Grand Designs Live 2022 - Excel, London
Grand Designs Live is already behind us, and I can’t believe that we are almost half way through the year!
I love all things interiors, not just kitchens. These days, of course, we can’t say “just kitchens”, because they kitchen has gone from being a room for the sole purpose of cooking to being the central hub of the home. Kitchens now have areas for home-working TV time and socialising with our friends. The kitchen is not a room to shut the door on, but to show the personal style of the inhabitants and set the tone for the whole house.
At AG we work hard to expand our knowledge base and be at the forefront of any design trends. That’s why we went to the Ideal Home earlier in the year. We get a lot of cues from what we see and experience through our own interactions with customers but we also spend time following interiors on-line and going to design shows. It feels a little while ago now, but back in May, I went to Grand Designs Live.
Here are some of the highlights from the show typifying particular design trends.
Point 5 kitchens
Point 5 didn’t just nail a couple of trends at Grand Designs Live; their display was bang on in so many ways:
- Dark kitchen cabinets.
- Marble-look ceramic worktops, mitred down-stands (sometimes known as waterfall ends) and full height splash-backs.
- Metallic and textured finish units
- Gold trims
- Dropped level table in contrasting texture
- Bespoke Media wall units
The glorious gold veining of the gloss “Macchia Vecchia” marble-look slim profile worktop against the deep metallic brown and anthracite units is stunning. I love this display board showing some available panels; I think fluted and reeded finishes are going to be a really big thing, but the multi-tonal chevron board really stands out too.
Direct Supplies World of Interiors Ltd
I could have spent ages on the Direct Supplies Stand; they had such an amazing array of different tiles and splash-backs. These beautiful cream swirl tiles have a sparkle to them.
Their stand had stunning ceramic tiles in all shapes, colours and sizes; these teal and azure ones are particularly popular colours for kitchens at the moment.
Kitchens by George Rose
The Kitchens by George Rose display hit the monochrome note with its sleek black worktops and pure white units. The combination of handled and handleless really gave a very sophisticated look.
The London Splash-back Company
One stand that really caught my eye was the London splash-back company. I was particularly drawn to this almost lava-like gold and blue splash-back, but there are endless options for glass splash-backs as you can have anything you choose digitally printed.
Glass splash-backs can be a great way of adding a bold dash of colour to put some individuality into your kitchen; this pop-art design would certainly be a talking point!
One of my favourite areas of the show was the design arcade; there were just so many amazing companies show-casing their designs, absolutely something for everyone.
Muck N Brass
Muck n Brass specialise in “Luxe-cycling” furniture, a kind of up-cycling but to a really high standard using the finest quality finishes. We love these eye-catching cushions.
Zenith Art
Zenith art were celebrating their 16th year by launching their new range of super-sized clock art and these mixed-media ribbon art designs. They specialise in creating bespoke pieces for your home. It was a joy to meet Claire Wright and to soak up the amazing display.
Albert & Edward
Also in the design arcade was a really original and slightly nostalgic display from Albert & Edward. This company specialises in upcycling antiques and ordinary household items into a lighting range that is really individual and quirky.
Chloe Alberry
My other really big fave from the design arcade was the stand by Chloe Alberry. If ever you have wanted knobs or handles that were completely unique, Chloe is your girl! So many of her products are simply beautiful to hold and bring you joy every time you touch them. Chloe says “Why should a handle just be ordinary?” I particularly loved some of her natural agate, quartzite and mother-of-pearl handles.
Celia Davies
Last but definitely not least; I can’t finish without mentioning this stunning curved side board. Hand painted in her Approaching Darkness design to match the print above; just stunning!
So there you have it: Grand Designs Live – another great show – something for everyone – and a lot of design stimulus for my kitchen-brain!
See you soon,
Naomi x
We are Affordable Granite, the leading granite and quartz worktop supplier in Surrey, East and West Sussex and across the South East. Our main business is granite and quartz, but we also occasionally install kitchen and bathroom worktops in quartzite and marble. We want to be the best in the business for customer service and advice to anyone who is doing up their kitchen – and to do that we need to be up to date with wider trends. Call us for a quotation on 01293 863992 or by email on sales@affordablegranite.co.uk.
© Images from Naomi King/Affordable Granite
