Claire Sá and Max de Rosée speak to Cultural Union about their globally respected London and Lisbon-based architecture and design studio, DE ROSEE SA.
“We curate atmosphere,” says Max de Rosée – which is as good a description as you’ll ever come across for the ineffable nature of design. It’s also highly apt: while DE ROSEE SA – the studio Max co-founded with his partner Claire Sá back in 2007 – have carved out a globally respected name for their refined, atmospheric interiors, they will soon be curating atmospheres in real-time when their own Portuguese quinta welcomes its first guests.
Max and Claire met while studying architecture at university in Scotland. Both went on to work for different architectural practices – a large commercial architecture firm in Claire’s case; a smaller partnership for Max. “There wasn’t a grand master plan,” says Max of the founding of DE ROSEE SA. Instead, both evolved towards wanting more independence.
The firm the pair founded now has two offices across London and Lisbon, with a substantial team and projects in several countries. And while it’s tempting to see the partnership as a fusion between Claire’s disciplined work ethic honed at large architecture practices combined with the more entrepreneurial Max, the truth is that both dovetail seamlessly, with an artistic outlook and combined aesthetic that, like all successful partnerships, is greater than the sum of its parts.
All of DE ROSEE SA’s projects are threaded with a certain recognisable quality, though Max and Claire prefer to say that what defines them is an approach rather than a style. “The risk about having a style is that you slowly get cornered into producing more of the same,” says Max. “We are conscious of that and we don’t want it to happen. We have an office in Lisbon that is producing very different projects, and we want that flexibility of being able to design the interiors of a Georgian house or a contemporary beach house.”
That said, there are consistent themes throughout their work. They have, for example, an architect’s eye for the power of symmetry and proportion; and their layered detailing gives their work a timeless quality, as does their use of bespoke carpentry – manifested in wall panelling and fitted cabinetry such as bed boards, book cabinets and shelving.
Panelling helps you improve proportions or asymmetry in a room. It can be a good way to add texture and a backdrop to its contents.”
Claire Sá, co-founder, DE ROSEE SA
“The more you look at successful rooms, the more you notice texture and a level of relief or interest on all surfaces,” says Claire. “When you put panelling into a room, you can forgive a multitude of sins. You can put a colour on it and you bring a certain character or a certain elegance. Panelling helps you mask or improve proportions or asymmetry that you might be dealing with in a room. It can be a good way to add texture and a backdrop to its contents.”
And Claire doesn’t restrict this to the walls: “I’m obsessed with applying detail or mouldings to ceilings. Obviously, it doesn’t always work – for example, in spaces where you’re just going to go for a wide plasterboard ceiling with spotlights – but where it does, you walk into a room and it feels complete. And if you look at historic properties in France and elsewhere, you see rooms which are beautiful in their fixed surfaces and textures. There’s a principle there that we really appreciate – and it can be done in a modern way. If you can get that right then the removable things have to work less hard.”
In the years since Max and Claire founded DE ROSEE SA, the studio has seen an evolution in how their clients use their homes. Max identifies how the pandemic led to a reappraisal of the long drift towards open-plan living, with an increase in compartmentalising different activities such as home-working and wellness.
Claire identifies an interesting renewal in what she terms ‘secondary spaces’ at the back of the house: “In Victorian days, these would have been your pantry, your larder, your boot room. Those spaces now are at the top of the agenda: not everybody has three staff, and if you have a utility room or a laundry room, it gives you a lot. And while some projects’ clients want extras such as wine rooms or saunas, we always think it’s worth celebrating those back-of-house bases – the boot room, or making a really good cloakroom.”
We always think it’s worth celebrating those back-of-house bases – the boot room, the cloakroom.”
Claire Sá
Another change the studio has noticed is that clients over the past 10 to 15 years have become noticeably more discerning – in part as a result of Pinterest and Instagram. “People are more driven by aesthetics, whether it’s fashion or architecture,” says Claire. “We rarely have clients now who have no idea of what they want. So, sometimes our job is to say, ‘Hold on a second, let’s curate this, let’s fine-tune this.’”
