- Interior
Interior design company RR is celebrating its 20th anniversary this autumn. For this achievement, they’ve awarded themselves with a new concept and their own collection. We paid them a visit and immersed ourselves in the stylish world of Rik and Sylvie Ruebens.
RR opened the doors of its new location mid-September. We don’t quite want to call it a 'showroom', 'shop' or 'office', because the interior design company is launching an innovative concept that puts even more emphasis on the unique service they can offer customers with their years of experience in the business. After all, it was exactly twenty years ago than Rik Ruebens and his wife Sylvie launched their business in Knokke. Together with the opening of their so-called 'home experience store', we also saw the launch of a mini collection with their own creations. Incidentally, both initiatives fit in perfectly with the times in which we find ourselves and in which the retail sector is under pressure and therefore has to think further. Due to the outbreak of the corona pandemic and the lockdown that came with it, a lot more attention suddenly went to small-scale and personalisation.
Focus on small-scale service and personality
Rik Ruebens describes the new building on the Natiënlaan in Knokke as ‘a house in which Sylvie and I have spent twenty years of joy. All the facets that we consider important in terms of architecture as well as the way in which we receive clients and want to give them an experience are included in the design that we drew up with architect Piet Bailyu.’ It starts with an underground inspiration room where visitors can relax with a coffee or another refreshing and healthy drink after parking their car and maybe recover after any long drive. Rik and Sylvie Ruebens also see this space with its intimate atmosphere as suitable for exhibitions or events. It is a unique experience that is offered, and this idea continues in the rest of the new building, which is characterised by light and spaciousness. There are no partitions or pillars, because ‘the majority of our customers live quite large. That's why we strived to create realistic spaces in a homely atmosphere,’ explains Ruebens. For the interior design he relied on the young and upcoming Grain Design Office who created something very complimentary to the DNA of RR Interieur. 
All their years of experience are also translated in their offer, namely with their own mini collection. What we show here, is a piece designed in collaboration with Jean Philippe Demeyer. The result is ‘BamBou’, a sofa set of which the fabrics are especially designed and woven for RR. This is again in line with the vision of personality and small-scale initiatives, because not only the design, but also the materialisation is 100% Belgian. 
You will be able to read the whole story on this ‘home experience store’ and the mini collection in our upcoming issue. This will be in stores and available online as of 9th October. Happy reading!
Photography © Cafeine