'Maison 12': Interior Design Marries Traditional Local and Modern International Elements
Jakarta. A group of high-profile local interior designers, known as ID12, once again presented The Colours of Indonesia exhibition in Senayan City shopping mall in Jakarta.
This was the third edition of the biennial exhibition, which started in 2014.
"The 12 of us have been good friends for quite some time," Ary Juwono, interior designer and chairman of the exhibition, said during the opening on Sept. 14. "We wanted to spend some time working together, hence we started this exhibition in the first place."
The theme of this year's exhibition was "Maison 12," which means "Residence 12" in French.
The exhibition saw the 500-square-meter atrium of Senayan City being transformed to one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments, which were all designed with a combination of Indonesia's traditional and international modern elements.
But why does this exhibition feature apartments?
"Towards next year's elections, many people feel reluctant to invest in [landed] houses," Ary said. "But from our experience, apartments will continue to be in demand in any situation."
Mystical Papua
The one-bedroom apartment, designed by Eko Priharseno and Reza Wahyudi, was themed "The Mystical Papua."
"Papua is Indonesia's easternmost province," Eko said. "The province also abounds with natural beauty and riches."
Forged copper doors, made in Semarang, Central Java, led into the apartment's living room and pantry. Warm wooden elements reigned in these areas.
The walls and floors of the living room are all paneled with oak. A plush three-seater sofa, TV cabinet and wooden chairs dominate this room. Some of the pillows on the sofa are skirted with dried grass, in the fashion of traditional Papuan women.
In the corner of the living room was an exotic hanging lamp made from a traditional dance mask of Papua's Dani tribe.
"Many people think Papua's traditional masks are scary," Eko said. "For me, they're beautiful."
The pantry featured a kitchen set imported from Italy.
"We, ID12 designers, believe Indonesian products are on par with those from abroad and can indeed be paired together," Eko said.
Instead of flowers and decorative plants, the interior designer displayed cassava and sweet potatoes in glass bowls filled with water on the dining table.
"With a little creativity, something that's ordinary, like this cassava and sweet potatoes, can look special and exotic," Eko said with a smile.
Voyage of Borneo
"The Voyage of Borneo" was the main theme of the two-bedroom apartment in the exhibition.
Roland Adam was responsible for designing its living-room area.
"Most people think decorative elements from Kalimantan [Borneo] are heavy and a bit scary, but in this exhibition, we prove that they can also look modern and elegant," Roland said.
His living room would be a great place to relax after a long, hard day at work.
The focal point of the room is the gray wallpaper, just across from the entrance, featuring an oversized full moon.
"Seven years ago, I visited Sambas district in West Kalimantan to learn about its traditional handwoven textiles," Roland said. "During the night, I saw this beautiful full moon depicted on a clear night sky."
The sofa, which is also gray and shaped like a half-moon, blends well with the background.
A lush, green teak tree in a pot overshadows the sofa.
The living-room floor, which is gray with streaks of magenta, has a unique rubbery feel.
"They're Italian natural marble with a special honed leather finishing," Roland said.
Kalimantan's traditional woven baskets, in different colors and patterns, adorn the TV cabinet just across from the sofa.
Soul of Java
The three-bedroom apartment, themed "The Soul of Java" was the work of five renowned interior designers, Agam Riadi, Anita Boentarman, Joke Roos, Shirley Gouw and Vivianne Faye.
Agam presented a gorgeous library, inspired by serimpi dancers of Central Java, in the apartment.
"The serimpi dance is both very sacred and elegant," he said.
A series of 1930s lithographs of serimpi dancers adorned the cream-colored walls of the library.
A gilded work desk and padded armchair dominated the library. Just across from them was a classic sofa in emerald green, adorned with a red cinde shawl on one of its arms.
Serimpi dancers always wear red cinde shawls when they are performing.
Just behind the sofa were floor-to-ceiling shelves, featuring old textbooks and antique loro blonyo statues.
The Javanese statues, which always come in a pair, signify peaceful harmony of the couple living in the house.
Agam also added a modern touch to the library. With a click of the remote, the wood panels behind the armchair opened and revealed a large gilded mirror.
"You can use these panels to hide a television set or a secret room," he said.
The apartment's main bedroom was also spectacular.
Designed by Shirley, the main bedroom seemed to glow with many different shades of green.
"I was amazed with an old batik piece from Pekalongan [in West Java] in green color," the interior designer said. "Then, it dawned on me that green is among the least-used colors by interior designers. In this exhibition, I want to show that green can also look great in a room."
The main bedroom also had all curved edges.
"I'd like the room to feel different," Shirley said. "All the ceilings and walls in the bedroom have curved edges."
The pristine white king-size bed was placed diagonally against a curved edge of the room. Fresh bouquets of white roses and calla lily adorned the top shelves on the headboard. Behind them was dark wood paneling, embellished with golden etchings of storks strolling in a garden.
"My personal design style is semi-classic," Shirley said. "So in this bedroom, I want to marry classic Javanese and Chinoiserie elements."
Senior architect Jasin Tedjasukmana lauded the exhibition.
"We all know that interior designers have strong egos," Jasin said after the exhibition's opening. "And yet, these 12 designers have successfully worked together and created something great in this exhibition."
"I believe the visitors, young interior designers and students can learn a lot from this exhibition," he added.
The exhibition ended on Sunday.
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