Visit the WOW!House at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour

September 7, 2022/in Events /by Fiona Mostyn

Did you see The WOW!House at The Design centre Chelsea Harbour?

If you missed it I have some great news for you! Did you know that you can still visit WOW!House 2022 for free via a 3D Tour?

What is The WOW!House?

The WOW!House is the first ever designer show house in the UK and certainly one of the most talked about interiors events of 2022. The WOWHouse took over Design Centre Chelsea Harbour’s central walkway, known as Design Avenue, for the month of July creating individual rooms curated by the world’s most renowned interior designers and makers and sponsored by Design Centre Chelsea Harbour showrooms.

The house is a mixture of design styles with each room created by different designers. Enter through an impressive entrance foyer designed by Shalini Misra and go on to discover more living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms. As you tour the house you can access QR codes in each room that refer to individual showrooms and craftspeople that supplied the furnishings, fabrics and decoration as well as the designers that created the rooms for more information.

How the first designer show house in the UK was created

The concept of the designer show house is not new. In the US The Kips Bay designer show house has been running since 1973, inspiring designers and supporting charities that help disadvantaged children. However here in the UK, Wow!House is the first time a show house has been created on this scale.

In this interview Claire Germain, CEO of Design Centre Chelsea Harbour explains how the idea was born during a coffee she shared with Bernie de Le Cuona, CEO of de Le Cuona, a fabric house renowned for the finest quality linens and fabrics. Bernie expressed to Claire the need and opportunity for the Design Centre to host a show house to showcase design talent in the UK and during the lockdown Claire took the opportunity to put the plan into action.

The Wowhouse design centre chelsea harbour

The Drawing Room by Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen

My WOW!House highlights

Entering the WOWHouse was a truly magical experience. An explosion of creativity and design to inspire. What is so wonderful about the WOWHouse was summed up for me whilst chatting to designer, TV presenter and United in Design founder Alexadria Dauley who commented that the WOWHouse is an opportunity to for designers to freely express creativity without the restraint of a client brief.

The results of this can clearly be seen in the layers and layers of fabric, not just on furniture but on walls and ceilings too. Colour and pattern combined to great effect alongside the most interesting collections of decorative objects, artworks and antiques. The WOWHouse was also truly immersive in it’s use of the soundscape by Peter Adjaye and Scentscape by Dr Vranjes.

Top 3 WOW!House rooms

It is really hard to choose favourites when surrounded by so many inspiring rooms but design loves are a very personal thing, an artistic expression of our lifestyle and the things we love and aspire to. So I’ve chosen rooms I connected with for various reasons which I’ve explained here.

The Day Room by Kit Kemp and Minnie Kemp

The Day Room designed by Kit Kemp and Minnie Kemp, I loved for it’s explosion of colour and creativity. I’ve always been fond of the Arts and crafts and Bloomsbury group as my grandparents had lots of pieces which are still around today – like my uncle’s sofa and chair that he’s had reupholstered every 15 years in the same colour Morris and Co Pimpernel ever since I can remember!

The beautiful Bloomsbury inspired hand painted cabinet painted by Tess Newall reminds me of the painted furniture at Charleston Farmhouse, the home of Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell (sister of author Virginia Woolf) and the heart of the Bloomsbury group which is close to my home in East Sussex and somewhere I love to visit.

kit kemp wowhouse interior design showhouse at Chelsea harbour

The Day Room by Kit Kemp and Minnie Kemp

The de Le Cuona Living Room by United in Design

The de Le Cuona living room was a breath of fresh air showcasing timeless, elegant design through classic upholstery in their fine linens and beautiful bespoke details through their accessories collection.

However the most remarkable thing about the de Le Cuona room was that instead of collaborating with an established designer, they gave the opportunity to two young desgingers on the United in Design apprentice scheme. Founded by designers Sophie Ashby and Alexandria Dauley the scheme aims to create more diversity and inclusion in the design industry by partnering with established brands in the design world to open up more opportunities to young designers from black, Asian, ethnic minority and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

I not only loved the design in this room but as a marketer I admire the brand’s innovative approach take the opportunity of using their presence at a high profile event to represent their brand values by raising awareness and giving back.

