Marion Mailaender lives and works between Paris and Marseille. After training at the École Boulle, this Marseillaise launched her interior architecture and design agency in Paris in 2004. Since then, she has created objects and scenography, as well as residential and commercial projects, such as the Hotel Tuba in Marseille and the Hotel Rosalie in Paris. Her boldness and eye for design have already won over a number of creative personalities, including Amelie Pichard, Sophie Calle, and Colombian designer Esteban Cortazar, who have entrusted her with singular projects.

Working by instinct, Marion mixes genres and eras to accompany her customers into the modern world. She establishes an essential dialogue with them so that their personality is revealed in the space created. Her creativity and sense of detail and materials flourish when she moves her cursor to the scale of the object. Marion Mailaender continues her search for new forms by associating ideas, mixing styles and eras to activate memories, often with a sense of humor. She seizes on codes of culture, fashion, usage and popular forms, bringing them together to create hybrid objects that are poetic, evocative and highly narrative. Repairing, assembling, transforming, adding and subtracting, using offcuts and artisans’ scraps are at the heart of her approach.

1. Could you tell us how your journey into interior design started?

I grew up in Marseille, and part of my family lived in Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse. That’s where  I discovered modern architecture. Later, I studied at the École Boulle in Paris, which introduced me to a wide range of artistic disciplines — I loved it. Very quickly, I launched my own studio with a variety of projects, spanning design, interior architecture, and scenography.

2. Do you think there has been a defining moment in your career?

There have been several. For example, meeting the decorator Emmanuel Picault, who runs the gallery Chic By Accident in Mexico City. Through him, I learned to embrace the element of unpredictability in this profession — something I truly enjoy. I also learned a lot from being around artists and observing their creative processes. Meeting the designer Amélie Pichard was also a pivotal moment. Her creative freedom really  inspired me, and we designed a shoe boutique together in Paris that became a landmark. Finally, the Tuba Club project — a seaside hotel in Marseille — was a major turning point in  2020. It put our studio on the international hospitality map.

3. What do you think is the key to a successful interior design? And in your business in general?

Respecting the essence of a space and finding the right flow of volumes. And in this profession: stay curious, don’t take yourself too seriously, and most importantly,  never do the same project twice.

A word, an object, an image. Often, it’s a small detail during the first site visit that sparks  everything. From there, the project evolves like a collage — by seeking tension between  elements.

5. How would you define your signature style? Do you have “a mantra” that encapsulates your taste in design?

I like to say my style lives in the tension between chic and bold. 

My mantras? I have two: Fun follows function, and Less is more, but too much is cool. 

6.  Could you tell us about one of the favorite projects that you worked on?

Our last apartment in Paris: a large, very simple open space, loft-style, with a breathtaking view of Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower.

7. What are your 3 favorite pieces from the Philia Collection?

8. If you could pick one interior design tip that is important to you, what would it be? 

Learn how to mix objects and colors without trying to match everything.

9. What was the best advice you have received in your path?

“Don’t try to please everyone. Just be fair.” 

That applies to design — and to life.

10. What would be your advice to beginner interior designers?

Dare. Make mistakes. And above all: read, visit places. Culture is the foundation of our profession — it’s how we reinvent ourselves.

11. What was one of the hardest learned lessons in your journey?

Learning to say no. It’s hard, but essential.

12. Are there any books/podcasts you would like to recommend to our readers?

-Les Années Staudenmeyer (Norma Editions)
-The complete White Books series by Martin Szekely (B42 Editions):

1. Ne plus dessiner
2. MAP / Artefact / Matière Noire 
3. Construction 
4. Interior — The 1980s–1990s 
5. Villa Greystone 

– The podcast Le Goût de M, created by Géraldine Sarratia for Le Monde, where she interviews personalities about how their personal taste has evolved over the years.

13. Finally, what are your upcoming projects? Anything you’d like to share or add to the interview?

We’re currently working on a new hotel project, a gym club in Paris , an exhibition scenography  in Monaco, a restaurant, and several residential projects in Paris. 

Thank you so much Marion, for your great answers!