Aspen Food & Wine Classic pioneer, co-founded the Whitefish Food and Wine Festival, which celebrates the culinary scene in the Flathead Valley. Lovers of live music will want to catch the Under The Big Sky Festival at Big Mountain in July set on a 350-acre ranch over three days with Tyler Childers, Mumford & Sons and The Red Clay Strays headlining. 44 Elk Highlands Drive is listed at $7,500,000 and represented by Sonja Burgard of National Parks Realty, a member of Forbes Global Properties—the invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.

How The Power Of Narrative Can Shape Your Heirloom Home
How The Power Of Narrative Can Shape Your Heirloom Home

Forbes

time22-05-2025

  • Business
  • Forbes

How The Power Of Narrative Can Shape Your Heirloom Home

One of the greatest benefits of designing and building a home in partnership with a thoughtful, client-focused architect is the way the dwelling can be tailored exactly to its intended occupants' needs and desires. And you'd think that communicating those needs and desires would be a straightforward process: just a matter of specifying the number of bedrooms and baths, requesting, say, a farmhouse look, and asking for a detached meditation and yoga studio to be added in the backyard. Drawing inspiration from the simple vernacular architecture found in the mountains of the Northeast, this home's three gabled pavilions are linked by low, flat-roofed connectors. The design frames long views to the distant mountains while also engaging the dense woodlands to the south, and a muted exterior material palette allows the structure to nestle quietly into its natural setting. The reality, however, isn't so simple. Who, for example, are those bedrooms for, and when will they be used? If you are the kind of person who is energized by mornings, you won't want your bedroom suite to be located on the north or west sides of a house, which get no sun at that time of day. Instead, you'll want those rooms oriented toward the east or southeast, to take maximum advantage of the early light, and you may wish to include an outdoor terrace or sitting porch for lingering over breakfast or coffee. Also, does the term 'farmhouse' have the same meaning for both architect and client? One of you might be thinking of white-painted shiplap walls while the other is visualizing dark, rough-hewn timbers and brick in their mind's eye. And so on. In our practice at Hutker Architects, we've come to understand that uncovering the fuller, more detailed stories that lie behind client requests, as well as appreciating the other sorts of narratives that a dwelling will become part of—many of which extend beyond the purely personal to take in the surrounding landscape and community—is key to the design of a truly responsive, appropriate, and one-of-a-kind custom home. My partners and I learned long ago how useful stories can be when trying to discover what really matters to a homeowner. One of the firm's early clients was a well-known children's book author. Instead of simply listing the physical amenities she had in mind for a new house on Martha's Vineyard, she envisioned how she wanted to live in the house and on the grounds, describing the events of an imagined weekend spent entertaining houseguests. Her depiction made clear what types of spaces would be required, as well as—crucially—how they should function and feel. The 'life room' in this coastal home—created in collaboration with interior designer Heather Wells—checks off several boxes from the homeowners' wish list: they wanted space for large family and social gatherings, opportunities to display works from their art collection, and a close connection to the water outside. As a result, we almost always ask our clients to write out a 'diary' of what they'd consider to be an ideal day in their projected new home. What do they see themselves doing, in what kind of environment, at what time, and with whom? How many people and what kinds of gatherings should the home accommodate? Interpreting those dreamed-up scenarios helps us understand in a much deeper way how to design spaces that will support every aspect of a family's life. After all, home is not just a place where you eat, bathe, and sleep. To employ some of the words we've collected from decades' worth of client journals, home is where you 'study,' 'pray,' 'exercise,' 'garden,' 'cook,' 'play,' 'love,' 'reflect,' 'recuperate,' 'work,' 'aspire,' and more—in short, a place that should bring joy and add meaning to every day. The terrain a house stands on has an equally important tale to tell. For a home I designed on Cape Cod, the influence of the site on the architecture played out in more than one dimension. First, and most obviously, the house is shaped by its lot's topography, transitioning between a low, sheltered front that faces an inland meadow and a loftier, glass-filled rear that opens to a wooded slope running down to the shore of a bay. But, before design even began, the owners and I also spent part of an afternoon walking the land, collecting materials that caught our eye: tree bark, stones, dried leaves, scrap metal, and a few chunks of blackened timbers that remained from an earlier house that had burned down. The day's finds inspired the palette of colors and materials we ended up employing for the new residence that soon rose on the property, including the choice of charred Japanese shou sugi ban cladding for parts of the structure. Elements drawn from the home's location became intrinsic parts of its essence. Our goal is to develop a deep sense of authenticity in the materiality and details of a home, as well as in its basic layout, integrating it with the natural environment it occupies. A family residence on Cape Cod incorporates colors and textures inspired by materials found on its site. We recognize the critical role that architecture plays in shaping the fabric of communities, so we go beyond merely conforming with local building restrictions to engage proactively with the social, cultural, and historical heritage of every locality. Another partner at Hutker Architects, Phil Regan, worked not long ago on a new home in the town of Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard. The lot where the house would stand was on a hillside that overlooked Aquinnah Circle, which is not only a major scenic tourist destination but also a sacred site for the island's native Wampanoag people. Building successfully in those circumstances required cultivating close ties with community organizations and maintaining a keen awareness of how the house would be seen from such a sensitive public place. Rooflines were kept low and rounded, the walls were covered in an engineered wood that has a muted, weathered-looking finish, and Regan even shifted the angle of the house by a few degrees so that its windows wouldn't reflect a harsh solar glare in the evening. The resulting design delights its owners and at the same time blends in with the contours and colors of the hilly terrain, making the house a well-mannered presence in its prominent location. This low-slung home on Martha's Vineyard makes a definite style statement while melding beautifully with the encircling landscape. Whether a house is set beside a salt marsh, perched on a suburban hillside, or nestled into a clearing in the woods, there will always be local human contexts to draw on. It's important to fashion dwellings that foster a sense interaction and belonging with their region, town, or neighborhood. We've never been a firm that turns out one signature 'look' for all purposes. We believe the aesthetics of a residence should be keyed to the narratives of its surroundings. Our designs respond thoughtfully to their context—whether it's the classic Shingle style of homes in a coastal town, the rugged charm of mountain homes, or the vernacular forms of rural barns and outbuildings—while reflecting the needs and aspirations of contemporary living. Calm, neutral colors, along with the organic notes imparted by a stone floor, ceiling beams, and basketlike light fixtures, designed in collaboration with Jean Verbridge of SV Design, allow a modern interior to feel at home on a secluded rural property. 'Style,' in our philosophy, becomes a matter of integrating a client's visual preferences and way of life with ties to the natural and built environments. The stories that a successful house embodies, at all levels, will support one another and evoke a sense of emotional connection, we hope, for inhabitants both today and in years to come. Kyle Hoepner contributed to this article

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