News from the Ideal Home Show
March 20, 2009
Today’s the opening day of this year’s Ideal Home show and we’ve been trawling the stalls and checking out the displays to give you an exclusive sneaky peak. The official Ideal Home magazine stand roomset pictures will be posted soon on the Ideal Home magazine website, so you can see them in their full glory, but here’s a few snaps we took today to give you a taste of how the gorgeous rooms look:
A stunning teal bedroom
Pink and grey children's bedroom
Hotel-chic bathroom
Open-plan kitchen/diner
Stylish living room
The Ideal Home magazine stand was busy all day with visitors coming to look for decorating ideas and gorgeous buys. We explored the rest of the show, too, and spent a while on the LG stand admiring the stunning new TVs on display there – this elegant model with built-in FreeSat caught our eye:
Panasonic released the first TV with built-in FreeSat last year, but this new LG model is going to be more affordable when it hits stores in May. Exact prices are not yet known, but it’s expected to retail at around £979. If you’re buying a new TV anyway, and you want to access FreeSat, this is a great choice as you’ll cut down on clutter – there’s no need for a separate FreeSat box. If you already have a new HD-ready TV, you’re better off just buying a FreeSat box, which costs £80 (including installation) from John Lewis. Next, we headed off to see the innovative ideas and fresh talent on the University students’ stand. Check out this bespoke understairs storage system designed by Craig Haggart from De Montfort University:
What a clever solution for an awkward space – not an inch is wasted! We also liked the ‘Micro Kitchen’ from De Montfort University student Tommy Williams – it’s a great space-saving design for a compact kitchen area that adapts to make a dining table and a work bench, too.
We also loved this space-saving sofa system design from Phil Crook, also a student at De Montfort University, which adapts to create two extra seats if needed:
And check out this space-saving staircase idea from Joss Cook and Simon Matthews, students at Plymouth University:
Alex Hort from the University of Plymouth deserves a mention too. He created an amazing ‘Micro Hydro’ system which captures runaway rainwater in your downpipe, then stores it behind an internal ‘dam’ until the weight unleashes its power and it falls, creating energy which is stored in a rechargeable battery for use in the home. Genius! After a whole day of walking around the show in high heels (!) we were more than ready for a rest, so we had a little sit down in this funky party pod from Ornate Garden…
This year’s show is bigger and better than ever – despite the recession – and it’s well worth a visit, even if you just go to get some inspiration from the lovely Ideal Home magazine stand! – Ellie and Emily
