Nathalie saves the former Cine Rio from demolition with her interior design shop Maison Lie (Ekeren)

Nathalie De Keuleneer opened a new, large interior design store with Maison Lie on the Kapelsesteenweg. She was able to buy the building and thus saved it from demolition. From rural to rural, that’s how the manager describes her store. Nathalie also realizes total projects.

Nathalie De Keuleneer: “I live in Kapellen myself and at a certain point we were almost ready to open a store in Kalmthout. But that ended in the end. I happened to pass here on the Kapelsesteenweg and was immediately interested. The owner planned to demolish it. I am now very happy that I was able to buy it.”

Nathalie has no less than 950 square meters of showroom. “We put in new windows and made other renovations. The showroom has remained the same. I have a very wide range of interior items, ranging from tea lights and candles to seats and cupboards. We also have an outdoor department. There is a parking lot at the back. I try to offer my customers items that they cannot find elsewhere. Artificial flowers have become very popular recently. They are of course more expensive than real flowers, but they are permanent and the difference is barely noticeable. My colleague Nathalie Scheyvaerts makes them.”

“I have been working on interior design for 20 years now, it has become a passion. I consider it an added value that I am sitting here in a former cinema. I have already heard that this building has had quite a history. I will be looking into this in the coming months and I want to decorate a small room with a film atmosphere, a room with history, so to speak,” Nathalie concludes.

Maison Lie is open on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 5.30pm. (janbrys)

Maisolie.be

History

Cine Rio was located in the building from 1934 to 1963. Edgard Olluyn was the owner. He was an avid filmmaker himself. The man filmed fairs, cycling races and local parties. He then showed it in the supporting program of the major films. Nightly dance parties also regularly took place in the business.

After 1963, the building was thoroughly renovated and a showroom for office furnishings was added. The pop-up INTTER opened in October 2019. For a short period, recycled design items were sold. The building then became empty until Nathalie De Keuleneer was able to save it from demolition. (jbr)