Interview with Lia Tumino, Style & Design Development Manager at VISIONAPARTMENTS

The interior design of the serviced flats has always played a crucial role in VISIONAPARTMENTS’ business concept. Our own in-house design team develops a variety of styles, tailored to each building. Lia Tumino has been part of the design process almost since the beginning of the company in 1999 and has contributed to many design realizations.

Read now the exclusive interview with Lia, the creative brain behind the designs.

Where do you find the inspiration for all your interior style?

I find my inspirations on a variety of channels. When I travel and visit different cities and countries, but also through movies, magazines and Pinterest. It is often a single element that gets stuck in my brain – it can be a mood, a material, a color or a photo.

One example is one of our most recent styles: Japanese Cherry Blossom. It all started with a pink furniture, that had a black backside, that I found on Pinterest. It gave me the idea to design a kitchen, completely in pink. With that core element, I invented a whole concept – Japanese Cherry Blossom with pink and black features as well as with wooden elements to complete the look.

What elements define your style?

Very often, a pink color can somewhere be found in the concepts. However, we adjust every design project specifically to the building and the given conditions, which is also the reason why we incorporate so many diverse styles.

Which apartment style at VISIONAPARTMENTS is your favorite style?

My preferred styles are Japanese Cherry Blossom (see above), and also Smokey Nordic as well as Wood Walls Elegance. All of these styles can be found in our new building in Basel, but also in future projects with possible color variations.

How important are the customer’s needs in the design process?

Extremely important. A design has to be functional; that is always our highest priority. At VISIONAPARTMENTS, tenants should have everything they need to live comfortably at an affordable price. Therefore, our apartments often have rather limited space, but still entail a fully equipped kitchen (microwave, dish washer) and plenty of storage. This is also reflected in the designs of the furniture. Therefore, many apartments provide a bed that has storage space below the mattress.

Do you consider aestheticism or functionality to be more important? Why? Did you ever have to compromise one for the other?

Both are extremely important and we always try finding the optimal solution with innovative designs and our own furniture creations, such as closets that fit optimally each space.

What are the biggest challenges when designing apartments?

The size of the apartments is sometimes challenging, because often, extraordinary concepts need space. However, it makes me even more proud when we manage to implement unusual, innovative concepts in compact units.

Mini Studio Basel

Mini 1-Bedroom Zurich

Junior 1-Bedroom Zurich

Another challenge is the sourcing of furniture, due to the COVID-19 situation. Unfortunately, the crisis causes many delays.

What tips and tricks can you give to people who would like to freshen up their homes?

I would suggest buying simple, timeless basic furniture, like tables, couches, beds – not too extravagant with neutral shapes and colors. On the other side, I suggest using then contrasting colors for the walls, the curtains, photos and accessories. These can be funky and crazy!

What are future designs of VISIONAPARTMENTS?

We have a variety of new designs in our pipeline. Many will be implemented in our project in Bucharest, where we purchased the Ramada Majestic Hotel in a prime city location. There are at present some existing, traditional baroque elements, which we will underline but also put in contrast with modern aspects and colorful designs. In the hallways, we are implementing so-called “rippling” ceilings, which give the impression to be under water.