Last week Agung and I stopped by an interior design exhibition called The Colours of Indonesia—this year’s theme being Summer Home. It was held at Senayan City’s Atrium and we happened to stumble upon it the week earlier. Agung was excited when he saw it and we decided to register online to visit the exhibition the following week. While we do visit a lot of exhibitions—I mean, A LOT—this is probably the first interior design exhibition we’d ever been to. Not gonna lie, it was a nice change of pace.
A little bit about The Colours of Indonesia: it is a biennale exhibition initiated by ID12—a group of 12 established Indonesian Interior Designers. The exhibition started in 2014 with rotating themes and has always been held in the atrium of Senayan City mall. It takes months of preparations, 1,500 workers and 90 sponsors to build the 650 sqm exhibition space that resembles a wide array of show unit apartment. This year the exhibition runs for 2 weeks (1-14 September 2024). It just so happens that we decided to stop by on its last day.
Last week Agung and I stopped by an interior design exhibition called The Colours of Indonesia—this year’s theme being Summer Home. It was held at Senayan City’s Atrium and we happened to stumble upon it the week earlier. Agung was excited when he saw it and we decided to register online to visit the exhibition the following week. While we do visit a lot of exhibitions—I mean, A LOT—this is probably the first interior design exhibition we’d ever been to. Not gonna lie, it was a nice change of pace.
A little bit about The Colours of Indonesia: it is a biennale exhibition initiated by ID12—a group of 12 established Indonesian Interior Designers. The exhibition started in 2014 with rotating themes and has always been held in the atrium of Senayan City mall. It takes months of preparations, 1,500 workers and 90 sponsors to build the 650 sqm exhibition space that resembles a wide array of show unit apartment. This year the exhibition runs for 2 weeks (1-14 September 2024). It just so happens that we decided to stop by on its last day.
📷 ASUS ZenFone 10 50 MP f/1.9, 23.8 mm + iPhone 11 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm
Simulating a Home
As a make-believe apartment unit, the exhibition is walled off in all directions. I think this adds to its success—making people curious about what is held inside. The exhibition is 100% free of charge, but you are required to register before entering the premises—apparently, you can do this online like Agung and I did, or scan the QR code on the spot. When we decided to go in, there weren’t any waiting line outside the door, but if I’m not mistaken we saw one the week before—so my understanding is that the number of visitors at one time is limited. You are not allowed to bring food and drinks inside, so you’ll have to leave them by the door if you have any.
The exhibition area is divided into 12 rooms—it’s one room per designer—and 1 inner courtyard. Each room has a different function and personality. Together, supposedly, all of them form one house. There is a DJ who plays music throughout the event in the inner courtyard—although it may have been because we came on the last day. We really love how each room seems to be unique from each other. There were a lot of flyers and brochures available to promote the interior design studios and furniture boutiques—it is a marketing event, after all. We love how everything was so eclectic and stylish. Interior (and homeware) design is something that feels relatively new to us, so we didn’t have much knowledge to form educated opinions about the exhibition. Agung’s favourite room was Antrum (the spa room) by Vivianne Faye, while mine was The Satsuma (the pantry) by Yuni Jie. It really shows off our respective personalities—Agung loves to bathe, while I love to read.
Hand-me-down dress // thrifted shirt // Roti Eneng tote bag // unbranded sandals // photos of me by Agung
As a make-believe apartment unit, the exhibition is walled off in all directions. I think this adds to its success—making people curious about what is held inside. The exhibition is 100% free of charge, but you are required to register before entering the premises—apparently, you can do this online like Agung and I did, or scan the QR code on the spot. When we decided to go in, there weren’t any waiting line outside the door, but if I’m not mistaken we saw one the week before—so my understanding is that the number of visitors at one time is limited. You are not allowed to bring food and drinks inside, so you’ll have to leave them by the door if you have any.
