The Trend Curve™

The international authority on color and design trends in home furnishings

  • Home
  • TTC Blog
  • About Us
    • What We Do
    • Consulting
    • About Michelle Lamb
    • The Trend Curve Story
    • The Trend Curve Team
    • Life of a Trend
  • Contact
  • Members (now open)
    • *Member Homepage*
    • Member-Only Posts
    • The Trend Curve for Members
    • Trend Flash™
You are here: Home / Trend / Retail Trends / Brussels Day 2

Brussels Day 2

August 29, 2006 By Michelle Lamb -

Today’s adventure took me to Brugge, an hour’s train ride from Brussels. I had heard that Brugge is “charming,” and that was enough to stir my curiosity. I had no intention of spending seven hours there when I left this morning. But I just kept on walking, looking and absorbing right up until the museums and shops closed and the sky clouded over.

Brugge has more apparel shops than it has shops devoted to home décor. I looked in as many of both as I could. And I did find a couple of home stores that were fun. On Eiermarkt, At Home offered an eye-full of frivolous items targeted to a youthful consumer. Vinyl furniture in Red/White or Orange White made the biggest statement with a retro mid-century flavor. These pieces were flanked by two shelves of small lava lamps, an array of polka dotted dog dishes and colorful plastic trash bins all in a row.

Dille & Kamille has a small store front but is much larger inside. This retailer combined unexpected categories in a single strategy. I kept looking for the common link and ultimately decided that it was size (if the size of the product was right, it worked for the store, no matter the category). The store was nominally about bath, kitchen, garden and kids and had some interesting displays, like the kitchen gadgets sorted by type in rows of metal bread pans. I also like the small, metal trash bins (in two sizes) painted in glossy light Green, Blue or Off-White, shown with cheerful check dish towels and a variety of natural wood/bristle brushes. This looked very fresh.

At the end of my day I toured one of the museums and two of the churches. I also took the time for a boat ride through the canals that run through Brugge. This last adventure, which I had first considered quite frivolous, turned out to be a half-hour very well spent since I was able to see some of the gothic architecture that the city is known for from the unique vantage point of the water. Since we are tracking gothic influences for 2007, this helped me to wrap my head around some elements of the trend in a new way.

Filed Under: Retail Trends  

Recent Posts

  • Paola Lenti + Campana Brothers = Sustainability With Artistry
  • Color Stories at KBIS
  • Fourth of July Influences on Décor and Food
  • Color Trends from Guimarães Home Fashion Week 2022
  • Trending at Maison & Objet: Valets

Posts by Category

Post Tags

Ambiente Americasmart Animal Skin Asian Style Black and White Ceramic Chelsea Flower Show Christmas Color Copper COVID-19 Design Details & Embellishments DMC Dogs Florals Functionality Geometrics Halloween Harvest High Point Furniture Market Key Items Kids Licensing Lighting Maison & Objet Marble Metals and Metallics Mixed Media Paper Pattern Shape Showtime Spring/Summer Sustainability Tabletop Textiles Texture Thanksgiving Toy Fair Transparency Trendcurveteam Valentine's Day White Wood Trends

Site Menu

  • Home
  • TTC Blog
  • Exclusive Content
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Sign Up for Email Updates

  • Hidden

Connect With Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Contact Us

The Trend Curve™
16 Penumbra
Lake Forest, CA 92630

Phone: 949-662-1515
Fax: 952-893-1264
Contact us here

Copyright © 2023 · The Trend Curve™ · Trend Staff: Log in