Country is right up SA’s street
By Melanie Peters : www.iol.co.za/lifestyle
Urbanites are getting grounded as interior design trends move towards the rural and the rustic.
Cape Town design consultants Laurence Brick Creative Direction will weave together this fusion of country and city living at their installation – Contemporary Country – at this year’s Decorex.
It is on at the Cape Town Convention Centre from Thursday April 26 to Sunday April 29, 2012.
Taking their cue from the latest European trends, the team will set out to prove there’s nothing backward about the platteland and farm-style aesthetic. With no room for the beige and the bland, textured fabrics with touch-me knitted upholstery, raw linen, natural wood and punches of acid yellow come together against a backdrop of the latest in wallpaper.
The team – Laurence Brick, Cathy O’Clery and Timna Russell – believe contemporary country is going to be around for some time.
In contemporary country, rustic elements meet urban sensibility, Brick says.
He and his team have been to other decor shows abroad, such as the Maison et Objet in Paris, and they adapt what they see to local conditions and local suppliers.
The look includes streamlined contemporary upholstery, industrial lighting and edgy colours, all mixed with raw timber, hand-crafted ceramics and reminders of natural sources. Wool is mixed with linen into a sophisticated pattern and print.
Their exhibit will have a list of suppliers for the wallpaper, furniture and fabrics to create the new look.
The mixture of country and town makes sense in modern times, says Brick. “Technology and communication frees many to live a life at a pace suitable to them – they may be working in the heart of the action through the internet but be sitting with a view over the veld. Or they may be at the centre of things in town and need a calming reminder of the elemental aspects of life when returning home.”
Creative consultant O’Clery says of the colour palette: “Contemporary colours are quite strong in Europe at the moment. Think intense and vibrant – acid and neon. It’s as if the recession has turned up the colour volume in a desire to escape the financial gloom. But they are all tempered with raw and rustic elements – a reminder of what is important in life.
“The strong colours will not filter down to South Africa so much because our light is too bright, but the acid colours will – like the yellow we choose here. I am loving this look and could quite happily live in this space.”
Creative consultant Russell says she loves the way contemporary country helps to showcase local talent. “It is so suitable to South Africa – we have master craftspeople and great designers, but we do not have hi-tech industrial production. This look is us – we South Africans love nature but are becoming more global – we understand contemporary lifestyle but still have our bare feet on the ground.”
Trends and ideas
For the time-strapped homeowner Decorex is the ideal way to shop around for the latest trends, furnishings, fabrics and ideas for the home all under one roof.
General manager of Decorex SA Cairey Baxter-Bruce shares some of the current trends:
* Getting real: It’s about back-to-basics, the return of old-school styles, craftsmanship and artisanal creation. Nature also continues to inspire materials and interiors. That’s why this year’s show theme is ‘Real’. The focus shifts towards the original, the rare and the bespoke rather than being dictated by cookie-cutter trends and short-lived fads.
Nature’s influence triggers a renewed interest in biomimicry, which have innovative designers emulating nature’s time-tested solutions, patterns, shapes and spirals. Birds’ nests lend their nurturing shapes to furniture and tree houses for grownups, while fashionable fabrics will be adorned with textured prints of butterflies, reptiles and insects.
Wood also makes its presence felt in a big way.
* Free style: Modern transportation and digital communication have shrunk our world, bringing international ideas for interior design right to our doorstep.
We see the development of a global living style, blending cultures and aesthetics from exotic destinations with our own way of life. International events such as the Arab Spring seemed to have stimulated an interest in Middle Eastern styles, with special emphasis on north Africa.
Go for mix-and-non-match. Collect ‘master’ or ‘key’ items over time and then complement them with more trend-disposable items.
* Fashionably frugal: If this is your year of being the model consumer – cutting conspicuous consumption and upping your upcycling, recycling and bicycling – your timing is perfect. Bargain chic is the new bling and doing more with less the battle cry of the in-crowd.
The countryside makes its presence felt in the city environment. Dominant fabrics influenced by this back-to-earth approach include canvas and organic cotton burlap and washed wool, embossed leather and horse hair, patchwork wools and tweed. Everything is repurposed, over-stitched and vegetable-dyed to reflect the new frugal sensibility.
We indulge in eco-pleasure and dabble in horticulture. Gardens with a purpose is the in-thing: herb gardens, vertical gardens and hanging gardens flourish – even on inner-city balconies. Small succulent gardens planted in old, worn-out shoes bring whimsy to the garden. Pot plants return to inside spaces – big, sculptural plants with exotic, large leaves. Expect the Delicious Monster to make a comeback.
* Singing the blues: Visitors can expect a wonderful shakeup of colours, infusing neutrals with a jolt of energy. Juicy reds, rich plum, mysterious purples and muted blues parade alongside a riot of brights.
Bold, decadent blue hues are also jumping from the catwalk to the couch. Deepest indigos are used in traditional Ikat textiles – so splurge on blue scatter cushions or go tribal with an Ikat-covered sofa.
* Decorex is at the Cape Town Convention Centre from Thursday to Sunday. Tickets are R65 for adults, R55 for pensioners and students, and R10 for children under 12. Doors are open each day from 10am to 7pm, except Sunday when it closes at 6pm. – Weekend Argus