The art of light and shadow

Between Roeselare and Kortrijk: from curtain workshop to reference in hotel upholstery

The atmosphere in a hotel room is largely determined by the quality of the textiles. Curtains, net curtains, decorative fabrics, upholstery of chairs and cushions - they play a key role in the perception of comfort and hospitality.

A few years ago, a Bruges hotel, located at 't Zand, called on Arido for the curtains in its rooms. Recently, the owner of that same hotel, Anthony Vermeersch of Hotel Portinari, again called in Arido's expertise for the furnishing of hotel-restaurant Cult.

The lounge, bar and restaurant itself were completely redesigned and expanded in collaboration with Antwerp-based design agency WeWantMore. They created the concept and carefully selected the materials and colours. The furniture was supplied by Dols from Zutendaal and Arido provided the finishing touches with the upholstery. Each of the parties involved faced major challenges. For Arido, the focus was on creating a space with height differences and curved lines, where lightness, elegance and cosy comfort were central. At the same time, draught problems had to be taken into account - squaring the circle, as it were.

Curves and challenges

"For this project, we opted for a flame-retardant intermediate fabric that provides natural light but prevents prying eyes from outside," explains Kaat Bekaert, co-director of Arido. "The fabric could not be too heavy, because the curtain had to be able to slide all the way around on a rail," she adds. "Nancy Cool, from WeWantMore, wanted curtains on a curved rail for the entrance aisle. We suggested placing a lining between the two layers of curtain fabric, to prevent draughts. It was a technical challenge to make the curved rail seamless with the straight section. Moreover, the raised ceiling under construction offered another obstacle. In the existing section, we used ceiling rails, while in the extension we worked with mounting brackets on the walls."

Professional and private projects

Founded some 30 years ago, Arido employs about 10 people, including a good team of experienced seamstresses. "There is a real family atmosphere here," says Lieselotte Hellyn, account manager. "Our installation team ensures that the finishes, fabrics and rails are placed with due care. We work on large-scale projects as well as private commissions. A wonderful project is in the pipeline for next year in Monaco, but we cannot reveal anything about that for now."

Established expertise

With a spacious showroom and an extensive network, Arido has earned its place in the market. Word of mouth seems to have been invented for this company. Dozens of hotels in France, and especially in Paris, have already called on their expertise. In Belgium, Arido can no longer be ignored in hotel interiors, but also in the decoration of hospitals, deconsecrated churches, bank buildings and rest homes, in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Even the Brussels Law Courts are among their clients.

Teams can be deployed anywhere in the world, from Moscow to the Virgin Islands, where two Belgian brothers recently commissioned the Izegem-based company to furnish their hotel. Here, word of mouth literally went around the world.