Is Brussels the New Paris?

Interior of Saint Michel Cathedral, Brussels.
(Click on any image to enlarge.)

It's hard to imagine any city coming close to Paris - at least in terms of sheer beauty and style. But, La Grand Place in Brussels is considered by many to be the most beautiful square in Europe. [Watch a charming little video here.] With NATO headquartered in the city, recent visitors have included Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden. And, Belgium's Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, was just named the new President of the European Council. "Brussels is the capital of Europe with its international politics and its international arts scene."*

When the Brussels Flowercarpet is staged every two years at the Grote Markt, on La Grand Place in Brussels, the impossibly elaborate Baroque architecture of the guild houses and gothic-style city hall temporarily plays second fiddle to the flowers.

Lo and behold, Belgian design, once an obscure, little-known variant of French style, is suddenly everywhere these days. Restoration Hardware? How mainstream! Bill Gates? When did techno geeks become design devotees? What the heck is going on?

Some of us might have secretly been thinking that our taste for Belgian design was a bit more sophisticated, chic and – well, exclusive – than that of the masses. It seems, no one outside the small community of designers, design writers and bloggers, even knew of the existence of a Belgian style, just a few years ago.

One man alone has brought his version of an elegantly austere, authentically rustic and (according to Diane Dorrans Saeks*) poetic Belgian aesthetic to the attention of the world. He bought a castle near Antwerp, outfitted it with his design, architecture and antiques businesses ... and the elite world of high-end decorators slowly caught wind. What began as a trickle, has grown into a stream of designers, collectors and celebrities making the trip to pay homage to the king. Axel Vervoordt has, single-handedly perhaps, put Belgium on the map as an interior design and antiques mecca.

Above two images from Axel Vervoordt's Timeless Interiors.

Angelika Taschen caught onto the Belgian vibe and published Brussels Style in 2006, one in a series of Taschen's Icons books.

On the cover, Agnes Emery's kitchen. Photo by Alexander van Berge/Taverne Agency.

Design by Lionel Jadot, photo by Jean-Luc Laloux.

The kitchen of set designer, Eugénie Collet. Photo by S. Anton/Inside.

Another person on my design radar is NYC's arbiter of funky style, decoupage artist, and hip shop owner, John Derian – whose own line of furnishings would feel right at home in a Belgian interior. He and I have so much in common, I'm sure if we ever met we would become instant best friends and stay up late into the night talking. However, these days my bedtime is more like 9 pm, and on a recent trip to NY, despite booking a hotel right around the corner from his shop (for convenient stalking), I never ran into him. But when entering his store, I felt like I had found my own design nirvana, and wanted to scoop it all up:
• Astier de Villatte's Parisian pottery and notebooks - check
• Hugo Guinness botanical drawings - check
• Rustic linen and flax upholstery and fabrics - check
• African straw mats - check

My bounty from John Derian's NY shop: Astier de Villatte vase, and notebook with gold tipped pages (too pretty to actually use except for staging tabletop vignettes!)

John Derian doesn't seem to give over to profuse chatting in interviews, so when he does speak, I pay attention. And when I read recently that his favorite hotel is Hotel Amigo in Brussels*, I was intrigued. I raced to the computer to consult my other favorite friend, Google. As a side note, I confess to having a fondness for hotels, and especially, hotel design. And, I've always secretly dreamed about how wonderful it would be to live in a grand hotel. What could be better than daily maid service, room service and fresh crisp hotel bed linens? Step out your front door and, voila, you're in the heart of a cosmopolitan city, walking distance to a world of excitement and museums, cafés, bookstores, charming shops. Sign me up now.

Hotel Amigo, John Derian's crashpad of choice when hanging out in Brussels.

The Magritte Suite.

Another view of the Magritte Suite.

Hotel Amigo is located next to La Grand Place, near the antiques district of Le Sablon, and is housed in a former prison. (I think John Derian must love the irony in that!) The hotel appears to be a design and art lover's dream. Olga Polizzi, part of the Italian Rocco Forte clan of luxury hotel owners, and who designs all their hotel interiors, has created a special guest package: In The Footsteps of Award-winning Interior Designer. Included are tailored itineraries to the best shops, galleries and museums in Brussels – a pretty good idea for your first trip to the city.

Bocconi Restaurant at Hotel Amigo.

References can be found throughout the hotel to Magritte, the surrealist painter who spent most of his life in Brussels. (The Rene Magritte Museum is located nearby in Magritte's former home.) His art is on display throughout the hotel, and the restaurant has a Magritte Limited Edition Menu, which starts with an appetizer named, Ceci n'est pas une pomme (a play on Magritte's famous painting, Ceci n'est pas une pipe) and ends with dessert consisting of a bowler hat (often seen in Magritte's paintings) stuffed with white and dark chocolate mousse. I just hope in this case, the hat is made of chocolate.

More to come about Belgian style ...
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Urbane and sophisticated, and possessing exquisite taste, Diane Dorrans Saeks has authored over 20 books on interior design, architecture, travel and style ... and she writes one of the best design blogs of all time – The Style Saloniste. Please check out her interview of Axel Vervoordt, and read first-hand about an insider's visit to the Vervoordt castle. Set aside plenty of time, as her posts are long, but well-worth the wonderful journey.

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See photos of Axel's Italian palazzo, here.
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* Christiane Reiter, Brussels Style
** Vanity Fair, 2009
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