Love Design? So does Barbed!

Love Design? So does Barbed!

Last week was a very busy week for design and garden lovers, as two major events took place in London at the same time, the incredible Clerkenwell Design Week, from 21st to 23rd May, and the amazing RHS Chelsea Flower Show, from 21st to 25th May. If you were able to visit both shows last week you probably felt like a child in a sweet shop, as there were so many wonderful things to see!

Drawing inspiration from what you see

Not everyone is an artist, and when you see artwork you may feel (and know) that you could hardly achieve anything remotely as amazing. That’s how we feel anyway! However you can often adapt what you see, and garden and design shows are both a feast for the eyes and a great source of inspiration. We wouldn’t want to copy someone else’s work exactly as it’s not much fun; it’s much better to just draw inspiration from what you see and create your own version, don’t you think?

Re-designing your garden

Sometimes all we need is a little help to get our creativity going, and that’s why visiting flower shows like the Chelsea Flower Show or the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show can help you give a new life to your garden. If you missed the Chelsea show, mark your agendas so you don’t miss the Hampton Court Palace show, from 9th to 14th July.

The most impressive garden at the Chelsea Flower Show was probably the Gold winning East Village Garden which itself was inspired by the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. In the end drawing inspiration from what you see in shows is only fair, and that’s the way to go: the landscape architects behind the East Village garden drew inspiration from the Olympic garden, so you can draw inspiration from their work!

Check out how exhibitors in general and gold winners in particular use a variety of both modern and traditional materials to create sculptural shapes and lines that trigger our interest. It’s always lovely to have a small stream or a pond in your garden if possible, as they give life and depth to the set. Who knows, it may also attract birds which you can shelter during winter times with wildlife houses and feeders!

Re-arranging your exterior space

Cane-Line at Clerkenwell Design WeekFlower and design shows are living proof of the wonders you can achieve with zoning. You can use your outdoor furniture to create different areas, and use plants and trees to help out with separating spaces.

We’ve seen Cane-line furniture at the Clerkenwell Design Week and how great it looked in the Order of St John cloister garden, leading to a harmonious clash between contemporary and historic styles. We wouldn’t advise you to create a medieval cloister, although it would be brilliant if you could, but if the Cane-line exhibition has taught us one thing, it’s that old and new can be combined very successfully.

Other exhibitors at the Clerkenwell Design Week were Italian furniture manufacturer Magis, who we love with their amazing Voido chairs made from moulded polyethylene, and EMU, another Italian designer, creator of the Heaven chairs, among other things. Where Magis is all in sturdiness and fullness, EMU plays with the lightness of weaving and offers a variety of interwoven metal outdoor furniture. They have very different styles but we love them both!

Another amazing design show was the May Design Series which took place from 19th to 21st May in London at the Excel Convention Centre. It was a great place to meet talented designers ready to help you make your house a home!

Getting ready for the action!

Larkbeck at St John Church - Clerkenwell Design Week
If you don’t want to miss anything it’s best to come prepared when you attend a show. Take notes and put down on paper your feelings and any idea that pops into your mind, and remember to keep the brochures you collect. At home you can then combine everything and create your own mood boards with colours and styles you like. If you fall in love with something, speak to the designer. Often these creative minds pour their heart and soul into projects and if you love something you see then support the designer and make it yours! If you see something that is for indoors but want to reflect some designer style outside you are most welcome to come to our showroom and ask us for help and advice! We’d love to see your pictures and mood boards so don’t hesitate and share them with us on our Facebook page or our Twitter!

Posted by Iconography Ltd
31st May 2013
Follow on Google+

Back to news