Arts Writer
NEXT week’s Decorex Cape Town promises to provide everything a homeowner needs to renovate, restore, build or decorate. The showcase runs from April 29 to May 2 at the CTICC.
Themed Take it Home, Make it Home, the Mother City’s largest décor, design and lifestyle exhibition promises something for everyone, be it requirements for DIY or decorating, for building or furnishing, for creating a state-of-the-art kitchen or a blissful bathroom.
Produced in association with Home Fabrics, this year’s coveted Designer Spotlight showcase has been awarded to Adriaan Lochner. Drawing on the very latest textile and wallpaper collections from Home Fabrics, the well-established Salt River based designer will dress his dedicated space in a “transitional-eclectic” style. “I’m not one for labels, but I’d call it a style that is at once elegant and timeless but that also incorporates and merges different cultural influences,” he says.
For the second year running, four of Cape Town’s top kitchen designers will participate in the Franke Heart of the Home Kitchen Design Project. Sponsored by one of the world’s leading kitchen-systems suppliers, these refined culinary zones will showcase visionary kitchen design and materials, bringing new definition to the phrase ‘heart of the home’. “We are pleased to be affiliated with Decorex for a second year,” says Clinton Soutter, national sales manager for Franke SA, who describes the show as “a designers’ hub, offering the homeowner an array of inspiring new ideas and the latest in trends.”
Always a guaranteed crowd-puller, the Plascon stand is where Capetonian visitors will get their first look at the much-anticipated Plascon 2016 Colour Forecast. The paint giant, who has sponsored the show since its inception 23 years ago, uses Decorex as its annual showcase for the colour trends of the forthcoming season, which, hints Plascon’s colour manager Anne Roselt, focus on “increased environmental awareness”.
Inspired by the success of the Mancaves and Manscapes features of previous years, the boys are back at Decorex again – only this time they get to create the living space that best portrays their personality. Sponsored by Natural Stone Warehouse, suppliers of everything from Travertine tiles and cladding to quality marble and mosaics, the Top Man showcase will see a handful of local male celebrities each paired with a prominent designer, who will interpret the former’s unique style in the ultimate ‘men-only’ room setting. Public and corporate proceeds from this exciting installation will go to the charity of the celebrity’s choosing. Visitors are invited to vote for their favourite “Top Man” and, just by entering, a lucky participant stands a chance to win Natural Stone Warehouse tiles to the value of R30 000.
The now-trending look for interiors, both locally and internationally, is a well-edited space that is layered but not cluttered, with a mix of quality high-end and store-bought pieces. Appropriately called The Considered Home, this is a look that, at its core, is about quality over quantity. Visitors are invited to step inside The Considered Home, an exclusively curated space that will showcase all the elements that make up the style using products that are on offer at exhibition.
African décor, too, currently pulsates high on the global style radar with organic textures, rich hues and exotic patterning evoking the warmth of the southern-hemisphere sun and the wealth of the land’s flora and fauna. With concept and colours drawn from the beauty of the continent, the African-inspired Trend Pods will showcase the design genius of its awarded decorators, Nicky Tyers, a well-established interior designer whose consultancy, Lion & Tyers, is based in Wynberg and Dorothy van’t Riet, whose eponymous design and décor consultancy is based in Johannesburg, but has wide experience in Africa. Both designers will use their allocated spaces to display their own unique interpretations of a theme that is reassuringly close to home.
Premiering at Decorex Cape Town before heading to Joburg in August, Picture Africa at the 100% Textile pavilion is another showcase for contemporary design with a unique African perspective. Giving visitors an evocative taste of what’s to come at 100% Design South Africa, which runs alongside Decorex Joburg2016, this installation celebrates the relationship between photography and textiles, exploring the union of these two powerful mediums and the impact they have on design in Africa. Expect a kaleidoscopic amalgamation of the joyous, clashing and colourful textiles of the continent and the vibrant street and studio photography that encapsulates the spirit and energy of contemporary African life.
In addition to the above, the Cape Town show boasts a number of other firsts, including the Décor & DIY Theatre, a series of talks and interactive advice-sharing platforms that will arm visitors with an arsenal of fresh decorating know-how. Alternatively, pull up a chair at #decorexhotseats, where 10 specially selected Decorex Ambassadors will each choose their favourite locally made chair. Follow the #DecorexHotSeats campaign to join the fun.
There’s also plenty on offer for those seeking a vibrant shopping experience featuring all things artisanal. The popular Craft + Create Market, which takes place in the main foyer area of the CTICC and includes live music and craft beer, is an eclectic collection of uniquely exclusive, handcrafted lifestyle products. For the first time, it also includes a Maker’s Corner hosted by SA Maker Collective. Showcasing the very latest in DIY technology and techniques to customise your home and workplace, the fun, hands-on experience offered at this Decorex highlight will encourage you to upgrade from consumer to maker.
For those seeking sustenance, or simply the chance to rest shopping-weary legs, Decorex will cater for all tastes, with everything from the The Pantry, where gourmet takeaway goodies will be on offer, to the Pierre Jourdan Bubbly Bar, where lingering over a platter of sushi or a plate of charcuterie, washed down with a flute of Franschhoek’s finest, is encouraged.
The innovative new Build Bar, a blue blocking-themed restaurant is where home-improvers are invited to sit back and enjoy a boerie roll or burger washed down with a beer. And coffee aficionados will be catered to at the Illy Coffee Deli.
A combination of beautiful inspiration and clever ideas, as well as fun interactive installations and delicious eats make Decorex Cape Town will be the ideal place to visit with the whole family from from 10am to 7pm daily, and 6pm on the Monday. Trade Day will be on April29
l www.decorex.co.za