Ritianne Scerri is a certified interior designer, “with an eye for design and a curious soul”. In November 2019, she took the step to go solo and founded RIA Studio – a “full-service creative agency”.
Ritianne is fascinated by how different spaces can be created using diverse materials, colours and objects. She capitalised on her inclination to the arts and crafts from a very young age, selecting and enjoying art and technical drawing as subjects at secondary school and later, at MCAST, Interior Design was her natural preferred choice. It was here where Ritianne had first-hand experience, in various workshops which offered her the opportunity to experiment with and broaden her knowledge about materials. She emphasises the importance of academic and professional formation in the practice and art of Interior Design. She underscores that in general, it is always very important to obtain a good, solid academic background in any sphere of practice, not least, Interior Design. This opens up a world of knowledge and understanding on various topics and this combination sets the base for the professional working world.
In 2010, Ritianne graduated from the UCA, Farnham, UK. Since then, she has worked in interiors for various local companies, including architecture studios and retail companies. In December 2019, she took the plunge to venture on her own, founding RIA Studio. While still running solo, she is looking forward to the day when a small team is formed.
In initiating and completing a design, Ritianne finds inspiration both from the site itself, and the surrounding outer spaces, especially the natural ambience.
By combining both, and being mindful of what the client envisions, new ideas take shape. Though there is no definite common denominator to her projects, she tends to prefer cool colours, such as teal and green. Indeed these might be a recurring feature in her project portfolio.
Ritianne finds that works on site are usually the most challenging aspect for project completion and delivery. This is because it depends on the different professionals and technical persons working on-site and their timelines which may be affected by, at times, unwarranted delays.
Ritianne tries to instil eco-sustainability in her clients’ choices of materials and resources and she is encouraged to note that, with time, “clients are beginning to be more conscious of the necessity of a sustainable approach in interior design”. Ritianne is always ready to include clients’ objects or furniture in the design, by reusing and giving them a new life, sometimes, by “just changing a few knobs or painting the item in a new colour”. Locally, she believes that we are just “scraping the surface “ and she is looking forward to seeing more products that play a better role in this field. “We need more awareness too!” says Ritianne.
In sharing her thoughts with RUUMS on the present state of the built environment in Malta, Ritianne thinks that we have two extremes, with some professionals producing some really interesting projects, but, on the other hand, we can see a growing number of buildings regrettably, just being transformed into larger versions, “without any real attention to design or creativity”. Looking to the future of the interior design profession, Ritianne thinks that we have seen a great positive shift in the last ten years, especially locally. People are more aware that interior design professional services are valuable, even at an early stage of a project. She believes that the profession will continue to look to the future, whilst striving to achieve better outcomes.