TRENDLINE Suite – a unique project in Romania

Novelties, creativity and the habit of disregarding rules were always difficult to accept by conservatism societies, with tradition as a core value. And here we are not talking about artistic creativity, but practical novelties, such as building and decorating a house. Unfortunately, Romania is still a country dominated by inertia, in which novelty is not appreciated. In such a context, the practical example is the most recommended solution. What are the latest trends for the interior decorations with natural stone? Beyond theories, controversies and alternatives, we have a practical example: the TRENDLINE suite by PIATRAONLINE showroom.

An amazing result with the latest trends

PIATRAONLINE always followed the newest, most amazing and practical ideas, as they enter the market. We are constantly updated with the latest in the natural stone industry. Mariana Constantinescu-Bradescu, managing partner PIATRAONLINE: We wanted to prove that nowadays, a standard size suite in Romania can be decorated with natural stone easily and affordable, with amazing result and following the latest tendencies.

Everything you see here happened quite fast: 2 weeks of construction site and 1 week of acquisitions and blueprints. This space was empty, so we made the drywalls, cladding and floorin and the lighting network. We have in here everything necessary for a suite, except the dressing and toilet. It is a perfectly functional suite with bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, hallway, living room and dining rooms.

Kitchen: Volakas marble dining table, Nero Marquina marble furniture, Peach travertine cladded wall

Bedroom: walls cladded with translucent onyx slab and Cleopatra marble

An apathy transmitted in our DNA

As Mrs. Mariana Constantinescu-Bradescu was explaining, we perfectly understood the concept of having the latest available for the fans of natural stone and now it is time to find out the challenges experienced by architect Eduard Baicu-Stanescu, project coordinator. So, we started our discussion with the current situation in Romania in terms of interior decoration projects. Thus, we found that, unfortunately and somewhat obvious, we are not the only country which finds difficult to adapt to the latest trends:

Here in the Balkans, we were fighting with an apathy transmitted from our DNA. All the new stuff is promoted by evidence. And most likely this will continue many years from now. And this is not limited to interior design. Most Romanians believe that stone is a cold material, but it is not cooler than any other material that comes from nature. We are constantly trying and with this suite we wanted to prove that marble is much more than funerary monuments.

3D drawings of the project

Bathroom: Classic Sugar Tumble Travertine Mosaic, Peach Vein Cut Travertine Slab, Travertine Red Bathroom Sink

Living Room: wall cladded with Cleopatra Marble Polished Hexagonal Mosaic, Tundra Marble Floor, Volakas Marble Table Fantasy plus Art-deco from the 20-40

Questioned about the of TRENDLINE suite, architect Eduard Baicu-Stanescu replied that this is combination of styles, in a natural extension of the post-modernism initiated in several arts during the interwar period:

The space lies at the intersection between "fantasy" – the trend of 2017 – and the art-deco from the 20’s-40’s. The target was to break patterns, the full marble cladding and combining materials that are apparently conflicting. Trendline is a manifesto of tendencies, a proof that you can also live surrounded by marble. It's like in fashion, some designs are not supposed to be worn, yet include elements that highlight novelty. That's perfectly true for this apartment. Perhaps not all our proposals are suitable for a standard Romanian apartment, but we will surely find open minded people, which will totally appreciate and embrace our design.

King Blue marble countertop fireplace, wall cladded with Kavala Cross Cut Sandblasted Marble

Romania has 4-5 years behind the rest of the world

Apart from design and the novelty introduced by the TRENDLINE project, we come naturally to the part with the mentality of your audience. What are the most common reactions of Romanian customers facing the new trends in interior design?

Considering its slogan, PIATRAONLINE is "generating inspiration". Consequently, this suite highlights the big changes about to happen worldwide in the interior design. For those interested, this showroom must be a mandatory visiting point. Romania is 4-5 years behind the rest of the world. In here, what is deem as experimental, in other countries is already a classic. Apparently the Romanian customer, who contracts architects and interior designers, seems to “know it all”.

Kitchen: Nero Marquina marble cladded furniture, wall cladded with polishwed peach granite, Volakas marble dining table

In spite of the remarkable fact that people hire professionals, such as architects and designers, most of them insist on completing their projects with their own ideas. And when they want everything to be as close as possible to their “ideal”, you naturally wonder why these people are still looking for specialists. Instead of accepting an original creation, such clients want you to replicate something they saw somewhere and this is not even an exact copy, but one processed by the filter of their desires. Of course, it is natural to ask for a painting, however deciding how the entire painting should look lile and which colors and facial expressions, is not.

Speaking of the many difficulties experienced while implementing his project, the architect Eduard Baicu-Stanescu mentioned only one: short execution time. Yet, he also added that completing it without exceeding the deadline proved that it can be done, as long as you have everything well planned, all the materials at hand and suppliers skilled and reliable. He kept stressing out the fact that it was quite difficult to find suppliers for the kitchen: Although initially many seemed to be interested to get involved and implement our ideas, only the EUPHORIA team tried and really succeeded, as you were able to see the result. And this is still a proof of our "delay" in this area of interior decoration.

So, we’ve reached inevitably to the price

Yes, this decoration project is for customers with above average income, but pay attention... Since everything we do here at PIATRAONLINE is generating inspiration, this suite must be also regarded as a source of ideas. It's your imagination that makes the difference. If you think that right now, some fashion materials have higher prices, you can also start looking in our wide product range for cheaper materials and implement those that seem attractive for you. (Mariana Constantinescu-Bradescu, PIATRAONLINE managing partner)

Project data:

Total area: 60 square meters

Duration of designing/research: 2 weeks

Duration of material acquisitions: 1 week

Duration of execution: 2 weeks, in fast pace

Planned budget: 32,000 EUR*

*budget includes everything (execution, cladding, equipment, natural stone and installation).

Cost in EUR / sqm:

Market price: 650-750 EUR / sqm

The price of TRENDLINE apartment by PIATRAONLINE – 530 EUR / sqm

For further details on choosing the natural stone best suited to your project give us a call at +40318.222.333, or send us an email at export@piatraonline.com!