Ideal Home Show (Earls Court)

For all you home lovers out there, the Ideal Home Show is on up till the 13th of April. I'm going to go and check it out tomorrow and see what it's like. There are loads of great furniture companies, renovation companies and tradespeople there to give out some great advice and show off their latest and greatest products & services (and rather bizarrely Tesco are exhibiting for the first time this year - I suppose this is another step towards their quest for world domination!)

It should be a decent day out, though I do think charging people a £15 entrance fee to go into what is essentially a large furniture shopping mall is slightly taking the proverbial.

The Cotswolds Company To Close It's Doors

I read, today that The Cotswolds Company may soon be closing down. This came as quite a shock to me, because although their style of furniture and accessories was not exactly my cup of tea (I prefer a more contemporary look), I did find that their catalogues and website were well designed, offered a great amount of choice and overall had a nice appeal to alot of people. I would have thought that the Cotswolds brand, with it's modern-traditional style, would have grown stronger over the next few years, but I suppose you never really know what is going on behind the scenes. Such a shame.

Trend Alert: Folklore & Fantasy

This summers biggest trend was brightly coloured furniture with luxurious baroque silhouettes. This trend is set to follow through to autumn/winter, but with more high-glamour and deep, dramatic colours. Think black, gold, fawn and purple paired with decadent finishes such as high gloss, chrome and luxe patterned textiles.

The idea is to create high glamour and impact, and the key pieces are high gloss sideboards in black, baroque style dining chairs, and metallic lights.

Furniture is deconstructed by taking inspiration from the shape and form of antique furniture, but re-designed and produced with modern materials to give it a fresh feel. Accessories are adorned with ornate decorative touches, like digital optic designs and metallic or glossy finishes.

Designer In Focus: Tord Boontje

Tord Boontje, born in 1968 in Enschede, Holland studied industrial design at the Eindhoven Design Academy and at the Royal College of Art in London. After completing his studies he opened his own design studio in London in 1994. His designs are shown in some of the most prestigious institutions in the world like the Tate Modern Gallery in London, and he has done famous comissions for furniture stores such as Habitat.

Tord Boontje is also a proud winner of many international design awards. With his mix of ethereal fantasy and whimsical digital optics, Boontje is responsible for an important new trend in contemporary design. His products tell the stories of a fantasy world of unicorns, deer and elves.

We are proud to present our latest addition to our ever growing range of contemporary accessories. TABLE STORIES is the enchanting range of porcelain dinnerware by Tord Boontje.
All pieces embody a mixture of playful poetry and digital appearance, typical of his style and with which Boontje initiates an important trend in contemporary design.


At first glance the patterns look like traditional floral prints, however look a little bit closer and you'll find a hidden array of whimsical characters in the patterns. With the help of computer-aided methods he creates these ethereal fairytales on products that we use in everyday life. The TABLE STORIES collection is a series of plates in fine porcelain, the pattern of which has been burned and glazed three times making the plate dishwasher safe, you can view the full Table Stories range here.

The White Stuff

Every summer it seems white becomes a big trend in the world of interiors; a brief visit to WHSmiths magazine section this month shows a multitude of magazine covers proclaim "White: The New Black", "The White Issue" and various other headlines.

And rightly so, because nothing evokes that summer-time feeling more than a crisp white interior. Not only do white furnishings give a polished, chic appearance - they pretty much go with every colour-scheme under the sun. Plus it also has the added bonus of making any room feel light and spacious - Great for small spaces, not so great for grubby fingers!

Grand Designs Live, London

For all you design lovers in and around London, don't forget to checkout Grand Designs Live at London's ExCel this month.

It's on until the 11th May and is jam-packed with all the latest trends in the interiors world. There will also be a panel of internationally recognised experts and celebrities such as Kevin McCloud giving free seminars and speeches on eco-living, calculating your carbon footprint, debates on design and architecture, book-signings and so much more.

There's also a huge shopping section featuring great furniture and home wares for all you shopaholics out there!

Definitely worth a peek if you're in the area.

Summertime, and the living is easy...

It's so great to finally see some sun shining through after many months of rain and clouds, and it's always a nice feeling to leave work and outside is still bright, however it's definitly given us a hankerin' for a holiday................Barcelona, anyone?

With all the sunshine-induced euphoria rubbing off on everyone we've started to bring in a great new range of summer products in to get you in the mood.

We're especially loving this refreshing Kiwi work top saver from Joseph Joseph, which looks good enough to eat!