The essence of interior design is flow captured in a structure—
the scent of the future and dreams from the past distilled within a given space.

“Interior design demands more than a good eye.
Every structure has its own voice, and it’s my job to hear it”

Finding the balance between a client’s dreams and what the space allows is what Interior Design is all about. 

Profile / Prologue:

After years of designing, I’ve learned that each person has a unique vision of an ideal home—one built on longing, nostalgia, aspiration, and their own sensibility. Being an interior designer isn’t about imposing your own aesthetics or chasing momentary trends. It’s about helping clients bring their dreams to life in a way that works artistically, functionally, and within the allotted budget and time-frame.

Besides these criteria, there is one voice that’s often overlooked, one that demands full attention—that of the house itself.  While the walls may not have ears, the space does speak. And it’s my job to listen. Each space has a story to tell: its history, its boundaries, its potential. 

Paying attention to the client, the space, and my own creativity, I’ve learnt to internalize the conversation between them. When all are heard, the result feels inevitable—like the house knew all along what it was meant to become.

Testing the Waters
Like many reputable designers, I was forged by exposure to a diverse range of a artists, architects, furniture designers and urban planners—both luminaries from the past and the many collaborators with whom I’ve worked. But if I have to attribute my evolution as a designer to one thing, it would be a lifetime’s worth of watching mistakes unfold: mistakes made by me, by my mentors, by colleagues, and even by the geniuses I watched and admired. These mistakes were ones I learnt never to repeat. They ensured that no process would begin without a solid and flexible plan. 

Diving Right In
While my sensibility was informed by Bauhaus and Mid-century Modernism from early on, exposure to minimalism—Japandi (Japanese aesthetics/Scandinavian design) and Italian Sprezzatura— became deeply imbedded in all my works. My fascination with optimizing natural lighting while being keenly aware of textures, allowed me to create dynamic but harmonic atmospheres—ones where eclectic designs are juxtaposed with clean forms to create a holistic vision in a highly-calibrated flux. This flow, as I refer to it, means that each vantage points evokes a different emotional response that can range from intimate to stately, contemporary and playful. But no matter what fusions and stylistic counterpoints play off one another, there is continuity to every room. A whole. Respecting the dimensions and traditions of the structure, allowing well-choregraphed nuances and recherche furnishings to flirt with them, and finding a direction in tune with the client’s own ideals are all just different tides and undercurrents that determine the overall flow. Each room, each home, each store front property is a mise en scene—a backdrop lent to the whims of those who inhabit the space, and a space capable of exponentially transforming those very lives. 

Considering everything from sonic resonance, to intimate, and complementary textiles and works of art, the final product retains this sense of flow: where the walls, textiles, aesthetics, furnishings and the dreams of those who live there evolve within a harmonic sense of motion. No wall, no side room, no kitchen should be a compromised fill-in for space. Each choice has a precise reason for being there and should never be considered as a static object in its own right but in how it colludes with the rest of the room. 

Swimming in Thoughts
To get the best essence of a project, I first listen to the structure—it’s history, its unique traditional values, walls and facades—in an effort to maintain what is best in each. Then I listen to the dreamscapes of my clients who have their own idealized versions of perfect spaces in mind. Then I let the voices in my head —those tuned by years of aesthetic design and designer-awareness—fantasize freely. It is these disparate voices that catalyze my creativity until I can distill a complete vision into a step-by-step plan that can be executed precisely and can be well-calculated in terms of exact costs in advance. 

The Capsule Containing the Flow
It’s impossible for a designer to be of any value, if they haven’t built up solid team of highly skilled and talented professionals on their team. I pride myself at having solid long-term relationships with subcontractors, designers —textile and furniture and lighting— masons, architects, carpenters, assessors, certified installation specialists, electronic and even plumbing specialists. Some more contemporary organic forms even require landscape consultations so the house echoes the milieu outside. From inception to execution, I’m very hands-on with the team I choose —selecting from a large pool of skilled individuals based on the tasks required.  

 

My Anchor
Besides the many Dutch, Scandic and Slovakian designers whose work I will likely include in my future repertoires, I have already chosen to collaborate with the prestigious Italian company Cesar Kitchens as I find their design, use of solid materials, and state-of-the-art innovations a most pleasing gem in my arsenal. Their fluid but minimalist approach works in tandem with my own aesthetics and overall vision. And I have found that they are just the right fit for almost all my highly varied approaches. 

Kardos Studio in a Bottle:
My repertoire includes:

• Private villas 

• Homes both abroad and locally 

• Design for a chain of new apartments

• Designing boutique and flagship stores 

• Design and realization of country club tennis courts and club house aesthetically integrated with a renowned historical site on the premises.  

• Kitchens for many Villas and homes.

Kardos Studios Where the essence of design is transparency and flow
Because tomorrow dreams are born between walls holding our past.

(Transcribed by Rory Winston from a conversation with Judith Kardos)