"Red is warm and embracing"
Gilian Schrofer designs commercial and public spaces, the town museum for example. Find out his secret about the color red here.
Why aren’t you designing for individuals?
‘Interiors for individuals are mostly based on a personal taste, and you simply cannot discuss tastes. In designing public spaces, functional arguments are very important. It’s exciting to shape them. After all, you’re dealing with a lot of people who are going to use that space. How will those users experience this space? Thinking about this question makes the process of design utterly interesting.’
How important is the color to you?
‘Very important. I often choose standard colors, with maybe one or two bright touches. People aren’t supposed to have too many impressions. People feel the most comfortable in a peaceful place, that’s why I distinguish colors without ending up with a boring result.’
You use a lot of red touches in your work, why is that?
‘We spend a lot of time behind a computer screen. So the least we can do is to give the spaces we use for eating and drinking a sociable character. We don’t want a sterile environment, and we won’t use brown nor white which was used a lot over the past years. A red environment is warm and embracing. The design for the bars and restaurants of the new Town Museum in Amsterdam was mine. The tables and chairs are red. It’s also the color of Amsterdam.’
To what extent do you follow color trends?
‘We’re at the start of a new era. We’re more open-minded and clearer with colors. As a designer, however, you have to be careful with trends. An interior is supposed to last for five to seven years, therefore I don’t use that many colors. Yet, it never becomes boring since one color has a lot of nuances which you can use in your designs.’
