There is no doubt about it. If it has always been a source of pride and a proof of achievement for Mauritians to have their own house, the recent years have shown that they also want to make their houses more pleasant and nice. But this has been made possible through the improvement of the living conditions of the population as well.

When we launched our first such exhibition in 1990, economy had just been boosted. People had additional revenue and could afford more comfort and a better way of living. They could afford more than the basic commodities as it was the case before,” Didier de Senneville remembers. In fact, the first fair was an immediate success because “we met a specific need of the population”.

And this trend has been confirmed the following years, as shows the high number of people attending such fairs and the fact that shops specialising in interior design and housing products are increasingly present in the country.

“In 1996, when we opened, purchasing power was already quite high and people were going abroad quite often. When they saw interior designs during their trips or in European magazines, many of them wanted to have the same pleasant environment and comfort at home,” comments Michel Vellin from Pro Deco. Now, people no longer need to go abroad to make their houses pleasant. They can find their choice here…

The success of the fair just like the one of shops specialising in the sector could have been foreseen for quite a long time. “In Mauritius, people are very family-minded. Having a house to protect his family and making it happy is a top-priority in the Mauritian’s life,” explains the organiser of the fair. “Now that our way of living has developed towards a more global trend, the norms of quality of life have developed as well. If we were happy to live with the strict minimum 15 years ago, it is no longer the case now,” he adds. The growing importance of rooms such as the kitchen, the bathroom or the terrace is a proof that the house doesn’t just have to be practical today.

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