Interiors Blog 2013

JANE PRICE-STEPHENS, INTERIOR DESIGNER

We are supposedly over half way through our build… and, as far as I can tell, the builders still seem to be demolishing stuff rather than building stuff… it does give considerable cause for concern when you see your home crumbling down around you, more so when you are living in a cramped one-bedroom flat within the building site (with a very large dog and a very large cat), separated by just a few bits of hoarding and some expanding foam from all the noise and the dust…  but, after nine weeks of this challenging existence we have finally capitulated and moved out. We are homeless. It’s a very strange feeling.

Anyway, back to the build. Now, according to our builder we have been a week ahead of schedule to this point, so I was unbelievably frustrated to see no real work or progress on site last week (with the exception of the removal of a picket fence, which to be frank, was so rotten I could have done it myself). As a consequence of this and our desire to get the build finished somewhere remotely close to the date we have in our plans and contract, we called an emergency meeting with our builder to ‘express our concerns’ (that is very diplomatic positioning and does not accurately reflect the colourful language that my husband used during this ‘discussion’).

Now for those that don’t know, in a previous life I worked in the city as a strategy consultant and, as a result of this, I am professionally trained as a project manager (as is my husband, but I’m better at it…). We both reviewed the project schedule and could see that after the past week of very little activity we were now in fact getting close to being one week behind schedule (so we effectively lost two weeks in the blink of an eye). Now that may not sound like a lot (and in the grand scale of things, it isn’t), but when you are begging, borrowing and stealing sofas and spare rooms from very good friends and family, the last thing on earth we want is for the build to run way over and we end up totally outstaying our welcome everywhere… we’re nice people, but everyone has their limits…

During the meeting we pointed out to the builder/project manager that we were behind schedule, to which his very interesting response was; ‘no we’re not, have you seen the latest schedule?’ Now I appreciate that there has to be flexibility in project planning and that in the real world of a build (where you may not discover a problem until you pull down a wall), plans do change and reprioritisation is always necessary. However, you can’t simply move major elements of the build outlined within the project plan back and continue to say you are either on or ahead of schedule!  My husband and I joked (in a very serious way) that if that was the case, he could quite easily have kept moving all the incomplete activities out until eventually they would all be sitting in the last week of the project – at which point, we would then have been told that we were behind schedule and that the house wasn’t going to be delivered. So, following our heated discussion on the basics of project planning and management, we now have a very clear agreement with the builder that items in the project plan cannot move and if they do it is by exception and joint agreement. It’s worth agreeing this upfront if you are embarking upon a build…

Now, I don’t want to teach my builder ‘how to suck eggs’, but the foundations of a successful project are dependent on it being delivered on time, within budget and to a level of quality that the client is satisfied with. I just pray that our builder isn’t just full of promises and will deliver a project we are happy with, within the agreed timescales and to the fixed price that we agreed (with very few ‘additionals’). I keep coming back to the image below, because it is just so relevant to what I do and it’s a useful way of describing the different fundamental elements of any project to my clients…

(Image from oneresult.co.uk)

In last month’s blog I set out how all projects are and should be constrained (and aggressively managed) by a set timeline, budget and resources. As a result, it is of utmost importance that the project process is constantly being driven towards completion with regular updates, meetings and follow-ups with the builder. Given that we have now moved out of the building site and are remote from day-to-day activities, it is even more important that our regular site meetings and reviews take place… and critical to the success of these meetings is structure, open communication between all parties and that it is a forum where everyone, including the builder, can voice their opinions and concerns. Again, it is important to agree project governance with the builder up front and make sure that you stick to it for the duration of the build.

I suppose I should apologise and say thank you for sticking this one out - this blog has been a bit of a cathartic rant… (but hopefully the project management tips will help someone about to embark upon a build).

Jane Price-Stephens runs her own interior design business, to find out more visit: www.janepricestephens.com, http://janepricestephens.blogspot.com, follow Jane on Twitter @jpricestephens or call 07970 547433.

