Ideal Home Show : Hammonds

 THIS IS A PHOTO HEAVY POST

Have you been to The Ideal Home Show? I’ve been a few times now, you can read about my last visit HERE.  I know that many people can’t make it, so I thought I would share some of my highlights of this years show in photographs on the blog.

I was invited by Hammonds to come along and meet their celebrity ambassador, and interior designer Julia Kendell to chat to her about the new ranges, along with of course, to see the show.

I was treated to a really interested talk from Julia on the main stage, about how our personality traits effect our interior design choices, and how once we have identified these we can use that knowledge to perhaps modify our choices. Such an interesting concept, and one that really got me thinking.

I also got to sit down with Julia and chat with her, and she offered me some helpful advice, for my next major room renovation my eldest daughters bedroom.  She said with simply sharing with her what our budget was, it would help Nia in so many ways. Giving her some ownership, and teaching her about budgeting.  Such great advice, and something we will definitely take on-board. She also talked about putting careful thought and planning into future proofing the room when we designed it.  Julia has kindly offered to help me with this design process, that I will doing in collaboration with Hammonds, and we are so excited to start.

I also asked Julia about her favourite trends for 2015.  She actually found this a difficult question as it is such a fantastic time for interiors (I completely agree) and that all of the current trends are so accessible.  She particularly likes the Scandi and industrial trends. Kitchens are Julia most favourite room to design, but when I questioned her on her favourite place that influenced her she surprisingly said Bali because of her love of rich chunky but paired back furniture.

Of course because of her work with Hammonds I had to ask her about her favourite range, and we both agreed that the new Harpsden is just beautiful, in a fantastic range of colours and its proportions really work. You can see a couple of examples of it below :

Harpsden is named after the Harpsden & Peveril Woods situated next to Henley Golf Club in the Parish of Harpsden near Henley-on-Thames.

Available in a choice of five beautifully painted finishes, this flagship range is available in our bedroom, sliding and home office collections.

Another favourite of mine that I spotted on the Hammonds stand, was this boot room or hall way set up. Storage in a hallway is essential, and I absolutely love the idea of being able to hide all of the day-to-day clutter this way.  The cabinet below is from the Willoughby range in a light oak.

Another clutter buster, was these Vigo fitted cupboards all around a TV unit, giving a bank of storage for a living room.  I was completely nosey, and a little naughty, and wandered around opening and closing cupboards.  I’m seriously impressed with the workmanship and quality of Hammonds.

So what else did I spy as I wandered around The Ideal Home Show….

I liked this kitchen, with warm tones, and metallic finishes.

Basalt & Rose Quartz Kitchen

This kitchen in The Gap House, was so well equipped and in a very small space.  They really played with the light in this show home, or should I say lack of light that was coming in, by painting the rooms in moody inky colours, but adding warmth, pops of colour and shiny surfaces everywhere.

The Gap House was just 3 metres wide, and had living spaces on the ground and first floor to take advantage of more light.

This was again from The Gap Home, in the lounge.

The warm copper tones were everywhere. I love the depth and richness that this combination gives a room

I think my favourite of the inky blue rooms was this one below by interior stylist Sophie Robinson :

There is so much to love about it, but its the combination of colours and symmetrical botanical prints that do it for me!

Here is the dining table from the same room :

The shelving also worked well keeping the room from feeling uncluttered, as the wood colour matched the walls perfectly.

The final inky blue painted room (I promise) was this one.  Do you like the use of space for the shelving and the wood for the fire?

I have seen this paint treatment shared on Pinterest so much recently.  It’s not for me, but its a great colour combo, and a cost effective way of creating interest on an expanse of wall.

Or how about this bedroom also by interior stylist Sophie Robinson?

I love the accents of fresh colours, and the use of natural materials, they work really well I think.

Finally was The Future Proof Home, which is the one I could really see myself living in. It was decorated in a light and neutral Scandinavian style, but it was eclectic and classical, and with added trend led accessories.

The floors were amazing in Kahrs Ash, I would love to have them in my own home, with no threshholds it was a superb flooring.   I loved the feeling of space, the rooms downstairs were open plan but were zoned very cleverly.

Small touches like the linen table cloths which I have been coverting and the brass and copper accents really worked.

The childrens bedroom was adorable!

 

I have many more photographs but I think this gives a real flavour of my day, I hope you enjoyed it, and I can’t wait to share the designs for my daughter room later in the month.