Mexican interior designer Maye Ruiz had the best of all motives for joining her profession: it brought her joy. As a high-school student, she almost chose a ‘sensible’ career path, but ultimately opted to follow her instincts.

‘At first I decided it would be smarter to pursue a job in administration where there would be better opportunities,’ she remembers. ‘But this made me realise that the creative world was what truly brightened my soul.’ Having spent her childhood building ‘country houses’ from sheets and chairs in her grandmother’s garden, interiors felt like a natural mode of expression, and she went to La Salle University in Philadelphia to study environmental and spatial design. She then taught interior-design courses and spent five years in Mexico City working in the studio of Andrés Gutiérrez, known for his colourful interiors. In 2021, she opened her eponymous practice in San Miguel de Allende, a city known for its Spanish baroque architecture.

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Burgundy and green are used playfully, with pattern and texture key, in Casa Coa

MARIANA ACHACH HERROZ

Maye Ruiz sits on an ‘Anni’ chair, created in collaboration with Comité De Proyectos

What are Maye’s recent projects?

Casa Coa, a residential design on one of San Miguel de Allende’s most beautiful streets, was inspired by Alfonso Cuarón’s 1998 film adaptation of Great Expectations and showcases Ruiz’s flamboyant style to magnificent effect. ‘It’s a dramatic yet serene, sensual, romantic house, adorned with plenty of chequerboard patterns, botanical-print wallpapers, and snake references,’ says the designer.

She has also just completed Espacio Santa Tere, a cultural hub with work spaces, which is where her own studio is based. Set in an old brick building that has been converted using materials recycled from the site, it is decorated in primary hues, reflecting historic colours that were discovered during construction. ‘It was a really fun project, with strong postmodern and geometric touches,’ says Ruiz. ‘It has lots of personality, and tells the story of its neighbourhood, San Antonio.’

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A slightly more muted take on Ruiz’s love of vibrancy in Casa Coa, where oversized lighting makes as much of a statement as the colours

Both projects reflect Ruiz’s signature look, which she describes as ‘dramatic and colourful’; she is inspired by the architects Ricardo Bofill and Luis Barragán, and Anni Albers, the textile designer. ‘I also love retrofuturism, postmodernism and 1980s style, and am greatly influenced by the contemporary Swedish designer Tekla Evelina Severin, who has built a career around the use of colour,’ she adds.

What is Maye currently working on?

As well as juggling several residential renovations, Ruiz is about to begin the construction phase of her biggest project so far, a 48-room hotel in Acapulco, by the sea. She is also designing a new bar in Mexico City. Both projects will bring her exuberant aesthetic to a wider audience.

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The primary-hued kitchen area in Santa Tere, a set of office spaces, interior designed by Ruiz, that includes her own studio