A small detail, a grand gesture

Interior design as part of hospitality

An evening at an Amsterdam restaurant got Giulia Boi thinking. There was nowhere suitable to put her handbag, so in the end a rather large footstool was brought over. Practical, perhaps, but it certainly didn’t fit in with the carefully designed interior. “I thought straight away: we can do better than that.” For Ladouceur, this became the catalyst for focusing more explicitly on hospitality.

Ladouceur was founded in 2023 by Liselotte Bergmans. Her love of fashion and interior design formed the basis for a collection of cushions and pouffes featuring distinctive fabrics, prints, piping and fringing. She drew inspiration from places such as Saint-Tropez. Even the name comes from there: for Bergmans, the restaurant La Ferme Ladouceur in Ramatuelle perfectly embodied the atmosphere she wanted to create with her brand.

Boi later joined as a co-owner. After switching careers to marketing, she began to take on more and more work for Ladouceur. The division of roles is clear. “Liselotte is really the creative force behind the brand. She keeps an eye on what’s happening in fashion and what’s coming next. All the fabrics and other elements are personally selected by her.”

They also keep production local. The pouffes are handmade in the Netherlands. Ladouceur works with a regular furniture maker for this. Bergmans and Boi source the fabrics themselves, collect the products and sometimes deliver them to the customer in person. Styling services are also available. “We believe that personal contact is important. Dutch bespoke craftsmanship is truly the strength of our company.”

From handbags to hospitality

The ambition to work in a more project-based way was already there. Boi’s experience in the restaurant trade gave this a concrete direction. The idea for a special handbag pouffe was developed, and about a year ago the first opportunity arose at Alma in Oisterwijk. Fabrics and materials were selected in collaboration with ZOUT Ontwerphuis. Ladouceur supplied the Handbag Pouffes and bespoke cushions. “That was our first hospitality commission and it immediately left us wanting more. A little pouffe like that, pulled up next to your bag, is a small gesture, but that’s precisely where hospitality lies.”

The Handbag Pouffes are tailored to each restaurant and come in various shapes and sizes. In fact, every project is bespoke. They can now be found at Rijks, De Librije, De Treeswijkhoeve, The Church and Herberg Onder de Linden, amongst others, as well as at Fine Fleur in Antwerp, for example. New commissions come in both through the network and by actively approaching restaurants. The collaboration with Interhal Concepts, where Ladouceur has been given a space in the showroom, should also open new doors in the hospitality sector.

In the meantime, real-world use has placed different demands on the products. Fabrics are impregnated, and the choice of materials and colours takes heavy use into account. Feedback from restaurants helps to further improve the products. Bergmans and Boi also gradually discovered that the soft upholstery and filling can help to dampen noise in a room.

Comfort before demand

For Boi, the role of accessories in hospitality goes beyond mere decoration. She cites a restaurant with mainly leather sofas, to which Ladouceur added fringed cushions. “That makes it feel just a little cosier, without it immediately turning into a living room. What’s more, guests sometimes like to have a cushion behind their back. If they have to ask for one themselves, you’re actually already too late, as the owner said.”

Ladouceur wants to extend this concept to hotels. Boi sees opportunities for cushions and pouffes not only in restaurants, but also in lobbies, lounges, suites and seating areas. They’ve already had their first experience with a luxury seating area in a hotel room. Growth is fine, but not at the expense of the company’s character. “We want to remain small-scale and continue to deliver bespoke Dutch craftsmanship. Creating something for your hotel or restaurant, rather than installing something that’s exactly the same as what’s already in place elsewhere. That exclusivity is something we both want to safeguard.”