London Design Week 2014
The beginning of this month saw London Design Week take over the Design Centre at Chelsea Harbour from Sunday 9th to Tuesday 11th of March. This was a chance for the best international and British interior designers to showcase their new collections. LDW saw over 500 brands make an appearance, promoting their wares and sharing their expertise. The event was as diverse as it was big, incorporating launches with lunches, book signings with seminars, demonstrations and drinks.
Fancy Florals
If one overarching artistic theme could be extrapolated from the four days it was possibly that of ‘Big Botanical’, a British craze that has over the last few months seduced critics and consumers in Europe and the United States. Big Botanical is essentially what it says on the tin: an aesthetic with an emphasis on stem, stalk and leaf, crafting designs with curling petals and exaggerated floral patterns. Throughout the rooms of Chelsea Harbour there were magnolias crawling up wallpaper and curtains and crocuses sprouting across pillows and armchairs. The trend can be seen in the States with the rise of young companies such as Zen Bedrooms. Zen Bedrooms create a wide selection of bed frames such as Baroque, Argyle and Coranado, perhaps at first glance more fitting to Pemberley or Bleak House than modern day London. Past the age of minimalism when less was more, reflecting the style of Zen, London Design Week argued definitively that today ‘more is more’ and refused to hold back on the flowers.
Beyond wallpaper and armchairs, on show at London Design Week were different curtains and carpets, electronics, hardware and furnishings for both inside and outside living. In addition to the exhibitions there were Q&A sessions with celebrated designers and the specially commissioned Tatler restaurant.
Power Station Renovation
London Design Week was free for all, open to trade initially and then for the general public from Wednesday onwards. Before the festival opened, spokesperson at the Design Centre Becky Metcalfe said that LDW2014 looked to be bigger and better than ever before: ‘It is too hard to pick just one highlight as there is something for everyone – from lectures on 3D printing to talks from international names such as Jay Jeffers and Martyn Lawrence Bullard.’
The four days certainly lived up to Metcalfe’s expectations and were rounded off with the announcement that the London-based firm Michaelis Boyd Associates has been commissioned for the interior renovation of Battersea Power Station. The Art Deco building is Grade 2 listed and the largest brick building in Europe. Michaelis Boyd Associates, who have previously worked on the renovation of Soho House, will be in charge of the second phase of the £8 billion redevelopment.
It promises to be an exciting year for British interior design at the end of which we can already look forward to London Design Week 2015.
