MAREDI Design

Some months, the sky doesn’t cooperate. Chicago spent part of July under wildfire haze and with a major heatwave (similarly to other places in the world). All of that as a reminder that what’s outside your window isn’t always in your control.

But what’s inside is. That’s the thread running through this month: a guest lecture on sustainable design frontiers, a podcast recording, material sourcing back at the studio for projects in the US and France, a flight across the Atlantic, and progress on-site in France.

Two countries, one design philosophy and home as the one thing you get to shape, no matter what’s happening outside it.

C’est tout pour Juillet.

This is not about wildfires. It’s about the air already inside your home.
Smoke over Chicago. Fires across France, Spain, Scotland. This summer made air quality impossible to ignore.
But here’s what doesn’t make headlines: our indoor air is usually worse than the air outside, wildfire or not. Paint, flooring, furniture, everything we bring into a home is quietly shaping what we breathe.
Clear skies aren’t guaranteed. What’s inside your home is.
Read more on Substack. Link in bio.

Incredibly proud of our latest episode with Dijana Handanovic. An absolutely brillant architect with a deeply touching story that has everything to do with Yugoslavia, modernist design, preservation and the power of collective memory!

If you're curious and ready for a bit of a tear-jerker, check it out!

Architecture, Culture and a Yugoslav Kiosk Episode 26 Out Now

A new chapter is opening in Angers — and we get to design it.

We’re beyond proud to announce that MAREDI Design is behind the interior design of Maison Anglophone, the new home of the bibliothèque anglophone d'Angers à Angers. The library and cultural center is moving to a brand-new location this fall, and the spirit (and the books) are coming with it, along with so much more.

This project is close to our hearts: honoring what came before while building something new for the next generation of readers and community members. Expect tuffeau stone from Anjou, warm oak touches, playful modular furniture, and cozy nooks designed for quiet afternoons with a book — all wrapped in a space that feels as welcoming as the community it will serve.

Swipe through for a look at the design vision!

Drop a comment if you can’t wait to visit the new Maison Anglophone later this year! And tell us what you’re most excited to see!

Lately, we’ve been busy: two features, two stages, one studio bridging heritage and modern living across France and the U.S. 🇫🇷🇺🇸

We were honored to share our perspective on timeless furniture with Livingetc, and weigh in on the Arts and Crafts revival with Better Homes & Gardens.

We also took the stage twice: at the New European Bauhaus Festival, walking through our Loire Design Lab case study — a 150-year-old building reimagined as a living lab for healthy, locally sourced materials — and with the Chicago Bungalow Association, sharing how we update historic bungalow kitchens and bathrooms without losing their character.

Two continents, one throughline: design that respects the past while working for how we live now.

Swipe through, and tell us — what should we dig into next? 👇

Good design doesn’t happen overnight — especially inside a 100-year-old Chicago bungalow.
Before we touch a single material, we spend time with the house itself: its original moldings, the logic of its floor plan, the light it was built to catch. That history shapes every decision that follows.

This project is still in progress, so what you’re seeing here is our process: the existing rooms as they stand today, layered with the mood boards and vignettes guiding where they’re headed.
We’ll be sharing the real transformation soon.

What’s one detail in an old home you’d never want to lose?

This is not about air conditioning.

It’s about the walls that hold your comfort in or let it out. Between record heat in France last week (with more on the way) and a heat wave that just hit Chicago, we’ve been thinking a lot about what actually keeps a home livable when the outside world turns extreme.
Reliable insulation isn’t a footnote in our design process. It’s one of the quietest, most important decisions we make for comfort, for health, for how a space actually feels to live in.
Ever notice your AC never seems to keep up?
More thoughts on this soon — link to the full story is coming to Substack.

June, in stages.

Job sites where walls come apart before they come together. Plans pinned to a table. A vendor visit that ran long for all the right reasons. Virtual case study presentations.

Then the heat hit, so we chased the coolness, first to La Baule, then poolside in the Loire Valley with a laptop and a view.

A toast to les Bleus somewhere in between. Allez 🇫🇷

Then to our other home — Chicago.

C’est tout pour Juin.

Bonjour!

Taking a moment to reset the grid and reintroduce ourselves, especially to those of you who are new here.

We’re Marc & Dijana, the duo behind MAREDI Design (pronounced mar-eh-dee—a blend of our nicknames). Our work spans between Chicago and across France, and reflects our life as multicultural, multilingual creatives building an international design studio.

At the core of what we do: wellness-driven interiors rooted in healthy materials and thoughtful, holistic design. We also guide international clients through the realities of renovating and acquiring homes in France, making “la vie française” feel a little more accessible.

Running a small business across two continents means wearing many hats. And lately, navigating the pace of algorithms, AI, and constant online noise has felt…heavy.

We’ve always loved sharing our perspective as creatives, but also as entrepreneurs. But lately, it’s felt harder to connect in a space that often prioritizes output over substance.

What we’re really craving is a return to something more human. More intentional. Less about feeding the machine, more about real connection. A little more analog. Un peu moins rapide.
So this is a small reset.

If you’re here for thoughtful design, slower living, and a more grounded approach to creating spaces, we’re glad you’re here.

Complete steam shower transformation in Chicago dealt a smaller footprint, but required maximum efficiency (and elegance). Every material and element was selected with extreme intention because in small spaces, each square foot counts.
This transformation wasn’t smooth. We hit a real challenge: an in-between phase where we tried real Tadelakt and it didn’t work. So we pivoted to an alternative healthy material option. (Trust us, there’s more to this story that we’ll share at some point).
Sometimes the most beautiful results come from the hardest problems. Swipe through to see how we turned difficulties into a spa-worthy steam shower that performs as well as it looks.

What’s your favorite detail in this transformation? Drop it in the comments.