The word premium is everywhere.
Premium coffee.
Premium skincare.
Premium travel.
Premium furniture.
Premium home linen.
The word appears so often that it is worth pausing to ask a simple question:
- What does premium actually mean anymore?
Is premium simply something that costs more?
Or is there something more meaningful behind the price?
- The difference between expensive and premium
A high price does not automatically make a product premium.
Something can be expensive because of branding, scarcity, marketing or simply because someone decided it should be.
But a premium product should offer something beyond a higher price.
It should offer a better experience.
That experience may come from the quality of the materials, the skill involved in making it, the attention given to the details or the way the product continues to perform over time.
This is where the difference between expensive and premium begins to emerge.
Expensive is a price.
Premium is a promise.
- Materials matter
The materials used to make a product are often the beginning of its quality.
In home textiles, the difference can be felt immediately and over time.
The quality of the fibre.
The construction of the fabric.
The weave.
The finish.
The weight and hand feel.
These details influence how a fabric feels when you first use it and how it behaves after repeated use and washing.
Good materials do not need to be excessively decorated to make an impression.
Often, their quality is felt rather than announced.
- Craftsmanship lives in the details
Premium products are rarely defined by one dramatic feature.
More often, the difference is found in the small things.
The precision of a seam.
The quality of the finish.
The alignment of a pattern.
The way the edges are constructed.
The care taken in the final inspection.
These are details that may not always be visible in a photograph.
But they are often the details that determine how a product feels in everyday use.
- The most thoughtful design is not always the loudest –
Sometimes, it is simply the design that continues to feel right.
Design that does not depend on a trend
Trends have a short life.
Good design can have a much longer one.
This does not mean that premium design has to be traditional or restrained. It means that it should have a reason to exist beyond the current moment.
A well-designed product should be able to live with you.
In a different home.
With different pieces.
At different stages of life.
This is particularly important when we think about the home.
A home is not a showroom.
It changes with us.
The things we choose for it should have enough character to be noticed, but enough restraint to remain relevant.
- Longevity is part of value
One of the clearest tests of a premium product is what happens after the first impression has passed.
Does it continue to perform?
Does it continue to look good?
Does it become more familiar and more enjoyable with use?
Does it remain part of your life?
Or does it quickly become something you no longer want to see?
In textiles, longevity is especially important.
A beautiful piece of home linen should not be created only for the moment it is first photographed.
It should be made for the many ordinary moments that follow.
The mornings. The weekends. The guests. The washing. The years.
- Premium is also about restraint
There is a temptation to equate luxury with more.
More detail.
More decoration.
More branding.
More of everything.
But premium design often works in the opposite direction.
It asks:
What can be removed without taking away from the experience?
The answer is not always minimalism.
It is thoughtfulness.
Knowing what to include.
Knowing what to leave out.
Knowing when a material, colour, texture or detail is already enough.
So, what makes something premium?
Perhaps there is no single answer.
For one person, it may be exceptional craftsmanship.
For another, it may be rare materials.
For someone else, it may be the ability to buy fewer things and enjoy them for longer.
But perhaps the common thread is this:
Premium is not simply about what something costs.
It is about the value created through the material, the making, the design and the experience of living with it.
At MaraM, this is a question we continue to ask ourselves.
Just creating a product at a higher price is relatively simple.
Creating something that feels worth the price is much harder.
That is the real test.
Not:
“Is this expensive?”
But:
“Is this worth it?”
That is where the conversation about premium should really begin.