Belgique excentrique - Hardcover

Quality, originality and daring - these three words sum up what 'Belgian' stands for overseas when we're talking about interior design. There are no stark or beige homes here, no minimalism. Here is an array of colours, rich fabrics, unusual yet always successful combinations of styles and periods; there is even a good dose of kitsch to be found - such as stuffed animals. Interiors included come from the likes of Geoffroy Van Hulle, Lionel Jadot, Gerald Watelet and Jean-Philippe Demeyer. The texts are concise, personal and informative, based on interviews with the people living in these homes.

Journalist Thijs Demeulemeester has selected 16 eccentric interiors by inspirational Belgians such as Geoffroy Van Hulle, Lionel Jadot, Gerald Watelet, Jean-Philippe Demeyer, Carl Suijkerbuijck, Anne-Marie Midy, Susan Coolen and Leo Theunissen and Studio Job. He visited all these houses, apartments and lofts with photographer Diane Hendrikx, and what they found was an absolute feast for the eyes. Each chapter is a lavish display of colours, sumptuous fabrics and bizarre yet sophisticated combinations of different styles and periods. Nevertheless, the photos taken in the various interiors display incredible diversity: for one person, ‘eccentric’ means a generous dose of kitsch in the form of stuffed animals or a large plastic Mickey Mouse, while for another, it is expressed in the surprising clash of geometric wallpaper with a baroque chandelier. The residents of the houses in this book come from different backgrounds,ranging from antique dealers and collectors to interior designers. Some live alone, others with their families. What they have in common is an open mind, curiosity and a lot of courage: they dare to follow their own passions and use their homes as a showcase, daring to try combinations out simply because they can, and with no fear of putting aside the sacred edict that ‘less is more’.