Furniture that's stylish, and good for the environment

Often at Grand Designs you find things you wouldn’t find at other shows, and often they’re things that, especially at Grand Designs, are good for the environment, but often they make you stop and admire them too. So that’s quite something, and the furniture in this post is all of those.

It was the lockers that made me look twice at the X-Ply stand, both their finish and the uniformness of the design appealed. I think they’d work really well in a hall, or a utility room, or even a craft room. I don’t have either of the first two, I’m closer to the second but there’s no room for any additional storage, sadly, but I think they’d be a great addition on their looks alone.

x-ply lockers sustainable storage

When I learnt more about the ethos of the company, I liked them even more. The company are committed to reduce the single use of plastics and so the X-PLY range has been developed using only recyclable materials - plywood, aluminum and steel - and doesn’t use any plastic in its construction.

They’re aimed at a more business market, but could be adapted for a home use too, whether that’s the desks in a home office or the lockers just about anywhere really. The desks come with pre-cut cable holes, which is a great way of getting rid of messy leads and something that’s usual in office spaces and less so in home environments, but there’s no reason why, is there?

x-ply desking plastics free furniture

The team desks - basically large desks that more than one people could work at - would be great in a large home office, or even as an informal dining table. And thinking about it more it’d also be great in a craft room for laying out quilts, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here though, it’s not as if I’m a mega-quilter is it, I’m still making slow progress on my scrappy quilt…

x-ply desks adorned with succulents

So what do you think, could you, or would you incorporate these into your home?

A quick change in the loos

You didn’t think I’d go to The Grosvenor and miss out on photographing some loos, did you? Of course I didn’t. We were hoping our room would be ready (it wasn’t), which was disappointing, but on the other hand it did provide the perfect reason to go on a loo hunt. We opted to head away from the toilets nearest reception on the ground floor thinking that these would most likely be busy, and that seemed to pay off as the loos near the function room were quiet, in fact it was just like having my own space.

The thing that struck me was the door and the corridor leading to the loos, it was the narrowest I’ve seen for a while and loaded up with a bag, hat and brolly, I did well to manoeuvre through the entry challenge. Once in though the room was tastefully and understated, which is just what you’d expect I think. Something that was a bit too way out there, is more likely to jar in this environment.

The smallest door
A nice but pretty plain loo

But it was a space I quickly made my own. Here’s the before shot.

The during, or the takeover shot…

My impromptu changing area

And the after.

And voila, a quick change in the loos at The Grosvenor

A loo series with a difference this time round, but the first with a quick change.

Nice hat missus!

Falling more elegantly than I ever could

At Chelsea this year there were a few sculptures that caught my eye, and while I don’t think I’m in the market for something quite this size (or frankly price) this “Falling Man” by Helen Sinclair* is the style I’d go for if I were.

But as someone who has a tendency to be a bit clumsy, the idea of capturing someone falling appealed. Although I’m sure I never look anywhere near as elegant during a mishap.  That could be when my ankle decides to give way while walking, making it look like I’ve forgotten how to walk, or if I unintentionally knock something on the table and scramble to save its contents spilling everywhere, usually with mixed results!

Wouldn't it be good though if falling (as I’m resigned to the fact it happens to me) looked so classy, all of the time?

FALLING MAN BY HELEN SINCLAIR

FALLING MAN BY HELEN SINCLAIR

* BTW if you’re interested: the sculpture is in bronze and is priced at £14,500.  

My clumsiness is long-standing and resulted in broken bones while growing up. There was the time that I fell down the stairs wearing my new slippers with, as it turned out slippery soles, but with a much wanted “fake-fur pom-pom” on the top (broken arm) and the one where I was skipping alone in the school playground, got tangled up in the rope and fell (broken foot).

So I feel well qualified to talk about falling, let’s hope I’m not about to surpass my earlier attempts.  

Maybe buying the sculpture would be the better option after all...