Transforming Residences Into Homes Since 1986

If you look around you will note that it’s the well designed and finished properties which are sold the quickest,” Ramon Buhagiar explained.

People will be working and living in them; creating wealth and families alike. Residences such that the structure now becomes something tangible for people to call it It is with interior fittings that residences get transformed into homes.

Design & Build has interviewed Mr Buhagiar to gain a deeper insight into his views and into what has prompted B4’s renowned success.

B4 Textiles want to help developers create the ambience for their clients to be able to go back home, to a warm place of welcoming, after their tough day at work. “And, more so, if one is working from home as so many are now doing,” he added,residences are in dire need of creating different spaces within confined measurements. “This is only made possible with the right fittings and interior decorations,” Ramon explained.

Today B4 Textiles of Fgura and Mosta are considered as the market leaders in the provision of fabrics and textiles for homes. “Clients’ tastes, and the world’s taste in fashion, are conjointly evolving. As a result, we are moving less volumes of complex fabrics… and as a result, plainer, higher quality fabrics and designs are highly popular,” he said.

Our team of experts can guide our residential and commercial customers alike in how to best embellish their properties at the desired budget

Ramon explained that “one doesn’t see those voluminous curtaining in homes as we used to a few years ago. Due to the use of bulkheads, there is also less emphasis on curtain rods, and also on pleated curtains. Covered pelmets matching the curtains are also somewhat now out of fashion, “and property developers wishing to be at the forefront of real estate rentals and sales need to be fully aware of all these market – and fashion – changes. This, too, is where B4 outshines the market. Our team of experts can guide our residential and commercial customers alike in how to best embellish their properties at the desired budget.”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT
Simply hanging curtains which are not fashion-driven, with outdated styles and colours, or with no interior design consciousness; will not enhance one’s surroundings. And they shed a negative feeling in potential clients viewing the property for renting.

So, what are today’s colours? “Neutral of course” replied Ramon. “Greys and beiges – going up to light browns too – are the most popular at the moment. But you can also introduce a touch of turquoise and pink with the neutrals too, so as to create a contrast.”

He continued to explain that the trend in interior decoration today is to go for the lighter colours and not the darker ones. The dark colours are somewhat classical and outdated today yet even converted farmhouses are today using these lighter, more modern, colour shadings, he explained.

Simply hanging curtains which are not fashion-driven, with outdated styles and colours, or with no interior design consciousness; will not enhance one’s surroundings

When it comes to the fabrics themselves, the company always encourages clients to use washable fabrics and, importantly, ones which do not shrink.

B4 Textiles imports most of its fabrics from the world’s leading textile companies

The reasoning behind this is that with the design of apartments today the is more use of much larger openings and clients ought to always employ materials which don’t just look and feel good but which can be washed by themselves in their domestic washing machines. Shrinking curtains; particularly evident when they should be only dry-cleaned but are instead washed otherwise, would mean that today’s wide aperture spans would not be as completely covered as they should,” added Ramon.

B4 Textiles imports most of its fabrics from the world’s leading textile companies, mostly from Italy, France, England and Spain; and also from the Far East as they have infiltrated the Western markets with both competitive quality and prices.

THE COMPLETE PACKAGE
Clients are requesting a full service from B4 Textiles such that the company had to introduce a one-stop-shop concept so that clients would receive a complete job done professionally and without worries. This includes their on-site installation service. That the company employs its own seamstresses and installers significantly strengthens their levels of quality, price, efficiency, customer-care and professionalism in general.

Ramon added the this service provision has now become a great advantage for developers and property owners of rentals since they can send their measurements to B4 to obtain quotations and to place their orders directly.

The company would subsequently send its specialists over to check out the site directly, recheck the measurements, provide suggestions and advice if desired and required, and adjust the order and its values to the finalised specifications as confirmed by the client. And finally, installed precisely on site within the agreed timescales.

This area of service has today developed in such a way that the B4 Fgura branch is now catering for the business sector’s needs, especially with apartment blocks and such like developments, boutique hotels etc. “This means,” added Ramon, “that the B4 Group today offers a series of services to respond to market requirements – such as blinds, cushions, sofas, stools and much more, apart from the traditional curtaining and fabrics.”

When they started off supplying sofas, the transition was automatic for them to also start supplying dining tables and chairs; then stools followed… and, as they say, the ball rolled on. In fact, as their services developed further – such as B4 Blinds for example – so did their staff and servicing complement as further new services were introduced, including Italian designed kitchens (marketed separately under a different brand).

the B4 Group today offers a series of services to respond to market requirements – such as blinds, cushions, sofas, stools and much more, apart from the traditional curtaining and fabrics

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Ramon in fact proudly mentioned that they were in the process of opening a new factory specifically to cater for blinds, including their mechanisms, electrical componentry and installations and servicing. “One of the main advantages – especially for the interior design and civil engineering professionals – is that they will be able to cater for non-standard sizes – since due to a lack of standardisation in these aesthetic aspects of property development, “ ‘off-the-shelf ’ in Malta more often than not entails a fair degree of compromise. Not with B4!” he proudly concluded.