DePadova
Studio van 't Wout's Italian design adventure: the Padova
DATE
27 December 2021
TEXT
Jasper Gramsma
IMAGE
Brian Mul
The interior designers at Studio van 't Wout recently opened a third branch: the flagship store of design label De Padova on Kneuterdijk.
Interior designers Saskia and Arie Alderliesten breathe design. The couple live and work in the showroom of their Studio van 't Wout on Zeestraat, where you can just walk in to see all the beauty. "That's unique in the Netherlands," says Saskia. "Nowadays everything is called a concept store, but we were one of the first."
Vitra's LCW armchair
The two have now been at the helm of the Hague-based interior design phenomenon for exactly a decade, which also celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2021. Arie: "We are celebrating with a new house style and a special focus on Vitra's LCW armchair. A design favourite of ours that was designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946, when our studio was founded. It is on sale at a nice discount."
Saskia and Arie Alderliesten.
Arie and Saskia don't have time to blow out the birthday candles, because their enthusiasm is running almost faster than they can keep up with themselves. Barely recovered from the recent adventure with their flagship store of design brand LEMA ("we had the art director, Piero Lissoni, at the opening, the Bono of interior design!"), they plunged one door down on Kneuterdijk into a "flagship" of equally Italian label De Padova.
 | Read also: The Hague's best tips from the editors: Maja Landeweer The editors of Bij Ons In De Residentie on golden tips, guilty pleasures and special shops |
"We couldn't have thought of this ourselves, you know," laughs Saskia almost apologetically. "With us, things like this just present themselves at the right time. There's not necessarily a plan behind it. Everything we do, we do on intuition."
Innovative materials
Nevertheless, the collaboration with De Padova is a logical step. "We have known their agent for a long time and he was completely flabbergasted by what we had done with the LEMA flagship store," Arie explains. "As soon as the premises next door became available, I got in the car to Milan to clinch the deal; Studio van 't Wout, LEMA and De Padova are totally different, but are very compatible."
'As soon as the property next door became available, I got in the car to Milan to clinch the deal'
Meanwhile, colleague Erik Ruttgers slides in for a lecture on LEMA. "It is a family company, originally a cabinet manufacturer. Their furniture made of beautiful and innovative materials such as clay and constructed marble are 'contemporary'. This makes them easy to combine with classic or ultra-modern."
Indeed, anyone looking around the LEMA flagship store with the look and feel of a cosmopolitan flat in New York or Tokyo can imagine that the furniture relates well to many interior styles. "LEMA was open to us creating our own atmosphere in these spaces," says Arie.
'With their attention to detail, the Italians invented design!'
"We did that by working with warm colours and using special wallpapers, among other things." And where is that typically Italian thing when it comes to design? "With their eye for detail, they invented design!" exclaims Saskia. "The finish is great and the shapes are slim and subtle. With Scandinavian design, the construction is often more open and robust. This is more intellectual, this more emotional, you could say."
The Padova
According to the Alderliestens, the Padova is at the intersection of both design trends. Knowing its history, this is not surprising either. "We often met the founder, Maddalena De Padova, at trade fairs. She was an extraordinary woman with a sharp vision," Arie recalls. "In the 1950s, she and her husband started importing Scandinavian design in Italy; unimaginable at the time. You can still see that handwriting in their furniture, with lots of Scandinavian and Japanese elements - with an Italian sauce, of course." Saskia adds: "Our new De Padova flagship store is much lighter and more contrasting than LEMA's. That suits the premises and especially the brand."
Drawing table
Now that the paint is dry and all the furniture is in place, surely it is time for yet another challenge? Arie and Saskia look at each other and laugh. "You know, we are interior designers ourselves, of course, and we love our profession," Saskia replies. "If you make your business too big, you become more of a manager. The absolute prerequisite is that we can stay behind the drawing board ourselves." Arie agrees. "This is where it stops. I think." That wording offers another tiny opening, as does his mischievous look at the thought of such a new adventure.
text Jasper Gramsma / image Brian Mul
The interior designers at Studio van 't Wout recently opened a third branch: the flagship store of design label De Padova on Kneuterdijk.