While the practice began and remains headquartered in London, the Lisbon operation is fully integrated and marked a major evolution. The expansion came about through a property the couple had bought near the Portuguese capital; during the planning and renovation process, Max and Claire brought in an architect from Brazil who became the kernel of the operations, setting up an office that has since grown to seven, including three senior architects and an interior designer.
This was in early 2020 – and their timing was auspicious: since the pandemic, Portugal has become a thriving magnet for entrepreneurs seeking a blend of lifestyle, stability and attractive tax arrangements. With the region now dubbed the Hamptons of Europe, coastal properties from Porto to Comporta and beyond have been snapped up, and DE ROSEE SA – with their blend of local knowledge and cosmopolitan London savvy – have been well-placed to assist those looking to buy, renovate and decorate.
Portugal is also the site of one of DE ROSEE SA most exciting projects – Quinta de Valmarinha – a historic, tumbledown 30-bedroom quinta in Sintra overlooking the coast, complete with a sizeable vineyard and a native DOC grape variety – the Adega Regional de Colares.
“It was a bit of madness,” says Claire. “We never intended to be hoteliers.” The pair had been looking for a property in Portugal without a preconception of what it should be. “A friend of the family said, ‘Come and see this place – it’s really charming. The gate’s broken, so we can just walk in.’ It was so overgrown that you could barely get to the front door. It had literally been abandoned for 30 years. We put a cheeky offer in – which was accepted. And then it took on a life of its own.”
With a hotel, you’ve got control over the atmosphere of how people use the space. And that’s what got us excited.
Max de Rosée, co-founder, DE ROSEE SA
A year later, progress is happening at pace. Planning permission is locked down and they are about to enter the building phase, with an opening pencilled for 2027. And for all the daunting scale, it’s a magical project with enormous potential.
While Claire and Max see the hotel as a natural extension of their current work, they acknowledge that it’s difficult for them to visit other hotels now without a certain amount of analysis of how they are run and put together (they namecheck a couple of comparable hotels which, if not inspirations as such, have certain parallels – one being Castello di Reschio in Perugia, Italy and the other São Lourenço do Barrocal in Portugal’s Alentejo region). But the prospect of running the quinta offers DE ROSEE SA the opportunity to take their curatorial approach into new areas: “On our private residential projects, we can control the objects and the hard things – we can’t really go much beyond that,” says Max. “Whereas with the hotel, suddenly, you’ve got control over the atmosphere of how people use the space. And that’s what got us excited – that we can go even deeper; we can start to curate the glassware, the crockery, the lighting, the music, the smells, the flowers.”
This segues neatly into another exciting evolution for the studio – their design and furniture collection. “When you are doing a property’s architecture and interiors, you inevitably go hunting for things, and sometimes you find them and sometimes you don’t,” says Claire. “So naturally, in the way we operate, we get the urge to think: Well, we’re just going to make it.”
Claire gives the example of an American client who wanted a dining table that could accommodate 14 guests, yet work for the rest of the time when it would be just the family of four. Or the many times they’ve needed a sofa that’s just right for fitting the end of a bed. On all these occasions, the studio has created pieces to address a specific need – and it’s natural for them to consider that others may need the same thing.
The result is a collection that has now grown to almost 40 products – each handmade to the highest standards. The Seeker Collection, in particular, encapsulates their vision of transformative pieces that can seamlessly integrate into those ‘in-between’ areas. It’s not as yet a major focus of the studio – more a by-product of creating beautiful pieces for their clients combined with the feeling that the designs deserve a life beyond that single circumstance. And it’s not hard to look at pieces such as the Button Box Stool or Wicker Hall Bench and admire the actionability of them – or to consider whether the Nest Lacquer Tables, Tub Chair or Block Side Table might become modern classics. As we part ways, with Claire and Max preparing for a hectic family summer – and no doubt, long hours poring over plans for the quinta – it’s clear that DE ROSEE SA represent the best of design: a deep commitment to making architecture work for interiors, classic, timeless good taste, and a conviction in the power of good design to enhance lives.
Read more: Interior Design | Design | Architecture | London | Portugal