Design Centre Stories

Tag: LDW18

Right Here, Right Now: Legends at London Design Week 2018

A celebration of creative collaboration, Legends at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour saw tastemakers from the realms of design, decoration, art, fashion and architecture team up with showrooms to create some simply legendary displays for London Design Week 2018. Watch the highlights here.

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Right Here, Right Now with Kit Kemp

"It's all about touch and feel; you just have to be there and see it for yourself," says Firmdale Hotels' creative director about Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour.

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A Show of Confidence

  London Design Week 2018 celebrated a rising spirit of individuality and creative expression. Inspired by this season’s new collections – playful, bold and unapologetic – the show was a remarkably dynamic snapshot of global design. The Canvas of Creativity installation, filling the Centre Dome with giant paintbrushes trailing swoops of fabric, encapsulated the daring, layered approach to decor that is in …

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Right Here, Right Now: London Design Week 2018 party

The London Design Week 2018 party got into full swing when the biggest names in design came together for a legendary evening. Celebrating the brightest talent at spring’s unmissable interiors event, international A-listers mingled with industry insiders over Moscow Mules and lychee martinis beneath a revolving sign in bright pink neon. Dazzling conversation and plenty of colourful light effects using …

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Right Here, Right Now with Jo LeGleud

"There is everything here – so we're here often," says the co-founder of Maddux Creative on Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour.

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Windows on the World

Globe-trotting, nomadic design is a significant theme for the spring/summer 2018 collections, a trend that is reflected in the showroom displays for London Design Week 2018. As part of the 'Legends' initiative, showrooms took visitors on an exotic tour, thanks to collaborations with top designers. Jo leGleud of Maddux Creative's huge 'Vintage Aztec' rug filled Tim Page Carpets' window, while …

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Wild Side

This season, the mood is decidedly upbeat, bringing a new energy and playfulness to interiors. It’s all about telling a story, a curated narrative to explain who you are and what you like. So unleash your wild side with Beyul, a new fabric collection for Pepe Peñalver at Lizzo. Named after the hidden Himalayan valleys that Tibetan Buddhists hold sacred, it …

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Right Here, Right Now with Shauna Dennison

The textile and wallpaper designer on her new collection for Pepe Peñalver, and why Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour is "the most amazing creative hub".

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Made by Hand

Hands-on workshops at London Design Week 2018 offer the chance to get creative – and even be rewarded for your creativity. Perrin & Rowe's new showroom features a 'make a moodboard' booth, stocked with samples of fabrics and materials plus inspirational tap images; the best-looking board wins a night in a London hotel. Or paint a tile at Artisans of …

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Right Here, Right Now with Helen Cormack

The founder of Tissus d'Hélène on protecting and encouraging declining skills such as hand-block printing. "People come here because they know they're going to see something different," she says.

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Revived by Nature

With one-third of all the showrooms now situated in Design Centre East, the Design Hub – the ground-floor space linking it to the domes – became one of the buzziest spots of London Design Week 2018. Thanks to its redesign for the show, it was a spring-like arbour with a lilac palette. Under the trailing tendrils of two life-sized faux-wisteria …

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Ode to Spring

Jean-Paul Gaultier has always looked at things from an unusual perspective and questioned what was expected. For the new Voyages Voyages collection for Lelièvre Paris, he intertwines patterns with a dream-like quality to evoke departures, discoveries and encounters. Shown here is ‘Festival’, a panoramic wallcovering in glorious technicolour, dripping with cherry blossom, juxtaposed with nostalgic ‘Anastasia’ cushions. Lelièvre, First Floor, North & Centre Domes  

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The Natural Look

Nature in all its glory came inside for London Design Week 2018, as showrooms were transformed by everything from ice sculptures to delicate flowers and semi-precious stones. 'Legends', which saw windows given a creative redesign thanks to collaborations with designers, architects, artists and tastemakers, included a host of nature-inspired displays. In recognition of its Icelandic roots, Chase Erwin asked ice …

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Heaven on Earth

An earth-toned palette of clay, rust-red and burnt orange creates instant warmth. Add contrasting mineral blues and forest greens to balance out the hot hues, with burnished gold and brass to up the sophistication. Above, from left to right: ‘Magi’ day bed upholstered in ‘Elegance’, col 942, Flexform. ‘Cascade’ cushion, (CAS04), clay, with black trim, Evitavonni. ‘Kando’ side table, Marc De …

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Right Here, Right Now with Sophie Coller

"The best people to communicate the story behind a product are the showrooms themselves" – Kitesgrove's managing director on the importance of narrative in design.