The two young designers Roshu Shrestha and Christine Omorere did an amazing job designing and project managing the installation of the room in the Wow House and they now have an enviable first portfolio piece to start their careers with. I hope this is a tradition that will continue with other brands in the future.

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Living Room by de Le Cuona

Tissus d’Helene Bedroom by Joanna Plant

Back in August 2021 on my Instagram I posted on how I noticed a trend appearing in skirts and stripes everywhere. I loved it and I asked designers how they felt about it. Not everyone was a thrilled as I was to see so much frilly fabric around. In the poll results only 23% were “Just for the frill of it” where as 77% were “Not a fan of the frill”.

One thing I noticed about WOWHouse is that there were frills everywhere! Layers upon layers of luxury fabrics, not a chair leg or bed base in sight, especially in this fairy tale Princess and the Pea bedroom for Tissus d’Helene by Joanna Plant which was full of frills and stripes too.

The other thing that drew me to this room was the French cast iron pastry table with the marble top at the foot of the bed. I’m pretty sure this is the same table that I helped my antique dealer friend lift into the back of a van on it’s way to it’s next owner. It was quite an ordeal and it nearly finished us off! You wouldn’t believe how heavy the marble is. Seeing it in this glamorous room was like catching up with an old friend – “Hey I remember you and look at you now!” You can just see the corner of it in this picture so here’s a link to see more.

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Bedroom for Tissus d’Helene by Joanna Plant

So there’s my round up for you. If you missed the opportunity to visit this year here is a link to where you can still take a free virtual 3D walk through tour of the Wow!House on the design centre website. I predict the Wow!House will be even bigger and better next year so book early.

Which was your favourite room and why did you love it? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

SBID International Design Awards 2020 Winners Announced

October 29, 2020/in Events /by Fiona Mostyn

The annual Society of British and International Interior Designers is one the most prestigious accolades for the interior design community. The highly anticipated winners of this year’s SBID International Design Awards have recently been revealed!

St John’s Wood Residence by Shalini Misra – Winner of Residential Design over £1 million

The awards celebrate the talent of the exceptional designers of interiors worldwide. Alongside the interiors the SBID Product Design Awards showcase the innovative products designers use to create their visionary spaces. As with many design industry events this year it was not possible to host the awards event live at a venue. For the first time in 10 years the International Design Awards were announced publicly online. A joint celebration held alongside the inaugural Product Design Awards.

SBID International Design Award Winners

Despite this year’s unprecedented challenges, the SBID International Design Awards 2020 have been the most globally represented edition to date. With entries from a staggering 49 countries, the entrants, finalists and winners are a testament to the profession’s extraordinary resilience. They clearly demonstrate the world-wide determination to continue to celebrate the achievements of the design profession at large.

Cotswold Manor Bedroom By Pippa Paton Design – Winner best KBB Design

The Award winners for the interior design categories showcase incredible creative talent from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, United States, Dominican Republic, China, Malaysia, Hong Kong S.A.R., and Canada. The entries feature breath-taking interior design projects.

Casa Verdi, Domincan Republic – Winner Residential House under £1 million

From multimillion-pound mansions and super luxury private villas to bold, budget-conscious renovations. The awards also celbrate innovative commercial designs for retail, restaurants, offices and hotels; this year’s designs exemplify the ever increasing standards for the global interior design industry.

Albert’s Didsbury Restaurant by Space Invader Design – Restaurant Design Winner

Click here to see the full list of winners for Interior Design categories.

SBID Product Design Award Winners

From the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Denmark, to the United States, Egypt and Taiwan, the Award winners for product design categories highlight some of the world’s the finest examples of intuitive design within the interior sector. Showcasing inspiring sustainable solutions, quality of craftsmanship and superior performance. This combines with inventive functionality which continues to drive the industry forward through innovation and expertise.

From left overall winner Northstone Contemporary Terrazzo, Saltwater by Tsar carpets UK – Winner Floor Coverings. Chair Objet by Maison Arabella – Winner Residential Furniture

Click here to see the full list of winners for Product Design categories.

One of the most coveted awards is that of Overall Winner. This is for the entry that receives the highest scores from both tiers of judging and the public votes combined.

