The designer who has reinterpreted the legacy of the Marbella Club
An interior designer, creative director of EMCI Design and one of the most compelling figures on Spain’s contemporary interior design scene, Marie Caroline Willms has succeeded in reinterpreting the essence of the Marbella Club Hotel without altering the character that has made it one of the most iconic hotels in the world.
Her interiors reflect an international sensibility, great delicacy and elegant proportions, but above all, a deep sense of comfort with style. Marie Caroline’s aim is to create timeless interiors, full of personality, to which one wishes to belong for a lifetime.
Marie Caroline has worked on projects across Europe, in Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Italy and Spain, ranging from private residences, offices and hotels to a yacht, private jets, a cruise ship and a private island. She has lived in Germany, Austria, the United States, Luxembourg, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. She studied interior design at Inchbald in London and completed her master’s degree in Florence. She continued her career in Munich, where she worked at the Hahne & Schönberg showroom and with Joachim Schoenberg. Her next chapter took her to Candy&Candy in London, before founding her own interior design firm, EMCI, in 2009.
Her aesthetic vision is shaped not only by professional training, but also by a life marked by culture, art and a family tradition linked to European aristocracy. Belonging to a family closely connected to the history of the Marbella Club, Marie Caroline Willms grew up among palaces and surrounded by atmospheres and homes where antiques, inherited furniture, collector’s objects, noble fabrics and unique pieces coexisted. This aesthetic universe, cultivated since childhood, forged a refined and highly exotic taste that today constitutes one of the principal hallmarks of her work.
Far from understanding luxury as ostentation, she interprets it as a form of authenticity. Her creative philosophy celebrates the beauty of noble materials, craftsmanship and the value of objects that have lived other lives. In every project, she recovers antique furniture, reuses architectural elements, rescues forgotten pieces and grants them a second life through a contemporary language that combines sophistication, naturalness and personality.
This exercise in creative recycling responds not only to a sustainable sensibility, but also to an aesthetic conviction: spaces acquire soul when they incorporate objects with history. The result is a series of deeply personal interiors, where Mediterranean influences, classical references, British details, French inspiration and an elegant spontaneity coexist, turning each setting into a unique composition. An eclectic style, easily recognisable for its balance between chic refinement, timelessness and a bohemian touch.
This way of understanding design finds its fullest expression in the recent transformation of several spaces at the Marbella Club Hotel, owned by siblings Jennica and Daniel Shamoon.
Taking on the renovation of an establishment regarded as a symbol of European luxury represented a considerable challenge. Founded in the 1950s by Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe, the hotel has for generations been a meeting point for aristocrats, artists, entrepreneurs and members of royalty.
Marie Caroline Willms approached this project from a deep personal connection with the Marbella Club, which allowed her to understand that the objective was not to modernise the hotel, but to recover the spirit that has always defined it.
One of the most representative spaces is El Patio, considered the true social heart of the hotel. There, the designer restores the essence of traditional Andalusian patios through a combination of handcrafted ceramics, natural stone, wood, organic fabrics and lush vegetation, creating an atmosphere that invites conversation and the enjoyment of the slow Mediterranean rhythm.
Another of her most celebrated projects is Rudi’s, conceived as a tribute to the hotel’s historic director, Count Rudi Von Schönburg. In this space, Marie Caroline creates a sophisticated and cosmopolitan atmosphere where recovered furniture, works of art, warm lighting and carefully selected pieces converse with complete naturalness. The result is an elegant, welcoming interior full of character.
The designer has also participated in the renovation of the entire Clubhouse, the Grill, the breakfast buffet, the entrance wine cellar, the private dining room, the Beach Club, the bathrooms and the towel and drinks hut, consolidating a coherent visual identity in which natural materials, local craftsmanship and a carefully curated selection of antique furniture, reinterpreted with contemporary sensitivity, prevail. For the interior designer, beauty does not reside in perfection, but in the intelligent combination of eras, textures and memories. Each project is a conversation between past and present, between tradition and innovation.
The interior designer champions a serene elegance, creating spaces that do not seek to impress at first glance, but rather invite themselves to be discovered slowly. This ability to transform reclaimed materials into sophisticated atmospheres establishes her as one of the most distinctive interior designers in contemporary interior design, and as the architect of a new chapter in the history of the Marbella Club. What her work shows us is that interior design can become a tool for preserving the heritage and eternal beauty of a place.
www.emci-studio.com
@mariecarolinewillms
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Manolo Yllera, Esi Seilern & Javier Salas
