By Vânia Maciel, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – Running until October 13th, this year’s Casa Cor (Color House), is now underway, the most important Interior Design exhibition in Rio’s calendar. It marks the start of the calendar for much of the Carioca interior design industry, revealing the leading trends in Brazil and abroad, as well as new and cutting edge products.
It is a feast of elegance set in one of the Laranjeiras neighborhood’s stunning stately homes. Built circa 1883 as a home for Count Modesto Leal, one of the most prominent business man of early twenty century Brazil, the palace is a listed building in eclectic style surrounded by 50,000 square meters of mature Atlantic forest.
The show was conceived in São Paulo 25 years ago, and now has seventeen franchises throughout Brazil and Latin America. This year, the Rio de Janeiro twentieth edition has a lot more to offer industry professionals and interested public people alike.
Regarding Brazilian families’ behavioral trends during the last twenty years, 85 architects, interior and garden designers were challenged to create innovative, high tech ambiances for living and business interacting within the palace’s original architecture and surrounding buildings.
In the main house, reflecting the different trends in Carioca living style, the exquisitely built high ceiling’d rooms with their tall windows, give space to luxurious home facilities equipped with state-of-the-art solutions. The winding wooden staircase at its heart makes for easy passage between three floors of sophistication where fine tropical and futuristic décor coexist with the building’s striking original style, further divided into different living spaces where, from room to room, all the senses are overtaken by sheer refinement.
In the grounds, the adjacent buildings are utilized in new ways, with the old vivarium becoming an airy, sleek champagne bar, and the coach house transformed into the main restaurant, whilst other buildings are converted into an art gallery, fine eateries, shops and a café.
Beautifully designed gardens take advantage of the existing lush vegetation and enclose tranquil resting areas shaded by centenary trees, revealing sometimes unusual alcoves and works of art amidst the leaves.
Another outdoor place of interest is the Sustentarte stand, selling endemic Atlantic forest tree seedlings and holding a children’s gardening area to raise awareness of the need for forest preservation.
This year sees Casa Cor present itself as much more than an interior design show and it is an all-round sensory experience not to be missed. Located at Rua das Laranjeiras 304, it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 12PM to 10PM until October 13th, when a special sale will be held of some of the items.
Free shuttle buses run to and from Rio Plaza Shopping at Rua General Severiano, 97, Botafogo. (Buses times are 1:30PM, 4:30PM and 7:30PM, leaving Rio Plaza; 3:30PM, 6:30PM and 10:00PM, leaving Casa Cor. Entry is R$30 Tuesdays to Thursdays and R$35 Weekends and bank holidays, valet parking is provided on the grounds at an additional charge of $R15.
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