Maria Vafiadis

Founder – MKV Design

Maria is an established thought-leader within the hospitality design world, admired for her exceptional and award-winning projects, sought out by discerning property owners and respected for the value she brings to all her work. Whether designing boldly contemporary interiors or working within the classical genre, she draws on location, cultural heritage and her understanding of luxury to create something unique. An architect by training and an interior designer by choice, she combines visionary use of space with design that reaches out beyond trend, that is commercially astute, innovative and delightfully surprising.
Maria established MKV Design in London in 2000 after an early career which had taken her from Athens to Milan and onto the UK. Since then, she has cultivated a business which has worked across Europe, in the Middle East and in Africa. Current/recent projects include: Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Budapest; Mykonos Grand Hotel & Resort; Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland; Costa Navarino, Greece; the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane; Grand Hyatt Athens; Athens Capital Centre Hotel – MGallery Collection; and Grand Hyatt Hotel & Residences, Abu Dhabi. Maria has also designed a number of acclaimed spas and luxury golf clubhouses including Alpine Spa, Althea Spa and The Bay Clubhouse.
She is a regular contributor at industry events and judge of international design awards. Last year, she published Design Alchemist, a retrospective on her work and her reflections on the value of design in the hospitality experience.
www.mkvdesign.com