Jaya Ibrahim

Jaya Ibrahim, a designer for the peace of mind

Jaya Ibrahim shares his aesthetic vision of beauty throughout the world as he provides a contemporary and soothing atmosphere. His accomplishments are scattered around the globe, from the United States to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (The Club at The Saujana), Mexico (Hacienda Uayamon), and from Bali to Jakarta....

Even if Jaya Ibrahim does not wish to call his work a style but rather a “an approach of work in the service of design”, his signature remains present in all of his achievements.

His timeless thoughts regarding interior design transcends all cultures and betrays his very distinctive background: Asian sense of aesthetics (inherited from his homeland, the beautiful island of Bali), he grew up and was educated in England, he holds a degree in business and finance and has travelled extensively around the world.

When approaching a hotel project, he seeks to create lively vibrant places rather than focusing on the commercial nature of the enterprise. What counts for him is to create inspired places for the hotel’s guests. He wants the guest to be free to use the rooms at their discretion and without any hindrance or restraint: "a guest needs to relax and escape from whatever kind of day they may have had or whatever they may have on their mind."

That is why, the interior designer must know how to forget about himself and focus on valuing the place first ahead of any self serving concept of style.

The Club at the Saujana

Jaya Ibrahim likes to work on an entire project, he likes to conceive of a place from A to Z and gladely announces that he was behind the entire design of The Club at The Saujana in Kuala Lumpur (except the swimming pool).

For this hotel, he collaborated with Jim Thomson for designing the furniture as his approach is simple yet effective. He plays with contrasts: raw textures against smooth, dark against lighter colours and bright colours against grey. He is proud of having created what he calls "An oasis in the midst of disorder."

For him a  hotel is a success (such as The Club at the Saujana) when the end product triumphs. In other words, when the guest feels at peace and has no sense of just  how much work went in to the design itself.

The Hacienda Uayamon

For the project of the Hacienda Uayamon in the Yucatan in Mexico, he wanted to create a contemporary design reflecting the spirit of the Spanish colonial style. In this 18th century building, he wanted to recreate the standard of living of wealthy landowners and their traditions. Therefore, he undertook wide ranging research into the life in the haciendas at that time. He also accessed the Maya philosophy for this reinterpretation of the Hacienda.

It was a complicated project because each room had a different architecture and size, therefore each room was thoroughly designed with an eye for detail to ensure a coherent whole. Each piece of the puzzle had to retain its distinctiveness and character yet find its role in the overall project.

He is particularly fond of his work on the library and bathrooms as he had designed them inside the hacienda. Unfortunately, he could not see the finished project....

Glossary Design by Jaya Ibrahim

The symmetry and geometry are the balance of harmony and color is the basis of the work, all the rest logically follow.

He chose the colours of the interior according to the country and also to the light: the Damasse blue does not suit Java, the Sumatra red changes in London and the green changes depending on the ambiance....

Jaya Ibrahim has neither any favourite colour nor favourite texture because it all comes down to combinations and proportions. Volumes are also vital.  We must ensure that all spaces are used, either on a visual point of view or on a practical one.

Of course since he began, his work has evolved in time with his inspirations, but as always Jaya Ibrahim is still driven by the desire to create as much beauty everywhere as is possible.