BARBARA CHANDLER, DESIGN WRITER

The joy for me of trade shows - and I’ve whizzed around a fair few this year already - is the happy chance to meet so many designers face-to-face. There’ll be old friends, of course, but also a new crowd of predominantly young people. Over and over again I am amazed by their talent, professional expertise, chutzpah and sheer charm.

And I really love the students I meet as a judge for New Design Britain at INTERIORS UK, which is a design competition for new graduates, sponsored by INTERIORS UK itself.

One of my favourite winners from past years is Henoc Maketo, who stunned us with his vibrance and vitality. With a successful textile business ruined by conflicts in his native Congo, he came to London to do a BA in Printed Textile Design at the University of East London. The design in the photograph was for seats on public transport. Do look at the other pulsating work on his website. Henoc tells me he is looking for a fashion designer to work on a new range.

This year at Birmingham, my categories were “surfaces” and “fabrics”. Together with fellow judges Diane Goode of Fromenthal, and Dids Macdonald of ACID (Anti-Copying In Design) we had whittled entries down to a shortlist of eight, in a marathon prelim before Christmas.

Meeting the finalists (we’d only seen their work before) was exciting. We loved Paper Knotwood by Helen Dugdale, who had dreamed up an attractive new material from waste paper. So she won the “surfaces” section.

And Sian O’Doherty won the “fabrics” section for a clever idea she called Perceived Perceptions. She had woven exquisite pieces of cloth, and then turned them into digital prints. And voters on the website definitely picked a rising pattern star in  Alice-Howard Graham (pictured above),  with her constructivist abstracts.

We were intrigued by Elsa Sandy, with her lace-printed table. This is a hand-done process but understandably lips are sealed on exact production details.

Checking back with Tony Hollyer – our indefatigable Awards organiser – I learn that we had more than 200 entries this year from almost 150 graduates (some entered two categories). “This compares pretty well from when we first started over 12 years ago,” says Tony. “Then we had just ten graduates from four universities! – though it was just the furniture sector at the time.”

As judges we were struck by how much more professional and focused this year were the entries themselves. That made judging not only more enjoyable but a whole heap more difficult.

I love judging. I feel it is a chance to put back something into an industry that has given me so much. I love the chance to be in touch with raw new talent and maybe help a little along the way. And who better than my fellow judge Dids Macdonald (above), chief exec of ACID, to tell what the students get out of it: “For winners, this is the most amazing opportunity – to be in front of over 20k+ design buyers, to be mentored by some of the furniture industry’s leading lights and also to gain work placements. There is no better opportunity than what New Design Britain offers.”

Find details of how to enter New Design Britain here. Completed applications for 2014 must be submitted by 26 July 2013 at the very latest. All supporting material must be posted to arrive by 4 October 2013 latest. Please email enquiries to ahollyer@o2.co.uk

Pictures by Barbara Chandler. 

Barbara Chandler is a design writer and photographer. Follow her on Twitter, or visit her website to find out more. She writes most weeks for Homes & Property at the London Evening Standard and is design columnist for Homes & Gardens magazine.

JANE PRICE-STEPHENS, INTERIOR DESIGNER

After years of deliberation and months (and months) of planning, we have finally commenced the renovation of our home. It’s about three years overdue, but at least we’ve now made a start – the defining moment in any build is the arrival of the sledgehammer on day 1 – there’s no going back… in fact, by my reckoning, our entire house is currently being held up by eight green metal poles, a plastic bag and a plank of wood.

…and, for the first time I am on the other side of the fence – not only am I the designer, but I am also the client… this puts a completely different slant on things…

We are now six weeks into the build and it has become increasingly evident to me that my clients may not only be choosing to use my services because of my impeccable taste and extensive marriage guidance capabilities, but also simply because they are completely overwhelmed with the number and sequencing of decisions that all need to be made at the start of the build and across the lifecycle of the project. 