Interior designers Saskia and Arie Alderliesten breathe design. The couple live and work in the showroom of their Studio van 't Wout on Zeestraat, where you can just walk in to see all the beauty. "That's unique in the Netherlands," says Saskia. "Nowadays everything is called a concept store, but we were one of the first."
Vitra's LCW armchair
The two have now been at the helm of the Hague-based interior design phenomenon for exactly a decade, which also celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2021. Arie: "We are celebrating with a new house style and a special focus on Vitra's LCW armchair. A design favourite of ours that was designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946, when our studio was founded. It is on sale at a nice discount."
Saskia and Arie Alderliesten.
Arie and Saskia don't have time to blow out the birthday candles, because their enthusiasm is running almost faster than they can keep up with themselves. Barely recovered from the recent adventure with their flagship store of design brand LEMA ("we had the art director, Piero Lissoni, at the opening, the Bono of interior design!"), they plunged one door down on Kneuterdijk into a "flagship" of equally Italian label De Padova.
| Read also: The Hague's best tips from the editors: Maja Landeweer The editors of Bij Ons In De Residentie on golden tips, guilty pleasures and special shops |
"We couldn't have thought of this ourselves, you know," laughs Saskia almost apologetically. "With us, things like this just present themselves at the right time. There's not necessarily a plan behind it. Everything we do, we do on intuition."
Innovative materials
Nevertheless, the collaboration with De Padova is a logical step. "We have known their agent for a long time and he was completely flabbergasted by what we had done with the LEMA flagship store," Arie explains. "As soon as the premises next door became available, I got in the car to Milan to clinch the deal; Studio van 't Wout, LEMA and De Padova are totally different, but are very compatible."
'As soon as the property next door became available, I got in the car to Milan to clinch the deal'
Meanwhile, colleague Erik Ruttgers slides in for a lecture on LEMA. "It is a family company, originally a cabinet manufacturer. Their furniture made of beautiful and innovative materials such as clay and constructed marble are 'contemporary'. This makes them easy to combine with classic or ultra-modern."
Indeed, anyone looking around the LEMA flagship store with the look and feel of a cosmopolitan flat in New York or Tokyo can imagine that the furniture relates well to many interior styles. "LEMA was open to us creating our own atmosphere in these spaces," says Arie.
'With their attention to detail, the Italians invented design!'
"We did that by working with warm colours and using special wallpapers, among other things." And where is that typically Italian thing when it comes to design? "With their eye for detail, they invented design!" exclaims Saskia. "The finish is great and the shapes are slim and subtle. With Scandinavian design, the construction is often more open and robust. This is more intellectual, this more emotional, you could say."
The Padova
According to the Alderliestens, the Padova is at the intersection of both design trends. Knowing its history, this is not surprising either. "We often met the founder, Maddalena De Padova, at trade fairs. She was an extraordinary woman with a sharp vision," Arie recalls. "In the 1950s, she and her husband started importing Scandinavian design in Italy; unimaginable at the time. You can still see that handwriting in their furniture, with lots of Scandinavian and Japanese elements - with an Italian sauce, of course." Saskia adds: "Our new De Padova flagship store is much lighter and more contrasting than LEMA's. That suits the premises and especially the brand."
Drawing table
Now that the paint is dry and all the furniture is in place, surely it is time for yet another challenge? Arie and Saskia look at each other and laugh. "You know, we are interior designers ourselves, of course, and we love our profession," Saskia replies. "If you make your business too big, you become more of a manager. The absolute prerequisite is that we can stay behind the drawing board ourselves." Arie agrees. "This is where it stops. I think." That wording offers another tiny opening, as does his mischievous look at the thought of such a new adventure.
