Kashfi Emir, Founder of Studio Three.
As the founder of Kuala Lumpur-based interior design firm Studio Three, Kashfi Emir believes that designing interior spaces is both an art and a science. “You need to find a balance of pragmatic solutions to offer a functional space and layer them with aesthetic touches to add a sense of poetry onto the overall execution,” he says.
“A chair serves a purpose, but a beautiful chair adds a story too.”
A quick look at Studio Three’s portfolio, which includes projects as varied as retail, F&B and private residences, will give you an idea of Kashfi’s minimalist yet artful approach to designing spaces.
While every project brings a different set of requirements and challenges, Kashfi and his team approach each one with the same spirit. “I like to think that when I design, I’m trying to evoke a certain emotion for the users of the space,” he says.
This is done through a composition of materials, furniture, lighting and other elements. By framing these elements into a certain way, Kashfi says from there he is able to try and evoke a depth of feeling. “I try to frame it in a certain way that it feels warm, nostalgic, comforting, mysterious or whatever that the space demands from me,” he says.
Interiors for Nadayu Residences
Although, he admits that most of his interior commissions today veer towards the “trendy” or “instagram-worthy” concept, Kashfi thinks this most likely relates to how consumers wish to own their own piece of the story and their desire to share the space with others.
“I feel that It’s important to design spaces that make us feel that it all adds to the experience we call life,” he says. “It’s a space worthy of remembering and looking back to as we get older. It’s very much like all the spaces I’ve visited when I was young that have informed my philosophy on what makes a beautiful space.”
A sense of nostalgia has always been a big influence for Kashfi who credits the many hotels and resorts his parents took him to during family holidays when he was a child as a big source of inspiration on his designs today.
LILIT Boutique
“I always enjoyed sitting in the hotel lobbies while my parents were busy checking us in at the reception. I remember just basking in the atmosphere of the lounge spaces, excited to be there, in love with the contemporary nature of the interiors, and being intrigued by the art pieces that I could have yet learned to appreciate at such a young age,” he recalls.
Today, you will find a similar mix of stillness, curiosity and excitement in his designs, an emotion that is guided by this memory from his childhood.
“It’s as though I’m entering into a new world crafted by ideas that are influenced by design, art and culture.” In a way, this helps him to create more than just a beautiful looking space, but one that is meaningful, not only for the designer but also for those who inhabit them.