(Image from Learn Live Lead)

In addition to the vast number of decisions that need to be made, I am currently dealing with another tricky issue - I have been completely paralysed when it comes to making decisions about my own home. When it comes to clients, I am decisive and can make decisions that I am confident will result in a fabulous design. My paralysis seems to originate from the fact that I know I am going to have to live with whatever I decide for a significant amount of time (more so given the amount it is costing) and I am concerned that people are going to judge me on what I decide to do with my home – in essence, I just want to make sure I get it right.  Whether I like it or not, my home is going to become a showcase for the career that I have chosen…

I have also come to the conclusion that some clients may be choosing to use an interior designer in part because they want the confidence that their home is going to look aesthetically pleasing, but also because interior designers alleviate some of the stress associated with making so many critical decisions across the lifecycle of the project.

Another factor that can hinder the decision-making process is the fact that you are spending so much money and (for most of us) your world has shifted from dealing in pounds and pence to amounts with a few more zeros at the end – it means every decision has potentially significant implications on the budget as well as the finish. Throw the vast number of options into the mix and the fact that everything needs to be compatible and arrive on site at just the right time (to ensure it doesn’t delay the build and doesn’t get damaged because it’s lying around in a corner for days) and your brain could simply go into meltdown…

So here is some advice for anyone about to embark on the renovation of their own home – ‘In order to create something great you need to have some constraints’. Limitations on time, budget, scope and size of the project define the rules that drive decisions and make for better solutions. A classic example of this is how to deal with writer’s block – give them a deadline.  A creative mind has no limits but in order to balance the creativity, practical constraints around time, money and scope need to be in place. It may sound crazy but limitations and controls can make us happier and more creative. So, in order to focus my mind, my husband and I have just revisited our budget and set a clear date for when everything in the house needs to be ordered – this has focused our minds and means that hopefully we will create a home we are proud to call ours. If it doesn’t fall down before then.

*Jean-Paul Sartre

Jane Price-Stephens runs her own interior design business, to find out more visit: www.janepricestephens.com, http://janepricestephens.blogspot.com, follow Jane on Twitter @jpricestephens or call 07970 547433.

GRAHAME MORRISON, WEB MANAGER, KBB PORTFOLIO

As those of you who tap into the kbbForum from time to time may be aware, there is something of a debate, occasionally heated, going on about whether kitchen (or bathroom) design is a self-contained discipline or part of the broader church of interior design.

While that debate will in all probability run and run, what is becoming clearer all the time is the growing association between the design of furniture throughout the home, and it is easy to see why.

Gone are the days when the kitchen was a room in splendid isolation from the rest of the home. A high percentage of the property being built today has one living space that includes living, dining and kitchen areas. On the continent, where a higher proportion of people live in apartments, they are ahead of the game compared with the UK. Quality German-made appliances for example, run quietly so that the dishwasher going into its main wash programme doesn’t drown out the after supper banter.

Skovby brings together wanut and white gloss to make a striking contrast

But as my recent visit to INTERIORS UK confirmed, the design of kitchen furniture is a major influence on the design and features of living and dining room furniture. Soft-close drawers and doors, once an exclusive feature of upscale kitchens, is now to be found on living and dining room furniture across a wide range of price points.

One of the strongest trends to emerge from the influential Living Kitchen show in Cologne the week before INTERIORS UK was the demise of the screw-on handle, with door or drawer frontal including a pull designed into an edge of the unit. This was a feature found throughout the contemporary furniture area (Hall 2) at INTERIORS UK. In fact, you would have been hard-pressed to find a ‘proper’ handle on any stand there!

Aleal shows how well white gloss finishes can work outside of the kitchen

In terms of kitchen furniture, high gloss white lacquer is still one of the most popular finishes and having started out as an exclusive feature on high end ranges is now very much part of the mainstream. It is a finish that is finding its way into living room furniture where it will complement many modern kitchens.

Cutouts replace handles on this bedroom range from Ercol

However, where living and dining room furniture is leading the way is with the use of walnut finishes that make a striking contrast when used with white high gloss furniture. Not the burnished walnut of old that would warm the cockles of the heart of Thomas Chippendale and his ilk, but contemporary styles that pointing the way to a renaissance of minimal Scandinavian design.