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Colour Confidence

Belgian tastemaker and interior designer Gert Voorjans has created homes for A-listers as well as stores worldwide for his most notable client, Dries Van Noten. Masterful in his confident blend of texture, colour, period and pattern, his work is defined by a nonchalant and contrasting mix, richly layered with influences from the East and West. These characteristics relate to Jim …

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Right Here, Right Now with Judith Mather

How the National Gallery's collaboration with Savoir Beds and Andrew Martin is "taking bespoke products to a new level".

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Discover More

To experience a greatest-hits journey through the highlights of London Design Week 2018, join a daily Design Discovery Tour. Accompanied by a glass of fizz, these tours are an exploration of all that the showrooms have to offer, experiencing the latest openings, products with provenance and collections with a compelling story to tell. A different route every day means there's …

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Viva Vibrancy

Eye-catching colour and pattern lit up the showrooms at London Design Week 2018 as part of 'Legends', an initiative to transform display windows with creative flair, symbolising the rise of individuality and creative expression in interiors. Capturing the spirit of designer Gesa Hanson, a playful, rainbow-hued window with a paint-splashed background was devised for Villeroy & Boch’s Design Centre East …

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Right Here, Right Now with Chiara Prestigiacomo

Porada's showroom manager on celebrating 70 years in business, and why Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour is where you can always learn something new.

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Fashion Forward

The sartorially inspired 'Legends' windows that celebrate the link between fashion and interiors are some of the most memorable displays at London Design Week 2018. Simpsons' collaboration with Cutler & Gross (pictured top) sees a gallery of music and movie stars adorned with vintage sunglasses, while Tory Burch recreated the retail design for her own stores, by Iksel – Decorative …

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Right Here, Right Now with Christopher Jenner

"I find Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour incredibly inspirational – I can't imagine any place under one roof where you have this scope," says the designer.

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Long-Lasting Legacies

Old has never looked so right now, as we look to heritage and tradition to ground us and make sense of a fast-paced world. Just as the Burberry trenchcoat is subtly reinvented season after season, designers are showing their appreciation for what has gone before, but nearly always with a twist that makes the pieces right for today. The clean …

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Right Here, Right Now with Fiona McCarthy

"You can touch and feel, and experience what all those people are trying to create – which I think is quite magical," says the design journalist about Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour.

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The World of Interiors’ Showstoppers

Embroidery is big this season, both figuratively and literally. Being able to clearly see the maker's hand in an object piques our curiosity, as well as giving us a respect for artisan processes. Schumacher's 'Marguerite' fabric (pictured) is a beautiful example; it features vertical bands of folky wool embroidery on a linen ground, the subtle irregularities in the yarns creating …

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Right Here, Right Now with Linda Boronkay

"We come here all the time; I find a lot of inspiration here," says the design director of Soho House about Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour.

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Elle Decoration’s Best in Show

ELLE Decoration scoured the showrooms at London Design Week 2018 to track down the recipients of its ‘Best in Show’ awards. Spread across 12 categories – from kitchens, bathrooms and hardware to fabrics, flooring and paint – they showcase the diversity available at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour as well as recognising the highest creativity, innovation and artistry in interiors. Pictured is the …

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Blog Award Winner

Edinburgh-based designer Mairi Helena's coverage of London Design Week 2018 has won the show's Blogger Award. Given to the blog post that sums up the show's theme – the rise of individuality and creative expression – Mairi's insightful report picked up on trends such as bright pastels and nature-inspired prints, and enthused about the 'Legends' showroom windows (such as Colony, pictured) …

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Right Here, Right Now with Hubert Zandberg

"We've worked so closely with suppliers here for over 25 years," says the interior designer.

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Ahead of the Curve

Beautiful brassware deserves a beautiful setting, whether that's a smart kitchen, a divine bathroom – or a chic showroom. New to Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, Perrin & Rowe is synonymous with beautifully crafted brassware, chinaware and accessories, and its showroom is the first stand-alone space that the brand has opened. It is “designed to inspire” according to contracts manager Phillip Cole, and shows …

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