By Our Editorial Staff
We talk to Laura Santarelli who, for the past two decades, has been transferring her passion for beauty to our homes.
Laura has been able to combine the Italian artisan tradition with her refined and contemporary sensibility, interacting both with the luxury hotel market and with a ‘cultured’ and demanding private client. This has made it the ideal partner for interior design and decoration.
Laura’s journey into the world of design began in a company specializing in high-level ‘hotel contract’, dedicated to four- and five-star hotels, resorts and superior category facilities. This experience allows her to acquire a deep technical and commercial knowledge, but also a particular sensitivity for the unique and unrepeatable character of each environment and referent.
Her passion for beauty and fabrics has its roots in a completely personal path, influenced by her mother – a seamstress passionate about sewing, embroidery and crochet – who transmits to her attention to detail and great ‘precision’: elements that are fundamental, today, in her daily work.
Alfie Design makes use of collaborations with various Italian professionals and manufacturing companies, with a high capacity for artisanal tailoring. The company offers various and diversified solutions. To give you an idea, it deals with all these things: curtains and upholstery for interiors and exteriors, custom-made bed sets (including headboards and decorative upholstery), wallpaper and wall coverings with specific technical characteristics for hotel use (resistance, washability, certifications), free-standing and custom-made furnishings – up to tableware, upholstery and outdoor solutions.
The ability to advise and his great experience accompany each of his projects and translate into ‘made to measure’ and functional choices, in balance between style, budget and durability: “Every hotel, every house has its own personality and my task is precisely to interpret the tastes of the property and ‘centre’ the characteristics of the property”, she explains.
In the hospitality segment, for example, the choice of materials must meet specific requirements: “The wallpaper must not only be aesthetically refined, but also impact-resistant, washable and certified – in order to ensure easy maintenance and reduced intervention times which are essential, especially in almost always fully completed facilities. As often happens in cities like Rome, Milan or on the Amalfi Coast,” she says. “I always recommend products that, even if they have a higher initial cost, pay off over time,” Laura points out, highlighting the importance of communicating the real value of the investment.
Small details such as decorative cushions or trimmings also represent an element of great aesthetic and functional value, especially in luxury hotels, where they help to create an atmosphere of immediate and recognizable elegance.
If on the one hand Alfie Design addresses high-level hotels, on the other hand Laura loves working with private residences: “I often happen to be called upon to express my ‘vision of beauty’ in prestigious farmhouses and villas. In these cases, my creativity can be fully expressed, with fine fabrics, trimmings, refined details and less conventional solutions than the hotel world, which is more serial and standardized”.
“In the home environment, decoration really makes a difference,” notes Laura, “and my contacts often have a culture of upholstery and craftsmanship that makes the work even more stimulating.” The result can only be a unique, refined environment, capable of telling a story and enhancing spaces.
Laura does not limit herself to following projects, but invests heavily in training and professional updating, participating in fairs, exhibitions and trips, to draw inspiration and recover excellent craftsmanship techniques. A recent example? A visit to an exhibition dedicated to Dolce & Gabbana in Rome, where she was able to admire embroidery, inlays, sets and Murano glass, elements that fuel her creativity and ability to propose scenographic and high-impact environments.
“Our work is a bit theatrical,” she says, “it’s like entering a set organized to the smallest detail, where each element contributes to creating a ‘wow’ effect, which is essential to stand out in a competitive market.”
Alfie Design operates with a network of collaborations that goes beyond the Umbrian territory, often reaching Tuscany and various other Italian regions. Laura manages each project carefully, evaluating costs, logistics and timing, to always guarantee quality results and maximum customer satisfaction.
“Experience allows me to understand immediately needs and critical issues of each intervention,” she says, “from the delivery of goods to the management of the work, up to the final customization.”
Laura Santarelli lives every day through the filter of beauty: she is a living testimony of how passion, competence and aesthetic sensitivity can transform ordinary spaces into extraordinary environments. In a world where beauty often does not receive the right value, Alfie Design focuses on the culture of beauty, enhancing the territory with its craftsmanship excellence.
For those who want an interior design project that can reconcile aesthetics, functionality and customization, Laura Santarelli is able to tell unique stories through fabrics, furnishings and refined details.
Info: Via Indipendenza 8 – Spoleto (Pg) / +39 346 748 9705. / www.alfiedesign.it / info@alfiedesign.it