Designer Profile: Kees Marcelis

Kees Marcelis is an architect and product designer with over 30 years experience. Over time, he has evolved a unique style defined by simplicity, space, and natural light.

Located in Oosterbeek and Amsterdam, Kees’ interior architecture and design studio is founded on the guiding principle that beauty is interwoven in everything around us – if we can see it. Kees sees beauty in the smallest detail from the veins of a leaf to a specialist wall-covering.

Innovation

Early on in his career, Kees began to realise that architects are often so focussed on the exterior facade, that they sometimes neglect the interior design. And it’s this philosophy that drives him today – to deliver a fully conceptualised building.

Today, his core business is very much the complete project. He begins by sketching the interior floors then the facade. Preferring to work face-to-face with clients, he likes to gauge their responses and adapt his ideas accordingly. Kees likes working this way. He is fast-thinking and focussed – and his clients seem to like his approach.

Global Appeal

Whilst many of Kees’ clients are based in the Netherlands his services have global appeal. His most recent portfolio of projects includes villas in Luxembourg and France, a hotel in South Africa, and a large development in Germany.

Whether designing a door handle or a complete building, Kees takes the same personalised approach. He has a team of ten – including architects, product designers and project managers – who work closely with contractors to deliver clients their bespoke buildings.

Kees Marcelis & DWC

The relationship between Kees and DWC began five years ago at a design fair in Milan where he saw our work and liked what we were doing with textile wall coverings and textiles. For Kees, DWC offers attention-gabbing coverings which, as a designer, he can use in different ways.

A recent success story is a particular Dutch restaurant which got huge publicity – not only for their great food, but for Kees’ interior design which incorporates a ceiling covering from DWC.

Kees also has DWC material in his own home – again, a textured ceiling – which attracts a lot of attention from visitors.

Another project, of which Kees is especially proud, is a historic house – with 34 rooms which he completely remodelled. Kees’ team redesigned every room and incorporated a variety of coverings from DWC.

The project got global media attention – in Vogue China, as well as architecture journals in Italy and Brazil. For an architect, getting this kind of attention is really valued recognition and raises their profile.

Kees rates the design team at DWC and even says he would someday like to design some wallpaper himself. As a designer, he is always striving to use different materials and try new methods.

DWC makes walls and ceilings a talking point because we continuously strive to innovate new textures, colours and styles, push boundaries, and constantly create something new for professionals like Kees to work with.

Lasting Design

As a professional, Kees feels a strong sense of responsibility to create things that will look great now and in the future. He cites the Mies Van Der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona as an example – which is one hundred years old and has an enduring style.

Fashion has a short lifespan and a building is a very expensive endeavour. Kees feels that architects and designers have a duty to invest in a building’s enduring legacy and longevity.

Ultimately, good design needs to transcend fashion trends and reward clients with buildings and spaces which speak for themselves, bring happiness, and feel unique.

Take a closer look at Kees Marcelis’ work at https://keesmarcelis.nl/en/