In every commune of Phnom Penh there are at least a few decoration service companies working on house and office space. Residential building developers are increasingly using such services, believing that it is beneficial, for it creates better living and working environments.

Nom Sotheary, the General Manager of the Ray Building Group, said that the decoration service for house and office space in Cambodia offers a good market, and the general population, especially wealthier people, are paying more attention to this type of service, “which makes living more civilised.”

She added, “I have experience in decorating houses from when I was living in Russia.”

She said that while construction has been on the rise in the capital over the last year, the decoration services are not like in more developed nations, like Europe. Moreover, Cambodia’s human resources are still limited when it comes to the internal and external decoration of house and office space.

She continued, “house decoration services in Cambodia cost $10 to $15 per square metre, while in Europe it is $25 to $30 per square metre.” She added that the decoration is based on the demands of customers, with some wanting Khmer style and other wanting European style. However, to decorate a house, it requires a decorator who understands the locale of the building, and knows how to make the building work of high quality and safe for residency.”

Nom Sotheary said,“This service is doubling from one year to the next, in line with the growth of construction. However, I am concerned about the lack of human resources to provide good service to compete with the foreigners. Now that Cambodia is the ASEAN Chair, we must show the growth of quality construction and decoration.”

Thom Chanmony, the general manager of M Décor, established in 1998, said that the demand for the decoration increased this year, but it was not as high as four or five years ago, when there were many rich people wanting this service, and because there are an increasing number of companies providing this service. “The demand for these service will increase next year when construction increases,” he said.

Non Sotheary added that over the next two years, the property market will increase sharply, but at the price set by investors, and decorating services will also grow accordingly. However, she is concerned about the environment, because some decoration service companies do not know about the environment, and attempt to use materials that negatively affect the city.