Impact on the future of interior designs
In this interview, Creative Director of Lola Awofeso Interior, Rasheed Awofeso, speaks on the interior design industry, its impact on the future of work, and the effects of the
Excerpts
Tell us about your journey into Interior Designing?
Way back in 1986, when I started my life as a young man, I worked with the Lagos-based interior decoration outfit, Mike ‘O’ Carpet. There , on we worked on anything interiors which includes but not limited to window blinds, made of fabrics, vertical/ venetian blinds,floor coverings like carpet and things that has to do with beautification…for corporate organization and individuals
How long have been into the business ?
Like I said, business of interior decoration is my main business since 1986
Did you study interiors in any school or is it just pure talent?
I attended Multilateral grammar school, okun owa. Infact It was at the point of registration for WAEC that I went for business courses, I was in woodwork/ Technical drawing class, that was where I derived the knowledge in home furnishing.
So this gave me a kind of edge in the interior Decorations world.
What is your take on the current state of Nigeria’s interior design?
The current state of interior works in Nigeria has gone through tremendous changes; for instance, in the 1980s, carpet made of fiber was mostly known. Today, we have tiles made of ceramic and different floor coverings.
Yes, nothing in life is static; it’s rather dynamic. We have a lot of innovation in the industry. The challenges facing the industry are numerous and not limited to the fluctuating foreign exchange rate in Nigeria. It’s one of the sectors that has been providing employment opportunities to numerous Nigerians.
What is the impact of foreign exchange rate and future of the interior design industry?
The future of interior design in Nigeria It’s an industry that will continue to witness unprecedented improvement. Most institutions of higher learning have developed several curricula in that aspect, so they’re capable of reducing the level of unemployment in our society.
Every home owner is looking forward to having a beautiful homestead; hence, the industry will continue to thrive for a very long time to come.
Advise our teeming youths; it’s an industry that they can explore in order to excel perfectly. It should be seen as another financial breakthrough or windfall because it has lots of varieties that are yielding good pecuniary returns.
When doing the interior of a home or office, what are the key points that are very important to note?
Organization image start from the reception area,it’s the point of interface between clients and the organization.Theway you set up your seats, wall, windows blinds other artistic impressions so that the place can look attractive.
So from there, you can see that when you have a good design, you are trying to project the image of your organization. So when you visit an office, even in our homestead, right from sitting room your mindset is to see the type of furniture, and how beautifully arranged
Window covering ,wall painting, You really want to look at POP designs Along with other interior that makes the apartment comfortable and a place to live. So similar situation applies to corporate bodies.
On the request of a client for design
First step is the need to visit the site for observation, measurements and roll out list of items that are necessary.