Last week I was lucky enough to be invited by Neville Johnson , who make bespoke hand-crafted furniture to attend the Interiors UK event at the NEC in Birmingham. The event is in its 29th year with retailers such as Lee Longlands, Fishpools, Taskers, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Dreams, C P Hart, Zaha Hadid Architects attending.
I had a great time looking at all of the different rooms, listening to experts and meeting companies. So I thought I would share with you some of the images that I took on the day. I also met some lovely independent crafts people, who I will be featuring on my I Love Mondays in the future.
The main focus of the show is furniture :
This group of sofas really caught my eye, and I loved how they showed through the choice of fabric how different a sofa could look. The orange patterned sofa was incredibly striking, and I had to wait some time to be able to take the shot, as so many people were drawn to it, and sitting on it.
There was plenty to see as well. My feet were hurting by the end of the day. I was looking for new and innovative things, colour, lighting and of course things to satisfy my love of retro and vintage styling.
This set up really caught my eye. Low level bed, quite simply dressed, with a geometric headboard, but a flash of Japanese style with the backdrop and cushions.
I also loved this, as the colour of the sofa is identical to mine, the lights are so funky (I think they were just being used to advertise the company) and the rough clad wood on the wall.
Suzie Ager, Brand Director of INTERIORS UK, concluded :
“This year’s INTERIORS UK has been an outstanding success and I am hugely proud of the team that helped to deliver such a fantastic finale. It has reaffirmed that there are some incredibly innovative interior designers and retailers operating across the country who know the importance of discovering new brands at events such as ours that will keep them ahead of their competitors. We were incredibly pleased with the support we received on site for our relocation to London. With this we are excited to be able to build upon both the heritage of the interiors show and its popularity, uniting an enviable portfolio of exhibitors and visitors, to present an even better proposition with The Furniture Show at May Designs Series.”
I also got to hear the retail expert George Davies talk :
There were over 500 brands exhibiting, and visitor numbers which were up 15.09% year-on-year, so it was definitely well attended. Though it was quite hard to photograph, the lighting really was tremendous. How about these lights again a rich and opulent wallpaper.
I have a huge crush on copper this season, and Hend Krichen satisfied that with these glorious home-wares and accessories.
I couldn’t resist these rugs either.
These bespoke lamp shades were gorgeous!
I think my favourite area though was in and around New Design Britain :
The New Design Britain Awards are one of the most important competitions in the UK for young design talent, giving recognition to students for innovative and ground-breaking work and providing an opportunity for INTERIORS UK to encourage new young stars and look to the future of the furniture industry.
The textiles above were from the very talented Clair Whyman, a textile designer. I also loved ‘share.food’ by bilge Nur Saltik and the ceramic table wear.
We were also let in on the news that Interiors UK is moving and changing name. It will become The Furniture Show and be located in London. A shame it will no longer be in the Midlands, but then again I love a trip to London!
Sian says
Lucky you : ) so many lovely things to look at – my fave has to be the sofa with the paper cut design and the wooden headboard and the….. !
Amanda Cottingham says
That made me chuckle. I’m doing my bedroom this month, so was trying to find inspiration for that. I may well end up doing the whole house 😉
Carolin says
I love the minty/teal sofa. So pretty x
Amanda Cottingham says
I love that colour too and have it in my living room. I loved the copper pots, I could have taken those home with me!
Michael says
Loving all the interesting pics in this article! Lots of inspiration for the home.