Walnut, or rather walnut effects, did surface at Living Kitchen 2013, mostly as contrast pieces in pale wood or gloss kitchens and furniture designer Mark Wilkinson has used walnut recently as well, but in an English classical style that is his signature.

INTERIORS UK suggests that a very modern future lies ahead for this wood, and as many of the exhibitors demonstrated, it will be increasingly used throughout the home.

It's hard to believe that today's the last day of the show! If you haven't braved the snow yet to make it to the NEC then please do. It's lovely and warm inside the halls, honest. And there's still so much to see!

The Fabric Pavilion features leading fabric brands from around the world as well as a library of fabric books from an impressive range of UK and international suppliers.

There are more than 600 exhibitors to visit, as well as the fab Designersblock&Co department store, the fantastic Contract Lounge and much more.

Our seminar programme yesterday included Ryan Ross and Sarah Shepherd from Stylus providing a fantastic insight into inspirational interior trend concepts for Spring/Summer 2014. There was also a talk on blogging from leading interiors bloggers Will Taylor from Bright Bazaar, Katie Treggiden from Confessions of a Design Geek, Kate Watson-Smyth from Mad About The House and Jill Macnair and Ros Anderson from My Friend's House.

Today there are talks from Kate Shepherd, director of strategy and insight at design consultancy Checkland Kindleysides, Callum Lumsden from Lumsden Design and Hannah Malein from Global Color Research.

And at the end of the day, when you're feeling a little weary, stop by for a free massage in Hall 2!

On your way to the show? Don’t forget to download the brand new INTERIORS UK app, your perfect companion whilst visiting the show providing you with information to help make the most out of your visit. Simply search and download INTERIORS UK 2013 Show Guide Companion from your app store.

Thank you to everyone who took part in INTERIORS UK 2013! The snow didn't stop us having fun and it's been a fantastic turn out.

We hope to see you all again next year as well as new faces at our exciting sister event the May Design Series. 

Stay tuned for more show coverage of this week and news on what's to come. But for the meantime, here's some of our favourite pics from a fabulous show...

Day two of INTERIORS UK 2013 saw the halls busier than ever, with the winners of this year's New Design Britain being announced. Find out who scooped the prizes here.

The seminar theatre was packed all day, with speakers such as Nina Campbell offering visitors insights into their experience of the industry.

Meanwhile, the feature areas designed by Shaun Clarkson came into their own, with the Pitfield pop-up cafe wowing the crowds with its quirky mix of vintage finds and new design pieces, and the fabric pavilion proving a popular spot for visitors to rest their feet and enjoy a glass of champagne.

And the day closed with the Lighting Industry Association awards in Hall 2. Our congrats to all the winners!

On your way to the show? Don’t forget to download the brand new INTERIORS UK app, your perfect companion whilst visiting the show providing you with information to help make the most out of your visit. Simply search and download INTERIORS UK 2013 Show Guide Companion from your app store.

INTERIORS UK 2013 is here! Despite the snow, the show got off to a fantastic start, with visitors battling the forces of nature to arrive at the NEC ready for inspiration!

Here's a quick round-up of some of the highlights from the first day!

Introducing the show’s retail theme, Nina Campbell and Di Civil’s fantastic entrances give a little taste of what’s to come. Each space has been carefully styled to adopt key aspects of modern retailing, interpreting them with a vintage twist.

The Desingersblock&Co department store is a gem packed full of unique design beauties, with shop 'windows' displaying goods that may not be all they seem, such as this electrical store from Camilla Barnard.

Meanwhile, the New Design Britain finalists have their shortlisted designs on display, and are on-hand to talk through the thought processes behind their creations. Pictured is the Vanity Table from Christiana Ionescu. Today at 4pm, the winners of this coveted design competition will be announced. Stay tuned to the website and follow INTERIORS UK on Twitter for updates...

