Recently we’ve had so many new followers on our blog and social media channels that we thought it was time to welcome you all to our Liquid Interiors community and give you a deeper insight into our passion for healthier more sustainable homes.

Of course the person who knows the most about Liquid Interiors is Founder and Principal Designer Rowena Gonzales. Award winning creative, Rowena comes with over 13 years of International Interior Design experience working in bespoke residential and commercial interiors, luxury hospitality and food and beverage design. Rowena started Liquid Interiors as an outlet to fulfill her passion for sustainability, health and wellness and to become a major contributor in the green interior design revolution.

Rowena Gonzales, Founder and Principal Designer at Liquid Interiors, Hong Kong

Rowena, can you sum up Liquid Interiors for us in a nutshell?

Sure! I’d love to. For me, at the heart of everything we do is “bringing the benefits of nature back to city living.”

Liquid Interiors is a healthy and eco conscious Interior Design Studio based here in Hong Kong. Our practice is rooted in advocating healthy living and environmental sustainability through innovative design.  We create bespoke interiors that incorporate wellness features to enhance air, water, light, acoustics and plant life and incorporate responsible practices that allow us to build in harmony with our environment.

As large numbers of us now live in modern cities, in much closer proximity to one another, yet isolated from our communities, surrounded by concrete, living fast-paced, convenience driven and stressful lives we see this work as crucial. This may be more efficient but we have not adapted well to this unnatural environment.

We need to find better ways of living in big cities and our vision at Liquid Interiors is to solve the physical and mental stresses that have been created by this relatively new way of life by adapting our spaces to restore our vital connection with the natural world.

For example, our natural rhythms are evolutionarily hard-wired to be governed by the changing light of the sun and this link is so strong that the amount of light we’re exposed to can completely shift our body clocks, causing problems such as sleep disorders, eating disorders, ADHD and depression. We design bespoke circadian lighting systems that mirror the color temperature changes of sunlight throughout the day and evening, therefore supporting the natural sleep-wake cycle.

Our design philosophy can have positive influences in every part of life, creating a home that is a sanctuary in the city, with stress relieving elements and transformable areas for meditation, yoga and exercise. Even looking at trees and plants can reduce stress so Biophilia (the use of plants in interior spaces) is a big component of our designs.

We believe that living in a healthy space should not be a luxury, in fact ALL interior spaces should be healthy and one way or another we want to bring healthy and sustainable living to everyone in the urban environment.

Our healthy and sustainable design philosophy is reinforced through our commitment to working to internationally recognized health and environmental standards, specifically LEED® ID+C, BEAM Plus and WELL® Building standards and we do this along with the dedication and creativity of our international team of experienced designers, advisors and strategic partners.  Although we’re based in Hong Kong we have also worked on many projects internationally including in China and Europe and have newly opened Liquid Interiors London.

What kind of projects does Liquid Interiors work on?

We specialize in creative, inspiring design in a wide variety of homes, bespoke show flats, residential developments, hospitality and workplaces.  Our firm assits with Interior Design, build, furniture and accessories selection and implementing healthy-living equipment. Liquid is focused on finding positive solutions to designing spaces and bringing luxury healthy living to our clients, where wellness and sustainability take the lead, providing healthier and happier environments and “leaving each space better than we found it”.

What type of Clients does Liquid Interiors work with?

We’ve had some fantastic clients who really believe in our philosophy and want to live the Liquid way of life. One of our best clients has been a family that recently moved from China to Hong Kong. We got to know them really well and produced a custom design for them that told the story of their home, their lives and their travels. Working from the beginning with a bare shell through managing the whole project, to the décor and styling was a great experience.

We sourced luxury furniture and gave them a beautiful, comfortable home with top of the line air quality, that gives them clean air in an area of Hong Kong that was choked up with dust and pollution because of local construction projects. This was a completely bespoke 360 degrees turnkey eco interior healthy design service from concept through to completion.

We also work with developers on show flats, this takes wellness to a commercial level with these projects being completed to WELL® Building Standard and LEED® level. These projects are all about strategic wellness development and bringing healthy homes to the mass market.

