October 2016

Last week two of our FF&E designers, Freya and Natasha, travelled to Kortrijk in Belgium to visit the Biennale Interieur.

This was the first time members of the MBDS family experienced Biennale Interieur so we caught up with them to find out what they thought of the 25th edition of the Flemish design and product biennale. Biennale Interieur aims to promote creativity in product development, the living environment and design and this year combined the behemouth of creativity; the Texture Museum, also located in the city.  

Whilst much of the biennale felt a little too modern for MBDS, our designers were impressed with the way it was curated, tying in the designs of the various food offerings with the wider design of the halls, not to mention the excellent selection of stone, tile and surfaces on display. From iridescent tile lighting to natural cork wallpaper, the textures available provided a plethora of possibilities for our designers.

The beautiful stone tiles, marble and mosaic of Tegels Dominique Desimpel were particularly exciting to see and were thought to be something the Studio has never used before. Another interesting and never seen before designer was Orac Décor who specialise in metallic wall finishes, combined with interesting surfaces. The look is modern but inspired our designers into thinking about adding new textures to walls and cornicing. Creative Cork struck a chord due to the endless possibilities of introducing the organic material into a creative space; not just wallpaper and flooring but also cork upholstered furniture and sideboards. The furniture pieces combine the mid-century aesthetic with a strikingly contemporary and eco material.

Lighting was also strongly represented and our designers were inspired by the industrial yet sleek lighting of Dominique Perrault & Gealle Lauriot-Prévost, most notably their “In the Tube” wall light, a tubular light with striking mesh filter which diffuses the light in a unique way. Hardware and accessories caught our eyes also, notably the beautifully grotesque work of Volokhova Porcelain, whose quirky objects are cast from animals and fish. The bird feet bowls and fish head jugs proved comical, if a little gory for some. Maison Vervloet also opened the eyes of our designers to high end, handcrafted hardware, decorated with intricate patterns and finishes.  

Biennale Interieur
14 -23 October 2016
Kortrijk, Belgium

All photography © MBDS