Designer Spotlight: M3 Studio

Put together two creative individuals with the aim to bring life and meaning to interior spaces could only mean producing spaces that are beautifully stylish without losing its functionality. Lots of thoughts process goes behind transforming every corner of the house to create spaces that extend the homeowners’ character and personality.

With a penchant for design and creativity, M3 Studio breathes new life into spaces with their wealth of design experience, creative thinking, and meticulous work style management.

We speak to Montie Mahtani, Managing Director of M3 Studio on his outstanding team.

Qanvast: How would you describe your work style and your designs?

Montie (M): We at M3, are a very different bunch of designers. We do not like to conform to the societal norms of design and we believe that our work is a form of art that reflects the character and personality of each homeowner. Thus, our work style includes actively involving the customer in various stages to understand and appreciate his/her personality in order to create a ‘home’ for them.

In drawing a comparison to an art painting, you could say that we are the artists, the home is the canvas and our customers are the subjects. One can’t make do without the other.

In my designs, I try to attain ‘balance’. Balance here refers to the balance between principles of ‘proportion’, ‘emphasis’ & ‘rhythm’. There must always be a balance between the objects, colours, mood, sizes with the right amount of contrast and complimentary aspects within a space.

Qanvast: Where do you draw your design inspirations?

M: Inspiration has always been all around us although sometimes it takes a sharp eye to recognize them. We draw inspirations from the most unlikely of things and our creative minds questions on how do we apply them at home. An example would be a street-style theme where we got inspired by lane markings on the roads and used that as a basis for creating a ceiling design.

Being creative-minded folks, we just love to explore new boundaries and what better way to do this then to travel and experience different cultures and food? We have a ‘travel wall’ in our office where we buy unique signs & plates and mount it up. We plan to cover the whole wall and I can say we aren’t even halfway there yet!

On a personal note, I love the Nordic take on space and things and the way Scandinavian designs tend to have a calming peaceful mood attached to the space.

Qanvast: You often travel and meet up with designers around the globe. What are some key takeaways you learnt from them?

M: The major thing that we have learnt in our travel is, design is very much the marriage of art and function and that is predominantly the same throughout the world. Another key element we discovered was that design is typically an international language that speaks to us collectively as well as individually. There are many different designers in the world with varying styles of creation however the fundamentals tend to revolve around the same principles - art, form and function.

Among the many designers who left huge impressions with us, I would think that there was this one time when we met this Italian designer in a ‘Design + Build Fair in Shanghai’, and what really struck us was his fierce passion and devotion to his work and ideals; typical traits of an Italian.

We really got inspired by his view of interior design as an art-form and speaking the language that represents what his customers are all about. The passion and motivation that he had, led him to really feel and emotionally connect to his clients, many of whom became his good friends. The journey they took together drew them closer and the clients felt his passion thus inspiring them further.

Qanvast: What is the most difficult project you have done to date?

M: Honestly, every project is difficult because firstly, we have to capture the customer’s personality and embed them into the design and secondly, we take our job very seriously.

If I were to single out a particular project, then it would have to be the HDB unit done at Punggol Drive with the red and white curved ceiling integrated design. There was a great deal of precision planning to be done that involved the carpenters and the ceiling contractors and every aspect had to be precisely constructed and synced to create such an astonishing design. All that in just six weeks too!

I feel we achieved something really great considering the timeline we had and it felt like pulling a rabbit out of the hat. The most satisfying moment was seeing the look of glee onto the customer’s face upon achieving the finished look.

Qanvast: Give us some tips for homeowners who are looking to renovate.

M: First and foremost, good communication; this is extremely vital when choosing your designer and starting the renovation works. The designer and the owners have to understand each other and communicate well to truly achieve the desired outcome. A good customer expresses what he likes and a good designer listens and consults accordingly.

Another important area would be for owners to really understand the area and space they have and maintain their expectations accordingly. There are tons of wonderful interior design pictures online but the colours, proportion and even the orientation may not be suitable for your space. One needs to understand that while it may look good in their homes, it may not necessarily be in yours.

About M3 Studio:

Despite being around for four years, the design firm M3 Studio was a participant in the Top 100 Singapore Excellence Award for 2 years and their works were featured in publications such as Lookbox Living, Home and Décor and Decorations magazine.

Years of experience: All our staff and directors are trained in design with over 12 years of combined experience.

Number of projects completed to date: Close to 100 projects

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