Ideal Home Show
Today I have been to the Ideal Home Show in London. It was held in Olympia. It was not the best show I have seen, however, there were some interesting companies and ideas that totally worth your time and attention!
I would like to make you know that I am not getting anything from advertising the products, I am just a very curious person who would like to share my discoveries. All the companies that are on this list are absolutely fantastic, I appreciate what they do.
MacMaster Lighting Company
I would like to start with MacMaster Lighting Company! Founded in 2009 by Alex MacMaster (@MacMasterDesign), MacMaster specialises in the design and production of timber based lighting and wood furniture products. Every single piece is handmade in England in the MacMaster workshop located in the Worcestershire countryside. With design, development, manufacture and packaging based in-house, the business is able to work closely with clients to offer a streamlined service to meet specific requirements and time schedules. Each object they produce is a masterpiece! They use a very interesting technique to give this fluid and organic shape to their designs. Each wooden sheet is made of 6–9 layers of thin wooden sheets. They don’t use water or steam to bend pieces, but vacuum and heat. I was lucky today to meet Alex MacMaster himself! You can buy his products online, or you can order bespoke pieces. The lamp on the bottom will cost you something about 350£
The Wellness Tree Group
They offer a wide range of products that use natural ingredients and innovative technologies that replicate the best in nature, from Far Infrared Saunas to natural health food supplements. Today I managed to experience their Far Infrared Sauna. It looks beautiful, very well done for the design! This Sauna is different from any other saunas there are in the market. With the help of Infrared radiation, sauna does not overwhelm you will humid heat but works gently and almost unnoticeably making you sweat and get rid of the toxins. You sweat more than in the normal sauna but at the same time, you feel comfortable. It does not have hight temperatures, so your usual temperature would be 40–55° C. It can be installed in any flat and sounds crazy but does not need a lot of electrical energy to work. Behind this sauna, there is a lot of research and experiments. This company is breaking boundaries and bringing innovative products to the furniture and wellbeing Markets!
DeliVita
This is another company that made me really happy today. ITs a family business run by a husband and wife and I was very lucky to meet them both. They love to cook, they love to eat healthily. They came up with the wood-fired Ovens which are very small, (so they are portable) and they heat up fast up to 500°C! As soon as you start the fire, the oven will be completely ready in 25 minutes. Whatever you cook takes minutes to prepare, so pizza will be baked in 3 minutes, fish in 5! This oven is super safe to use, it can be placed on a wooden table without any problems. They also deliver high-class dough, including the Gluten-free right to your door! Very well done guys! Nice product!
KOULSDOWN
Koulsdown is another brand that caught my attention because of their cooling gel mattress. The cooling gel is positioned in the upper layers of the mattress, thus giving an instant cooling effect when laid upon, this will reduce the core body temperature by up to 2 degrees. The cooling gel reacts when in contact with the body, it absorbs the body heat and dissipates it back out into the air, giving you a pleasant, cooling feeling and will relieve discomfort from overheating.
I think that the design is not a particularly elegant, however, it depends on a taste, plus, the cooling effect might the priority in many hot countries.
Amtico International
Amtico International is a very interesting flooring design company. They use a big variety of materials and create interesting shapes and compositions both with tile and wooden floors! They also have an interesting feature on their website, where you can visualise the flooring that you like in the room and see hoe it looks like in the interior environment (http://amtico.esignserver2.com/gallery.do;jsessionid=5E202D6A26DB17B27D70D6CABD75E687). They also lead a very interesting blog about materials and colours in the interior. Give advises and suggestions of the best furniture that will go with their floors.
Ornate Garden
Ornate Garden company concentrates on creating furniture for the garden. One of my favourite projects is ‘The Rotating Seater’. With the ability to rotate 360° the pod can be positioned into the sun, shade or out of the wind. Using six timber arcs and wide tinted windows this sleek design offers a full panoramic view. The entrance to the pod is set at 60° providing a comfortable seating area for seven guests. They also have larger versions of the pod with heating and electricity. Some of the pods can be converted into small huts with beds inside!
Hillarys
Hillarys provide made-to-measure blinds, curtains, shutters and carpets. They have to build a very strong reliable company, and they provide a high-quality services while not being too expensive! So, if you want to buy new blinds or new carpets their expert will come to your house with samples, advise you the best option and after agreeing on the product, technicians will come and install and fit everything!
Tristan Cockerill
Tristan Cockerill is a young designer, he specialises in a bespoke range of furniture, ideally suited to gardens, conservatories, summer houses and clientele looking for something special. A nautical theme runs throughout the stock from the stunning range of handcrafted driftwood tables, with toughened glass tops, amazing organic sculptures made from reclaimed items. I think these 2 tables, in particular, can bring a wow factor to any contemporary interior design!
Natuzzi
Natuzzi Group designs produce and sells a broad collection of sofas, armchairs, home furniture and home accessories.It is a great innovative brand! In the Ideal Home Show, I found this new fabric that they used to upholster their furniture, called Dream Fibre. It is very soft and durable, highly stain resistant! I was very happy with the fact that this company not only produce extremely comfortable and contemporary furniture but also work on the creation of innovative materials for their products! My favourite Natuzzi products are: Arioso sofa, Cambre Sofa, Philo Sofa, Sound Armchair, Quilted Re-Vive, Labirinto coffee table, Hex Table.
Ekorners
I tried one of the Stressles Recliners and they are indeed very very comfortable! The design is nice, the base looks very contemporary. Pity that they only work with leather, I wish I could have a recliner with velvet finish.
Culinary Concepts
Culinary Concepts is not an overpriced brand with a very imaginative approach. They specialise in home accessories and lighting. There you can find great objects for both your kitchen and your living room. Here are few things that caught my attention!
Alexander & James
This Company produces very comfortable and exiting looking sofas and arm chairs.They like to experiment with colours and materials. Their products are playful, sophisticated and cozy. They will look great in various interior styles: loft, country, contemporary, etc.
