Cocoon Goes Green

Green is the new black at this year’s Cocoon

If you are tired of buying houseplants only to watch in wonder as they wither away, the comeback of various species that only require water once or twice a month will be of interest to even the most reluctant green-fingered urban dweller. But the resurgence of the cacti is just one of many trends on show at Cocoon, the annual home and interior design fair at Brussels Expo, which this year unites behind the theme ‘Into Green’. But before you start put on your eco hat, Cocoon has gone for an expansive approach, looking at how you can ‘creatively integrate green into your interior’. So while environmental concerns can be top of your list, a ‘green lifestyle’ is also about the ways nature’s vitality can be translated in your home.

Cocoon is a big old fair, with over 300 exhibitors and last year, some 90,000 visitors, featuring a wide selection of furniture, decorative items, kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, carpets, textiles and other things for the home. The good news this year is that organisers FISA (the team behind Belgium’s biggest trade fair, Batibouw), has zoned the various sectors to make it easier to navigate. Defined as Chic, Classic, Contemporary Design, Exotic, Lifestyle Shopping, Outdoor and Technic (technologies including air-conditioning), Cocoon coordinator Harry Vanhoyweghen describes the move as part of ongoing and concerted efforts “to upgrade the fair and make it more coherent for the future”.

The fact that Cocoon is very much a public exhibition makes it a more relaxing experience than many showroom settings. And the breadth of trends on show is one of the biggest appeals for visitors – fashion your own style rather than let fashion dictate to you seems to be the message. And having seen design ideas on the pages of magazines and websites, visitors will find plenty of Belgian and international retailers at Cocoon, making it a hands-on place to buy.

Behind its ‘Into Green’ theme, for which Vanhoyweghen took inspiration from the many hybrid plant/furniture/lights that were on show at last year’s Milan Furniture Fair, Cocoon makes the relatively common sense observation that a ‘beautifully designed interior is one that is lived in’. After all, unless you are a surgeon, who really wants a sterile environment?  But for this edition of Cocoon the emphasis is on personalising your interior; and whether it’s picture frames, candleholders, mirrors, cushions or other decorative objects, Cocoon hopes to prove that expressing your individualism through design is something that doesn’t have to be constrained by budget.

Visitors will be able to see Cocoon’s interpretation of the ‘Into Green’ theme in seven trend boxes located around the fairground. These spaces will highlight the fashionable plants, vases, paint colours, lighting and other designs nature is inspiring today. For those with a garden, the idea of extending your living space outside continues to be a driving force in outdoor furniture and accessories.  Yet across the world, urban gardening projects such as tree-planting schemes and community kitchen gardens are attracting increasing numbers of participants. So if the closest you come to floor-to-ceiling sliding doors is on the Metro, the possibilities now go way beyond the conventional window box. In its presentation of today’s take on grow-bags and vertical hangers, Cocoon showcases one of the latest ways to create your own greenhouse.

When it comes to the living and breathing green stuff, the return of succulent plants (a group of species which includes cacti) is one of the trends identified by Kris Naudts from florist Bloembinderij for Cocoon. His selection of new plant species, shapes, colours, leafs and forms reflects not so much a retro feeling for greenery but a desire for low-maintenance plants which fulfil a decorative role. Naudts highlights species of tropical sansevierias (also known as mother-in-law’s tongue), along with glossy-leaved fig (ficus) trees as particularly good ways to achieve a more sculptural effect. And when it comes to flowering plants, while the orchid remains queen, even the bog-standard hortensia is getting a makeover, with several new colours making it onto the market. However as Naudts (who travels to Brazil several times a year looking for new species) notes, it’s not just the beauty of the naked stem or texture of the leaves that is influencing consumer choices. In looking at their interiors, many work from the pot upwards. And from the illuminated to the bold or delicate, if there is one object that Cocoon won’t be short on, it’s a home for your pot-plant.

Cocoon, 19-27 November, Brussels Expo, tickets €10 or €8 advance sales online

www.cocoon.be

Tuesday 22 November

Ladies’ Day: it’s good to be a girl; you get in free of charge at Cocoon

Friday 25 November

Cocoon Night: late night opening until 11pm