London Design Week: Highlights
From March 12th to 17th, Chelsea Harbour’s Design Centre held London Design Week 2017 – a well-established event known for being one of the world’s leading destinations for superb design. The centre features an array of different furniture and home decorations stores throughout its North, South and Centre Domes, as well as in Design Centre East; in fact, they are home to 120 showrooms and over 600 of the most prestigious brands in the world. The Longest Stay team visited the centre last week, taking in the fabulous presentations and brands on display.
The centre featured a number of different displays connected to the theme of the week - the ‘Science of Design.’ Perhaps one of the eye catching spectacles was the giant spheres hanging down from the ceiling. These spheres were created by Larry Walshe, who is one of Britain’s leading luxury floral designers known for creating stunning and dramatic flower displays. Walshe took inspiration from Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law and investigations into momentum in order to create this bold display. Encased in the spheres are vibrant green beds of plants, leaves and grass, as well as butterflies, flowers, sculls and scarab beetles which were handmade from colourful wall coverings. The almost mirror like surface of the spheres reflected its surrounding, and made for an incredibly interesting visual.
Anyone that has visited the Design Centre before will know that it is an architecturally beautiful place – its three main interconnecting buildings reach up three floors, culminating with their stunning glass dome roofs at the top. This pristine setting is a fabulous home for the hundreds of stores inside, making for a luxurious shopping experience.
Another installation in which the theme of the week was embraced was in ‘Salazar,’ a one off sculpture of a Siberian tiger, designed by Walshe. Located in the Centre Dome, this piece was a popular destination for visitors due to its incredibly realistic aesthetic. The hand-painted sculpture exuded some of the key interior trends of 2017 that were also proudly exhibited in the centre’s stores, specifically bold animal prints and vibrant botanical motifs.
Green proved to be a very popular colour selection among the majority of stores in the Design Centre – the colour installed itself in various designer furniture pieces from luxury chairs and sofas, to wallpapers, rugs and fabrics. Undoubtedly inspired by Pantone’s colour of the year, the various shades of green added a vibrancy and exotic feel to store displays.
Along with fabulous aesthetics, the week also offered an array of activities, such as Access All Areas events with experts from brands like Porta Romana and Stark Carpet sharing their knowledge of their respective brands and design world. Stark Carpet even ran a competition in which you could design a rug; the selected winner’s design will be made into a bespoke piece! Other events included fascinating talks and panel discussions with a variety of names from the design industry, including interior designers Henriette von Stockhausen and Bunny Turner.
There was plenty to explore at the Design Centre – we can’t wait for next year!