We’re about to launch a new offering  that is to provide exclusive luxury healthy home packages. These packages are unique designs that can be easily integrated into homes in any location. Not only will the color scheme, décor, furniture and accessories be included but also state of the art wellness technology including air and water purifiers, circadian lighting, indoor home garden technology and a custom smart home system that encourages healthy and sustainable living. It will be the blueprint for making more homes healthy and sustainable. Watch this space!

Our clients can always expect exceptional quality and we work with hotel-quality suppliers to source high-end exclusive luxury furnishings for the best possible look and feel for our interiors. Many of the bespoke features we build into our projects are designed and made to our specifications by our trusted contractors; top quality also extends to our wellness and sustainability features. Within the remit of our sustainable and healthy philosophy we can be as creative as we need to be and I feel we bring emotion and meaning to every space along with our own aesthetic for natural, sophisticated and modern design.

Tell us about the Liquid Interiors team

We have a fantastic close-knit team culture at Liquid Interiors, it really does feel like a family atmosphere, we work really hard but also focus on fun and on personal and team development too. They’re a truly international and well-rounded group, all with their own areas of expertise and all share the Liquid passion for environmentally sustainable and healthy interiors. Our office has an air purifier, air quality monitor, circadian lighting, biophilic design, recycling and healthy eating station so we all work together in a really healthy space.

One of our greatest strengths is that we are all dedicated to REALLY getting to know our clients in depth, completely understanding their style and what they want and need from their homes. We share the experience with our clients right the way through the project and have complete understanding and comprehension of their living issues. That’s how we’re able to do things that are so bespoke – we understand the problems clients have and solve them. In turn our clients know that they are working with a team of specialist creatives who will pour their hearts into the designs while drawing on their expertise, experience and LEED® and WELL® qualifications.

Focusing on fun ways of learning and sharing knowledge is always a highlight for me; a few months ago we had a zero waster come into the office to give us a presentation, it was fascinating. However, the following day when I came into the office the recycling bins were completely overflowing because the team had all brought in their recycling as they didn’t have the appropriate facilities to recycle at home!

We also have some amazing experts who support our work and contribute through our advisory board including green building, sustainability and wellness experts a classical Feng Shui consultant and green cleaning and air quality specialists.

What inspired you to start Liquid Interiors?

I’m originally from Montreal, but have been living in Hong Kong for ten years and I’ve had Liquid Interiors for nine. When I first moved to Hong Kong, design was a lot more about luxury, and it was pretty soulless; I wanted to make a difference. I looked first at sustainability, but something happened two years later that changed my whole world.

At age five, my nephew became a cancer survivor. Fortunately he is strong and healthy now. However, during his recovery I learned a lot about the triggers of leukaemia and found that many of these are found in the home. It was then that I made it my mission to create interiors that no longer had negative side effects to health. From the air that you breathe, the water you drink, how your food is prepared and electromagnetic exposure. All of these things can be improved through good design.

At the same time internationally, Wellness and the Interior Design industry started to merge. The WELL® Building Standard is an international building certification that promotes wellness for Interior Design. After incorporating these principals in our projects I’ve never received such good feedback in my life, we are so happy to hear that our clients have reported their respiratory problems starting to disappear and that they’ve had the best sleep of their lives.

How is Liquid Interiors Different?

No other Interior Design studio has the same focus and philosophy, to inspire, be eco friendly and to improve health and all to the highest quality. Liquid Interiors not only provides creative and inspiring solutions to the health and wellbeing needs of our clients but we also work to certification level LEED® and WELL® Building Standards. Our goal for each project is to create beautiful, timeless, personalized and meaningful interiors for our clients that improve the environment and their health.

What is your vision for the future of Liquid Interiors?

Through Liquid I want help as many people as possible. I really want to create awareness about healthy design and sustainability and share my knowledge with other Interior Designers, trades and everyday people so that they can make better choices in their own homes and adapt spaces to be more livable in the city. This is one of the main reasons we do the blog, I can’t redesign every building but I can influence how others design their spaces and this is why I want to get the message out there that our homes and workplaces need to be more in tune with our bodies and minds.

Can you give readers a great piece of Liquid Interiors design advice?

Make your home your sanctuary. If you can come home to a place that’s relaxing, it’s just better for your own wellbeing.

For more information read our blog about The WELL® building standard here.

Feel free to contact Liquid Interiors, your healthy and eco conscious interior design consultants.