Visiting This 2,000sqm Makati Store Feels Like You’re Going On An Adventure
This sprawling showroom has all the furniture pieces and styles to complete your dream home
Fashion Interiors by Paul Cornelissen was built to impress. With its high ceilings and multiple showrooms that seem more luxurious than the last one, each room you visit is an awe-inspiring experience in itself.
While the place has been in Makati for only a few years, those behind the brand have had 40 years of experience in the export furniture business through Far East Furniture, which participates in all the major furniture fairs in Manila. All the pieces found in the showroom—from the paintings to the sofas—are made in their factory in Angeles, Pampanga, with materials sourced all over the world. [insert photo]
Jan Krenn, Fashion Interiors’ store manager and a Dutch national, says, “We chose the name because it went with what we wanted to create. We want to create beautiful spaces, beautiful pieces.” Opening their flagship store in Makati created a location in Metro Manila where they can entertain potential clients, as well as a prime location for their target market to access.
Each showroom is unique, with thematic names such as “Inspire” or “Opium.” What unites them is how all are put together and designed to look dramatic. While Fashion Interiors might come off as vast and sprawling—and it is, indeed—the key is to take your time, as if you’re exploring a new place in one of your travels. Pause inside each showroom, take it in as a whole, and then focus on each piece one and trace your steps back to appreciate the place in its entirety. After you’ve settled in, you’ll soon realize how much Fashion Interiors has to offer.
Classic drama
Nothing says “drama” more than heavy red drapes and pieces that look like they’re from a centuries-old castle. Replicas of medieval swords, suits of armor, and helmets—life-sized, mind you—were used in this collection.
A play of metallic finishes and textures
Each vignette is done on a grand scale, aiming to impress clients. Wood, much like the massive center table seen here, is a common element found in the showroom. The rose-gold and silver touches add a modern feel to the space.
There’s a bar, too!
Photos of the founder Paul Cornelissen, with personalities in Philippine society and celebrities, grace the walls of the Fashion Bar. Jan states that it is common practice in furniture stores in the Netherlands to have a coffee shop or a place for clients to relax in, so they adapted the same practice here. The Fashion Bar can be rented out for events.
White out
In last year’s collection, a number of their pieces had ornate tabletops made out of seashells. Mixing the collection with more solid, neutral pieces make it look clean and tropical, and fresh, but sophisticated.
Visit Fashion Interiors by Paul Cornelissen at 2307 Chino Roces Ave., Makati City, tel. (02) 662-0391; log on to their website, or follow them on their Facebook page.
This article appeared in the July 2017 issue of Real Living Magazine.