Another must-see is the stand from Out of the Dark. This pioneering charity and social enterprise trains, educates and employs young people by taking old furniture and teaching them how to recycle, restore and revamp them into show stopping pieces.

As the sun set on the first action-packed day, exhibitors gathered after closing time for the exhibitor party - a chance to mingle and relax after all the hard work of set up. All agreed they'd had a busy and successful first day, pleased and relieved that the snow hadn't put people off.

On your way to the show? Don’t forget to download the brand new INTERIORS UK app, your perfect companion whilst visiting the show providing you with information to help make the most out of your visit. Simply search and download INTERIORS UK 2013 Show Guide Companion from your app store.

BARBARA CHANDLER, DESIGN WRITER

I love trade shows. Yes, I know they are exhausting. You are either too hot or too cold, frequently lost, and increasingly frazzled, weighed down by armfuls of catalogues, desperate for a coffee and the loo. But there is an adrenalin that keeps you going, an excitement that you don’t find elsewhere, the thrill of discovery, the immediacy of product and people, and the access to new trends and inspirations that you won’t get anywhere else on or off the web.

I am coming up to INTERIORS UK for two days, and staying overnight, to judge once again the student entries for New Design Britain. My section is fabrics and surfaces, and I can promise some very exciting work. I share judging responsibilities with the inimitable Dids MacDonald of ACID, and the creative Diane Goode of Fromental. It will be hard work to decide on a winner, given the very high standards this year. But it is so lovely to finally meet the designers in person, and share with them the stories behind their projects. One of my favourites from past years was Henoc Maketo, who won our fabrics award in 2011, an ebullient larger-than-life character whose wonderful designs had been inspired by London Transport.

I can’t wait to see the VIP lounge kitted out with furniture by Out of the Dark. This pioneering charity takes old furniture (and I am afraid there is plenty in High Wycombe where they are based), and then uses a team of disadvantaged - and specially-trained - young people to restore it. These youngsters (the average age is 15) gain a new focus to their life, and learn valuable work and life skills. Their teachers are professional volunteers - experts in anything from painting and varnishing to chair caning. But it is the design that will really catch your eye - bright colours, new handles, and many a creative twist that come from volunteer interns studying at top art and design colleges.

Then I’ll be spending a lot of time with Designersblock in their innovative “department store” packed with furniture, lighting, illustration, ceramics, and fashion. Mimicking a conventional retail layout, goods will be arranged as Homewares (furniture, tableware), Electrical (lighting and appliances), and Haberdashery (textiles and wall coverings) plus Toys and Tech, Perfumery and a Florist.

I love Designersblock, and have watched founders/directors Piers and Rory evolve from maverick enfants terribles, throwing sundry spanners sideways into the works of established design events, into savvy professional international design promoters, playing godfather to innovation and excellence.

And here are just three of the Designersblock exhibitors I am hoping to meet, photographed during the London Design Festival.

Matthew Plummer-Fernandez is one of the brightest design boys I have met. Not yet 30, he exudes an aura of arcane computer codes, launching everything from subversive twitter “bots” to his new product Digital Natives. For this, Matthew has scanned everyday objects, reworked them using his own software, and then fabricated the results on a 3D printer. The beautiful graded use of colour is the most sophisticated use I have seen of this embryonic production method.

Equally avant-garde is Liam Hopkins of Lazerian who has a clever way of catapulting pattern and form dramatically into the 21st century, using a combination of computer aesthetics and handmaking. And don’t forget to pat Gerald, his faithful cardboard self-assembly dog, coming soon to a store near you.

Jon Male makes wonderful lamps from parts of old glass collected off eBay - many of them came from discarded oil lamps. This work has a surreal Memphis feel about it. The glass is bonded with an adhesive designed to withstand very high temperatures. This is “upcycling” at its most daring and beautiful.

Photography by Barbara Chandler. 

Barbara Chandler is a design writer and photographer. Follow her on Twitter, or visit her website to find out more. Her photography book, Love London, is out now.