Autumn is nearly upon us and it’s time to think about in precisely what sort of setting you’ll be enjoying roaring fires, cosy tête-à-têtes well into the night and copious amounts of tea. You could do worse than an armchair covered in James Hare’s Tesserae Silk, on show at Decorex International this September.
Ah, September! How much do we love thee? It’s been a busy summer of picnics, swimming, al fresco dining, frolics in parks, country rambles and a general reveling in the sunshine. Now the nights are drawing in, there’s a cool hint to the air and thoughts take on a more introspective, domestic, possibly woolly-blanket’d tone. Images are formed of cosy evenings in cosy armchairs by roaring fires and intimate soirees where guests feast on grouse, pheasant and other autumnal fare…
A glorious autumn morning at Victoria Park in East London. After a crisp morning wander you’ll need somewhere warm and welcoming to go home to.
However… Yea gods! You’ve been al frescoeing and picnicking so much this summer you’ve not realized that your interior décor needs a pick me up. NOW. It didn’t seem quite so dire in the spring, did it? That’s because you were thinking about summer, about outdoor frolics and entertaining guests in sun-dappled meadows. The dining table with heat burn from misplaced teacups? That’s not a charming patina, that’s a disaster. That plastic gondolier lamp that you bought at a car boot sale in a moment of weakness? It’s never been charmingly retro and ironic. It’s always been an electrical fire, waiting to happen. And it doesn’t even go with the dining room table.
A plastic gondola lamp. What were you thinking?
And, horrors! Your boss / mother-in-law / the Queen will inevitably be descending upon your home for dinner on the first soggy Saturday of autumn.
Something. Must. Be. Done.
Oh dear. The gondola has been spotted.
Fortunately you’re in London and September is a huge month for the international design scene. September 14-22 is the London Design Festival with a vast array of events and exhibitions across the city that show not only the best of British but international design too. Word is that the Festival is giving Milan and New York a run for their money when it comes to design…
During that week there are also two additional interior shows on. If you’re staying at our Churchill apartment you’re only a short stroll from the 100% Design Show at Earls Court from September 18 to 21. Chock full of exhibits, seminars and inspiration (planning on building an eco house for example?) there will be something to please most tastes.
Meanwhile, if emerging talent and contemporary design is more your thing I’d suggest heading to designjunction on New Oxford Street (18-22 September). 150 cutting-edge brands are on display in the industrial setting of the 1960s Postal Sorting Office. Here’s your chance to throw out the surfeit of chintz lampshades and embrace a leaner industrial look… and one that requires less dusting as well.
It’s fresh and contemporary. Welcome to your new living room for autumn 2013. Visit designjunction for more lean and clean inspiration.
Now let’s head back West, specifically to Kensington Palace and environs where the supremely elegant and stylish Decorex International is to be held 22-25 September. The doors of this important trade show are open to the public on September 24 so that all may enjoy the delights created by the likes of Kit Kemp, Paolo Moschino for Nicky Haslam and Cox London.
Would your mother-in-law be happy, nay honoured, nay awe struck to be seated at such a dining table? I think she would. Get thee to Decorex! Julian Chichester, Viggo Dining Table in Firmdale Grey Oak.
And finally – my personal favorite from this cornucopia of interior inspiration – LAPADA Arts and Antiques Fair in Berkeley Square, September 25-29. Some of the world’s finest exhibitors will be present and this is not an event to be missed. I think I fall firmly into the interior design category of the more objets d’art to dust, the better. More is more and if that more involves an elegant ebony and brass mounted George III half hour striking bracket clock, I’m one happy and punctual blogger.
Thus, dear London Perfect readers, there should be inspiration for your new interior design look. Have fun and good luck! There’s something for everyone in London town this September. And I’m sure even that ridiculous gondola lamp will find a home somewhere… and that home is called Ebay.
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Zoë F. Willis is a writer and enthusiastic London resident. You can read more about her adventures and creative exploits at https://thingswotihavemade.blogspot.co.uk/
Image Credits: Gondola lamp by mcmrbt, James Hare Armchair & Julian Chichester Table by Decorex, Victoria Park by gwire, Mother-in-law by Jose Antonio Morcillo Valenciano, George III bracket clock by LAPADA, designjunction interior by designjunction
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