bedMATE of the month #31: Carole Baijings
Every month we visit a creative and inspiring person. They are the "bedMATE of the month."
The bedMATE is the most iconic item in our collection. This extra-long pillow serves as a headboard, but also as a cuddle buddy, a supportive friend.
We're climbing into bed with the "bedMATE of the month." We'll take a look inside their homes and their colorful (bed)rooms. We'll talk about how they experience the SUITE life. What's on their minds? Where do they find their inspiration? And what color do they dream in?
This month we visited Carole Baijings, Designer, Colourist and Creative Director, together with photographer Marie-Louise Hodge.
Carole lives in two of her favorite places: "I live with my son, Rem, in Amsterdam, and my partner lives in Paris ." For this shoot, we visited her home in Amsterdam, where she lives among prototypes. Besides designing interior products, she's launching her first jewelry collection this summer.
We meet with Carole on a sunny Friday, and upon entering, we immediately see her love of color and design collide. Until 2019, Carole was co-founder of Scholten & Baijings. "We designed many products you're probably familiar with, such as Color Plaids, Tea Towels, and Chopsticks for HAY, furniture for Herman Miller, Moroso, and Karimoku New Standard, Textiles for Mataram, and a Concept Car for MINI. I'm still proud of that. We both now have our own studios."
I'm a colorist. Color is my greatest passion. It's central to my designs and something I love to play with from beginning to end. Color—and with it, ideas about transparency, layering, and grids—adds so much depth to a work. It's so much more than just the icing on the cake!
Her design philosophy? It's the 'Atelier Way of Working'. "This means we handcraft our own colors, materials, and patterns, creating new and unique shapes and structures. I love detail, and working by hand allows us to achieve that precision—whether it's finding that exact shade of fluorescent pink or subtly adjusting the proportions of a chair for extra comfort."
After several years of designing, Carole explains that many products are coming out this year: " The Candy sofa for Memo Furniture has just been launched, as well as the 'Lijn' Side Chair series for Geiger (Miller/Knoll). My first jewelry collection will be released this summer . And there's more: a sunglasses collection for the Japanese brand Ciqi will follow early next year."
How would you describe your interior design style? In my house, we live among prototypes because everything has to be tested, of course, and who better to do that than us! Seeing if the sofa holds up when Rem builds a den or jumps on it. Eating off my chopsticks and drying off with my tea towels.
What's your biggest work-related dream? Designing a collection for Hermès, just because of those beautiful orange boxes!
What's your favorite color combination? I love playing with color. Usually three colors that enhance each other and together create a new color sense. My favorite color, by the way, is pink... that's really me!
Do you have a favorite designer? My favorite fashion designer is Isabel Marant. I love her style—colorful, sexy, bohemian chic. It fits me!
What item in your home says a lot about you? My art says a lot about me as a woman. Many works are about intimacy, love, sensuality, sexuality, and freedom. Here's the work by photographer Inga Powilleit above the mirror in my bedroom.
What did you want to be when you were younger? I was such a sweet girl who was always drawing in kindergarten, so much so that I couldn't even tie my shoelaces. Dancing was another passion, and it still is. I need to dance more, hahaha!!!
What snack do you always have on hand? Dates and dark chocolate with sea salt chips, a specialty of Patrick Roger from Paris.
How do you relax ? I love music. My current favorite is "My Perception of Love" by Benjamin Amaru!
What's the craziest place you've ever slept? Under the stars on a peninsula in northern Scotland at a survival camp.
Where would you love to sleep someday? In a yurt in Mongolia.
What can't you sleep without? The ring my son, Rem, made for me.
Your favorite place in the house? My favorite place in the house right now is my bed, hahaha. I have so much work that it feels so luxurious to lie in it, especially during the day. It's truly the height of luxury!
