There has been a tremendous increase in the number of project enquiries in the past two months from the interior design industry in Dubai as well as other GCC countries, according to a senior industry official.

"Dubai surprisingly has been quite active in projects. The ones that were put on hold are starting to move again. We have also been contacted for new projects within Dubai," said Christian Merieau, Managing Director, Samuel Creations Middle East and member of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) Organising Committee. "The IFI 24th World Interior Design Congress will be a strong platform for the industry to chart its future course of action," he said.

More than 800 interior designers from 45 countries will attend the event, which will be held in Dubai tomorrow and Wednesday. The biennial event is being hosted by Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID), UAE. It was first held in 1963 in Denmark and has come to this region for the first time in its 46 year history.

The conference will be held under the patronage of Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Last week, new research carried out by leading independent research company Ventures Middle East, on behalf of dmg World Media, the organisers of Index, the leading interior design show in the region estimates that the value of interior design contracting (IDC) and fit-outs within the GCC will grow by almost 90 per cent between 2009 and 2010, with a total value of $22 billion (Dh80.8bn). Two-third of this spend will be within the UAE.

Merieau said according to dmg data, the retrofit market had great potential in 2009 and a "staggering $37.3bn worth of interior design projects will enter the UAE market in 2009, with an additional $42.9bn entering the following year."

Samuel Creations Middle East is an international interior design and architectural firm founded 33 years ago and works mainly on projects in the Middle East and Europe, specialising in high-end residential, commercial and hospitality projects.

"Another reason why Dubai will do well in 2010 is because it is an excellent hub for business expansion into the region for many design firms. The experience is that most of the headquarters for the hospitality or financial firms are in Dubai. It is a reassuring element that we will see in the next two to three years. In terms of revenue, around 50 per cent of our revenues come from the Middle East," said Merieau. "We have almost doubled our income except in 2009. We had a projected growth of 53 per cent for 2009 but never touched that level and dropped by more than 40 per cent. But we had not laid off anybody due to our aggressive marketing campaign and by investing in our relationships with our clients."

There have been issues of payment delays, he said.

"Some clients have gone up to 200 days. But thank God, we have few of them. Normally, we deliver and we invoice. Of the rest, we have around 20 to 25 per cent of invoices, which are not paid for 90 days. But we have not grown too fast and believe in focusing on long-term relationships with clients," he said.

The firm works with major developers, few semi-governmental clients in the UAE and also clientele from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (though he did not name them).

"Last year, we felt the downturn coming and targeted other markets," he said.

He said 2010 will see a strong shift to natural and sustainable trends in terms of designs.

"Trends are strongly impacted by financial crisis and environmental issues have come to the fore. Sustainability is the key word. In design features, earth resources will be reflected in new patterns, colours and materials that are derived from plants and minerals. Cultural elements are also a trend. So is the French rural classic trend coming back in a very natural, subtle and homely way," said Merieau.

"We are trying to keep the Arabic heritage intact in a modern contemporary way. We are trying to connect ourselves to the history of the environment, the art and so on," he said.

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