The exhibition area is divided into 12 rooms—it’s one room per designer—and 1 inner courtyard. Each room has a different function and personality. Together, supposedly, all of them form one house. There is a DJ who plays music throughout the event in the inner courtyard—although it may have been because we came on the last day. We really love how each room seems to be unique from each other. There were a lot of flyers and brochures available to promote the interior design studios and furniture boutiques—it is a marketing event, after all. We love how everything was so eclectic and stylish. Interior (and homeware) design is something that feels relatively new to us, so we didn’t have much knowledge to form educated opinions about the exhibition. Agung’s favourite room was Antrum (the spa room) by Vivianne Faye, while mine was The Satsuma (the pantry) by Yuni Jie. It really shows off our respective personalities—Agung loves to bathe, while I love to read.
Hand-me-down dress // thrifted shirt // Roti Eneng tote bag // unbranded sandals // photos of me by Agung
A Cozy Make-Believe
I suppose the only reason we would ever go to an event like this at all is because Agung now works at an apartment’s back office—after previously leaving an architecture and interior design firm. His interest in architecture and homeware has since skyrocketed. This is basically his world now. In fact, one of the furniture brands MOIEHAUS is a tenant at the apartment he works for. When we bumped into one of their employees, Agung chatted with them for a while. He now has a much deeper appreciation for interior design and luxury style. That’s Agung for you, always open to new passions and interests. Did I mention that he has recently become a sort of perfume enthusiast as well? No surprises there, though.
For me, aside from the interior design itself, I also absolutely adore the exhibition’s graphic design. The poster and logo lockup are such a vibe! Also, it turns out they have an accompanying book to go with the exhibition—it was loosely displayed all over the apartment unit—which was so nicely designed. I wanted to grab a copy, but was unsure whether or not that would’ve been allowed. On top of that, the staff’s uniform is also very stylish. It looks like it comes right out of the page of a Japanese fashion magazine—the neckerchief and minimalist logo on the back are such a nice touch. If I could, I’d definitely be happy to have one.
I suppose the only reason we would ever go to an event like this at all is because Agung now works at an apartment’s back office—after previously leaving an architecture and interior design firm. His interest in architecture and homeware has since skyrocketed. This is basically his world now. In fact, one of the furniture brands MOIEHAUS is a tenant at the apartment he works for. When we bumped into one of their employees, Agung chatted with them for a while. He now has a much deeper appreciation for interior design and luxury style. That’s Agung for you, always open to new passions and interests. Did I mention that he has recently become a sort of perfume enthusiast as well? No surprises there, though.
For me, aside from the interior design itself, I also absolutely adore the exhibition’s graphic design. The poster and logo lockup are such a vibe! Also, it turns out they have an accompanying book to go with the exhibition—it was loosely displayed all over the apartment unit—which was so nicely designed. I wanted to grab a copy, but was unsure whether or not that would’ve been allowed. On top of that, the staff’s uniform is also very stylish. It looks like it comes right out of the page of a Japanese fashion magazine—the neckerchief and minimalist logo on the back are such a nice touch. If I could, I’d definitely be happy to have one.
The biggest difference, I think, between our regular art exhibition and this interior design exhibition is our knowledge of it. With art exhibitions, we’re usually familiar with the people involved—”Oh, this is xx’s work” “Really? It looks so different from their usual style”—or at the very least we would kind of understand the process behind it. Hell, I could often cite techniques and art style or influences I might’ve learnt in uni before. With interior exhibitions, we have very little knowledge about the people, the process or even the materials involved. We didn’t spend too much time inside, since we were just a regular bystander for once and there wasn’t much to discuss. I’ve got to say, though, it’s nice to be dumb and turn off our minds once in a while.
If you’re interested to learn more about the exhibition,
feel free to check out their Instagram page.
Just because it’s over doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.
The biggest difference, I think, between our regular art exhibition and this interior design exhibition is our knowledge of it. With art exhibitions, we’re usually familiar with the people involved—”Oh, this is xx’s work” “Really? It looks so different from their usual style”—or at the very least we would kind of understand the process behind it. Hell, I could often cite techniques and art style or influences I might’ve learnt in uni before. With interior exhibitions, we have very little knowledge about the people, the process or even the materials involved. We didn’t spend too much time inside, since we were just a regular bystander for once and there wasn’t much to discuss. I’ve got to say, though, it’s nice to be dumb and turn off our minds once in a while.
If you’re interested to learn more about the exhibition,
feel free to check out their Instagram page.
Just because it’s over doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.