Markus Altvater discovered his passion for interior design around the age of 12. After working as project manager in several industries, he decided to pursue his dream and studied Interior Design in London. Afterward, he dove into this world and launched The Inner House. 

For Markus, the connection to his clients is of the utmost importance. He considers designing residential spaces a very intimate job that requires a mutual liking for each other in order to make the results unique and tailored exactly to the client’s needs and lifestyle. And some clients have even turned into good friends after the project was already finished. 

Starting his own business was challenging in the beginning. It worked out well with a mixture of commitment, drive, luck and believe in himself. Furthermore, the designer thinks that if he already had achieved everything he wanted it would feel bored these days. From his experience perspectives on and expectations from life tend to change. So he feels that he can’t tell today what dreams he might have in ten or twenty years from now.  Creative challenges make Markus feel fulfilled. Especially when his clients have ideas they consider themselves “crazy” or eccentric and that they would like to bring to life with him.  

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He is a supplier providing design or consultation services. For residential spaces, as he said before, Mark considers it essential to grow a stronger connection to the clients in order to design for them exactly what makes them happy. That way he’d consider himself more of a confidant, a friend or sometimes even a coach. As for marketing and communication, the designer believes that good photography is  ‘’Good photographs are essential to advertise design work. And in personal meetings I like to tell stories to go with the photos. What were the challenges of the particular project? Which details have been incorporated that might go unnoticed by someone else, etc. ‘’

At the moment, the designer is redesigning a 1960’s bungalow in Tucson, Arizona. He has always been fascinated by the desert lifestyle and the ability to connect indoor and outdoor living to a harmonious full experience. As for the pieces used in his projects, Markus only takes part in designing the unique, bespoke pieces.

From Markus’ creative point of view, the new design possibilities for lighting by the use of high-quality LEDs have been the biggest trend lately. His clients are as diverse as his projects. Some are in creative industries themselves, some are entrepreneurs, some are celebrities, some are people next door that might be your neighbors. What they all have in common is that they were great to work with. 

When it comes to craftsmanship, Markus thinks about furniture and lighting and how Italy and Portugal traditionally are constantly leading the way. As for textiles, the designer believes that Turkey and India are still the strongest players in the game.  As for the future of the design industry, Markus would love to see a focus back towards a more sustainable product and project design and the return to a valuation of good craftsmanship – rather than short-lived trends and the tendency to deliver them with low-quality products, wasting resources and exploiting cheap workforce.

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