Decorex Johannesburg 26th edition was abuzz this weekend. Officially opening its doors to the public on the 7th of August 2019 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg. Each hall was filled with excited design enthusiasts captivated by the wide range of creativity and individuality each stand displayed.
As one of the most anticipated annual design events, Decorex continues to blow its guests away with the immaculate planning of the event allowing visitors to easily move through the halls enjoying the exhibition. Each year exhibitors go all out to showcase their craft. Selecting my favourites proved to be harder than expected.
Eagerly entering Hall 5, I was pleasantly met with a beautifully distinctive scent drawing me to the DNX Interiors stand. Donald Nxumalo, esteemed Interior Designer, never ceases to amaze. A great amount of effort was put into the actual experience of the space. Good interior designers and decorators know that creating a space is about sparking emotion and inspiring a sensory experience. With the DNX team dressed to the nines, Donald gave us luxury. Lit candles from his DNX home fragrance filled the stand with a delightful scent creating an ambience leaving a lasting impression.
Donald Nxumalo serves style and elegance this year.
Giving us all things chic was industry respected and iconic interior designer, Stephen Falcke. The stand had a feminine feel to it. The floral backdrop and cushions gave the room a softness. Warm-toned flood lights were strategically placed to highlight areas of the room and add an intimacy to it. The stand stood quietly, but commanded so much respect. As I stared deeply into this space it told a story of strength in femininity. The female sculptures gave a solidity to the room and the A2-framed image of Frida Kahlo tied the look up so beautifully. This stand really highlighted the beauty and sometimes subtly strength of a woman, so fitting for the month of August.
Stephen Falcke showcased the beauty of contrast with soft light features coupled with strong, dark elements.
Studio Living was all about the beauty of green. Both in the colour and the natural elements they brought in with the potted plants. Emerald intuition, is the colour Olympic paints calls it. A perfectly fitting name if you ask me. The colour has a calming nature. The space exudes tranquility especially with the use of live plants. The designers threw in some contrast with black and white pieces like the throws and scatters not forgetting the geometric shapes seen in the black and white artworks and the semi circle wall mirror. Certainly on trend for 2020. My advice, if you love this colour, would be to use it in a space with access to plenty natural light. Using it in an already dark room will make the room feel dull and cold. The touch of the colour terracotta in the Studio Living space fed so well into the stand next door to it. One One Eleven Design.
Studio Living, used Green as the hero of the stand and it worked beautifully
One one eleven Design was truly one of my favourites. It was warm and striking. The colour was bright and unapologetic. The use of obscure items and the black furniture pieces gave it a lovely abstract appearance. I specifically enjoyed the paint application on the wall. The seemingly unfinished look adds so much character to the space, a great reminder that interior design and decorating is about expression and highlighting ones personality.
One One Eleven Design used a combination of their own furniture and sourced pieces from other designers too.
100% Design, in my opinion, was where all things exciting came to play. What a fun and creative space. There was so much to see. I oohed and aaahed at almost everything. As I walked into the hall I was pleasantly greeted by an outstanding large quilt like carpet that ran from one end of the room to another. A stunning collaboration between MONN carpets and 100% design featuring the incredibly talented street artist r1, textile designer Sindiso Khumalo and The Collection Studio. Shall I say, what an entrance!To the right of it was 100% Design feature designer and one of SA’s top fashion designers Laduma Ngxokolo. The stand was rich in colour, texture and heritage. Each piece told a story and the grey curtain with greyed images of models wearing Maxhosa garments completely stole my heart.
This Monn carpets and 100% Design feature brought the room to life
Laduma Ngxokolo , founder of Maxhosa brings fashion into the interior with hid textile range
Jacobs collection has one of the best furniture pieces I have seen but what had my jaw on the floor was the actual tile mosaic wall feature. Made from real tiles. I commend the team for the effort they put into that illustration. The wall felt very Artdeco which I found absolutely exquisite.
Jacob Collection with their mosaic wall
Whilst on the topic of mind blowing stand, award winner Thabisa Mjo brought us the Sacrosanct hut and we are so glad to have experienced . Previously seen at the world renowned Milan Design week. This completely stole the show and there is not wondering how Mash T Design winds up on top bagging another award, Designer of the year. Collaborating with the phenomenal ,Mpho Vackier founder of The Urbanative and Wiid Design’s Laurie Wiid all design elements works perfectly together. The hut gave visitors a full on experience of entering a hut. Illustrations on the round windows depicted images of a homestead. Upon entering the hut like stand you are required to slightly bend your head, true to the form of a hut. Absolutely brilliant. The inside was nothing short of amazing. The space was a warm orange which played for a great backdrop for the Queen Nenzima server and Oromo chair by Mpho Vackier of The Urbanative beautifully lit by The Nomgcana Lamp and the Tutu light by designer Thabisa Mjo founder of Mash.T Design. It’s is no wonder why they both took home The Designer of the year. These ladies show absolutely no sign of slowing down.
The #FiredbyNandos Sacrosanct Hut conceptualised by Thabisa Mjo of Mash.T Design
Overall Decorex JHB 2019 was absolutely wonderful for me and I am pretty sure many other design lovers will undoubtedly agree. Congratulations to all the award winners, all which were entirely deserving as well as all the stalls owners who were courageous enough to show up and show off their brilliance. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Until next time folks.
