Q&A with MINDTHEGAP's Stefan Ormenisan

Founded in 2016 in Transylvania, MINDTHEGAP has become a trailblazer in maximalist interior design, championing bold use of color, pattern, and style. Its collections, ranging from wallpaper and fabric to furniture and lighting, reflect a distinctive, rebellious spirit with a contemporary edge.

We caught up with CEO and Co-Founder Stefan Ormenisan to delve deeper into the brand's story and gather his insights on creating interiors that feel genuinely authentic.

MINDTHEGAP’s history is rooted in Transylvania. For someone who isn’t familiar with Transylvanian culture and design, how would you describe it?

We love to say we belong to Transylvania and its unique multicultural diversity. After Communism fell back in the early 90s, we started to discover a new region to belong to. This was Transylvania, our most important historical place that was populated first by Hungarians and German Saxons back in the XII Century, and later by Romanians and Gypsies that were traveling from nearby regions.

Transylvania is a cultural melting pot mixing different cultures, starting from Asia Minor and the Silk road area, up to the Germanic influences and Slavic culture, all together creating a unique style.

Many of your collections draw inspiration from specific cultures – like La Dolce Vita inspired by Italy, Tales of Maghreb from North Africa, and Woodstock after the iconic music festival, offering a wonderful sense of escapism. What draws you to these particular cultures?

All of our collections come from inside my soul and are truly related to who I am and how my cultural background has refined me. I grew up in very shady times, with the iron hand of a dictator ruling our beautiful country into poverty, with lack of education and fake values. But I was lucky enough to have early access to Western culture from a very young age through movies, music and books, even if we couldn’t travel or be part of the freedom and cultural revolution ourselves.

I enjoy exploring and uncovering the essence of things like the Woodstock spirit and finding ways to translate that into a collection. It feels like a creative challenge, or even a game, where hidden treasures lie in wait. Whether it's in the lyrics of a Creedence song or the way Jimi Hendrix dressed for his performances, each element holds inspiration.

What is your favorite collection by MINDTHEGAP and why?

It's always hard to answer this question! Color-wise I would say Sundance Villa, because it translates the spirit of the Mediterranean's relaxed way of living very well, plus I love being near the sea despite growing up in a mountainous region.

Pattern-wise I would definitely go with Woodstock since I am a free spirit that loves to break rules and to show that art is all about the soul and freedom, living the moment and the exuberance of being your own rockstar.

And finally I would go with Jazz Live, since I am a jazz musician in my free time and I cannot imagine my life without music.

You talk a lot about contemporary or modern maximalism, what is this?

Great question. The history of design has been marked by maximalism with each period. Try to imagine William Morris with his famous wallpaper patterns in an age when nobody knew what it was all about and how the people reacted at that time.

Maximalism is a tricky word that MINDTHEGAP has been associated with by the professional press and industry. It translates into bold and daring designs, changing your interiors in a radical way, with loads of elements that seem to be crowded and loaded, but still standing very well together. I remember how one of my favorite London stylists, Marianne Cotterill, stated a long time ago that MINDTHEGAP is full of patterns with bold colors and loads of motifs and elements, but strangely somehow they still look good together. This is maximalism!

Showing your bold spirit through design in every possible way, embracing your attitude and never being afraid of showing to the world that you are different. Morris was maximalist in his days, MINDTHEGAP is the contemporary maximalist icon, right?

How does MINDTHEGAP embrace maximalism with its collections?

Our collections are defined by two essential directions. First we need to be bold and maverick, to show to the world that we are not afraid of mixing six or seven colors into a pattern. But then we also need to be cool and chill, creating designs that are easy to use but still stand out from the crowd.

We are never afraid of showing something too much, having something too colorful or too daring, this is MINDTHEGAP after all! We prefer to create two types of designs within each collection; the haute couture, as I do like to say, and the mainstream. This way we deliver to the customers what they could use in their homes, depending on how brave they are, but also the design world some of our best creations.

Can you share any insider tips or design secrets for achieving a maximalist interior?

It all depends on how much you believe in yourself and how much you care about what others will comment upon your decisions. Try to mix the impossible, to add layers and colors within each piece of furniture or décor, and you will easily achieve the maximalist look in your scheme.

There’s lots of tips and tricks and tonnes of advice out there, but in the end it is about your personality and how you can translate your passions and hobbies into your lifestyle and your home. Be yourself, never listen to someone else’s opinion unless they are a professional and let your spirit flow into your house.

We share a similar approach in that we always try to guide our customers towards choosing designs they love rather than following trends. Do you have any tips on how to be authentic when it comes to interiors?

I think the best way to be authentic is to go with your soul and let your heart choose instead of looking for design advice or following the latest trends. If you love music or anything related to equestrianism, go with that and choose what you feel is closest to your spirit.

Try to be bold but not overload it since there is a limit of good reason in everything. Try to find the balance within color, patterns and styles, since you need to arrange everything with good taste and a good sense of aesthetic. And if you don’t feel comfortable with doing that, ask for the help of a designer that will understand what you are looking for.

But, at the end of the day, never forget you are the one who best understands what your passions and hobbies are, and what you are willing to see and live with every single day when you return home.

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