A Hidden Betsuin, Exhibition Space in Heibei, China – Overall Winner

This year the SBID Awards shines its coveted spotlight on Chinese design studio, Bluemoon Design for its hot-spring-inspired exhibition centre ‘A Hidden Betsuin’, using all-natural materials. For product design, leading Italian producer of compound stone, Northstone was awarded this enviable accolade for its artisan tile collection, The Fine Lines by Barbieri.

As Dr Vanessa Brady OBE, SBID Founder and CEO says: “We have all been struggling to cope with the broad effects caused by Covid-19 – as individuals, as well as a community. So the Awards this year, whilst very different, have been particularly inspiring to review. It just goes to prove the importance of our surroundings and how the way we feel and act within them is directly impacted by it. It’s been an important reminder to business owners that good design is not just about its aesthetic and functionality, but particularly in commercial space, it’s also about the intrinsic value great design adds to business.”

Wimbledon Common Duplex by Claire Gaskin Interiors – Winner Residential Apartment under £1 million

Judging the Awards

This year’s esteemed international jury was made up of visionary leaders who understand that outstanding design is key to business success. The judging panel includes a host of top tier professionals from global design businesses such as Burberry; Bentley; Belmond; Jacobs; Walpole and Quintessentially.

Now in its eleventh year, the GOLD-rated awards programme is recognised for its transparency, as well as its professional and ethical standards by The Independent Awards Standards Council. With all categories assessed by panels of leading industry experts who look for outstanding examples of technical content and aesthetic creativity, achieving an SBID Award is an unparalleled marque of industry excellence for the deserving winners.

Kips Bay Show House offers virtual tours

September 26, 2020/2 Comments/in Events /by Fiona Mostyn

The Kips Bay Decorator Show House is internationally recognised as a premier design event. It’s on everyone’s wishlist as a place to visit. Well this year you can. For 2020 you can enjoy a visit to this renowned event from wherever you are as The Kips Bay Show House offers virtual tours.

The history of the house

The show house events first started back in 1973. Several dedicated supporters of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, a charitable organization started in 1915 dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged children in New York City, launched the Decorator Show House. The aim of the first event was to raise critical funds for much needed after school and enrichment programs for the children.

Since then over the course of four decades, this project has grown into a must-see event for thousands of design enthusiasts. It is also well known for inspiring interior design trends throughout the world. The show house events have now raised over $25 million for the charity.

A new location for 2020

The original location is a Manhattan town house. In 2017 the brand expanded to include a house in Palm Beach, also the location for the January 2020 show house

This year sees a new location for the house. The 11,476 square feet home is in a leafy suburb of Dallas, Texas. The rambling, two-story home features a pitched slate roof and ivy colored, stone and limestone exterior walls, transporting guests to Provence, France with its charm. The home was built in 2003, boasting 20-foot-plus tall ceilings, lushly landscaped grounds and a dramatic winding staircase.

Twenty six industry leading interior designers each transform a different room or area of the house. The result is a stunning showcase of contemporary design. Touring through the rooms is inspiring as each room tells it’s own story in the signature style of the designer. From opulent formal schemes like this bedroom by room by Dina Bandman…

to the pared back style and natural earthy tones found in this gallery powder room by M Neave Interiors.

The Kips Bay Show House virtual tour

Following the impact of Covid19 on the design industry, the events calendar looks very different this year. Events have had to take on a different form as we adapt to our new normal. In light of the current circumstances tickets to the show are limited and the usual precautions are in place to ensure visitors safety. Whilst it is very unlikely that many UK design enthusiasts will be able to travel to the show this year there is a way to watch and enjoy the show house from the comfort of your own home.

Purchase a virtual tour ticket for just $20 and view the show house virtually as well as donating to a great cause. You’ll be treated to a visual feast, exploring every room of the house in detail. Additionally the visuals are accompanied by audio overlays. An opportunity to hear each designer explain their vision and inspiration for the room. This creates an experience that you may not necessarily get on a visit in person.

The Kips Bay Decorator Show House is open for one month from 25^th September. Will you be visiting? Virtually or in person? I’d love to hear what you think of the rooms. Leave me a comment below.

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