“Christine Leja is a world class designer. She listened to what we wanted, giving us her recommendations and steering us with a gentle, trustworthy and very professional hand.” – Joachim and Monica
The best way to describe the complexity and sophistication of designer, Christine Leja, is to simply ask her questions and listen to her throughtful answers and you will gain insight into her thinking and approach.
-Who or what are some of your creative inspirations and influences?
Christine Leja: Bauhaus, the first artist lofts in Soho N.Y., my hippy time, my father who was an architect, my worldwide travels and all the freethinkers I have met in my life.
– Is collaboration important to you or do you prefer working more independently? Or to put it in another way: is working with others on a project for shared ideas, inspiration, etc., an option or would you rather go solo?
Christine Leja: The vision comes first, forming an entire picture, which definitely is created in my own mind. But my visions and my designs turn into reality because of my team, who understand my way of thinking and who support and translate it all into reality.
– I feel like there is a painterly quality to some of your designs. White, open, light filled rooms punctuated by colour and texture. Were you always drawn to bold colours from the beginning of your career? Would you say colour can be a guiding force in the initial design or does that come later?
Christine Leja: White, colour, light & openness have definitely always been the basic start of my designs. I think the “braveness” of colouring up a space or using pattern, materials or non-matching colours was a natural evolution. With the years you get more confident and spirited and the entire concept bubbles out of you as if it had a life of its own. Braveness, freethinking and sensitivity are big values for this passion. And to be able to walk this brave path you need clients who trust in your creations – which makes the result complete. So to answer the question, to me there is no beginning/initial and no end/later, there is a natural flow of evolution where the only concept that is permanent is change.
– Do you think living in Palma has affected your overall vision on design?
Christine Leja: Definitely the weather, light and nature inspire me every day. And the special light guides me to want to instinctively open up spaces to allow the sun to come in. But in general I would say that I find inspiration everywhere, every place, scent, landscape…anything and everything can be an eventual source to feed my creativity.
– Can you name three or four things that make you love Mallorca?
Christine Leja: Regarding Mallorca, I am fascinated by its nature, the island feeling, the different sceneries such as the dramatic mountains of the northwest coast or the wonderful beaches in the southeast, but primarily the heart-lifting sun, which devotedly gives his best.
– What are some of the things you love best about being a designer?
Christine Leja: Working with beauty, creating – which is one of the most important tasks in life -the fact that every project is a new challenge, making people happy, surprising them (and myself) with every new creation.
– What is your favourite time of the day?
Christine Leja: Honestly, I enjoy every minute of life – but I like the afternoon a lot.
– In your opinion/vision, for a space to feel complete/holistic, what are a “must” qualities required?
Christine Leja: Harmony, a life of its own (that extra quality impossible to define in words, you have to feel it!), spirit, that little something that makes it unique, an injected soul.
– What are a few of your favourite things to do outside of work?
Christine Leja: Travelling, inhaling new impressions, inspiring conversations, friends….and breathing, smelling and …. listening to the birds (I love the sound of birds).
