Ideal Home Show: Inspiration overload

April 20, 2015

As you'll have seen from my Show Gardens at the Ideal Home Show post this year I've been along to the Ideal Home Show for the first time in may years. Before going I planned to share posts on some garden bits and some house bits and I was totally unprepared for the onslaught of inspiration that I'd get in a relatively short amount of time. So as I sat reviewing and editing my photos this week, I've revised how and what I'm going to share with you into a few more posts than I originally planned. That means the posts for the next few days will have an Ideal Home Show slant.

Today's post is a little photo-heavy but it's also a reminder of just how much and how varied the stands at the Show are; plus it's a way of me keeping a little part of them as even if I'd bought everything I liked there I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have wanted (or been able) to carry it around all day! Or in truth, been able to afford it.

I love this chest and it's imperfect finish, MOH doesn't. I like how it looks lived in, he wants to give it a good rub down and repaint it... Sadly I've got nowhere to put it so while I like it, it's not something that's ever going to be a realistic purchase, well not right now anyway...

I also like the eclectic mix of frames, pictures and mirrors in the next few pictures. The glass frame memory keepers are a great idea and something I've looked at before. And while I like this, and I do want a picture wall in our study the one I have in mind is a little bit more coordinated, as I want black and white pictures in black frames - which I think will give a different look entirely.

Artwork is something I struggle with though. I'm fine with collecting pictures, memories and our photographs for the black and white picture wall I mentioned above, but I want something more than this in our main living room so I was keeping an eye out for anything that grabbed me. I saw lots of lovely prints - including the cow one, but nothing that I'd want to hang on our living room wall and look at every day.

Although since the Ideal Home Show I have made progress in the "Art for the Living Room Wall Department" - well when I say I, I mean the Royal I, and MOH has spotted an abstract picture that doesn't offend me and looks as if it will be a good match for the style and colours of our living room. I'm waiting for that to be delivered so let's hope it works out.

Throughout the whole show you were bombarded with colour - from the jewel-like lights above to the various knobs on show, see below. I thought this was an ingenious way to display the knobs but also looked very pretty and would pretty any piece of plain furniture - who says you just have to add two functional knobs, why not add more?

I was very taken with these candles, the wax is like little polystyrene balls and you add the wick to the top. Their burning time is much extended apparently and I think they also look effective alongside some roses and in a wooden box. If I had a coffee table (which we don't and it's not something we're getting mostly because I'd walk into it everyday and because I don't think it suits our living room) then this would definitely be on there. Don't get me wrong in the right space a coffee table is absolutely the thing to have, but I don't think it'd work here and would quickly collect all of our other junk!

At this next stand I was like a butterfly high on nectar, flitting from one display to the next and not working out which I liked best. Which was a shame really as this was a stand that I could have bought quite a bit from, but because there was so much choice and so much to choose from in the end I walked away, after quite a few longing looks and perhaps a few strokes of the wooden things. Soon though I might be brave enough to look them up online!

I like things to have a place and for them to be in that place. MOH if he's reading this is probably rolling around the floor laughing at this as he thinks I'm messy (I don't always agree!) I like things to be in their own space, but am happy with higgledy piggledy-ness so having a system like this of boxes on a wall - aptly named Box On A Box - would be perfect for me. They're something I'm going to investigate for our spare room, where I want to store my shoes and MOH wants to store his records to see if something like this would work for us (and our price range).

In the garden section I discovered these patterned numbers and letters, if only I could think of a use for them then I know I'd be happy with them. I still haven't but aren't they pretty?

In fact in the garden section I was drawn more to metal objects, the lamps below would look great on the patio with candles in - hmm there's an idea, we've been thinking about how to get more light on our patio - ideally we wanted something solar powered, but I'm sure I could work something out.

And how useful would this camper van cooler be? Whether it's for beer, fizz or soft drinks, it's a fun way to keep drinks cool and slightly more stylish than a garden trug or dustbin. Water features too were plentiful and this stand had just about every type you could imagine and probably more.

I love the silver ball type, and one day in one garden I'll have one. So far the only water features I've managed in my garden's has been a leaky bird bath and a plastic crate which has filled up over winter! I'm sure I can do better than those.

And this would be the water feature to end all water features, although I'm not sure I'd want the maintenance that comes with them. But I think every hot tub should have a rubber duck having seen them bob along, and around and around here!

So as I said at the start, inspiration overload - and there's still the show homes and the room sets to come. But not today, as I'm off out into the garden to do some more pottering about...

Show Gardens at the Ideal Home Show

April 9, 2015

Just before Easter I headed off to the Ideal Home Show at Olympia for the first time in many years - and it was the first time in many years that it was there having moved from Earls Court just up the road. I wasn't looking forward to the journey, but travelling via West Brompton wasn't anywhere near as bad or confuluted as I thought it might be.

I arrived just after lunch and remembered the drill from previous years, which is to check the queue at the Show Houses first. They were longer than I wanted to queue for so I found something else to entertain me until MOH joined me after work, which was pretty easy to do. I knew he'd be most interested in the Home Build section (for bi-fold conservatory doors) and the Garden section (for unobtainable Hawaiian style pods) and I was very good and waited for him to arrive before going into either of those areas. I wish though I'd cheated a little bit and spent some more time in these Show Gardens, because they were lovely - and because I'd like to have had more time to take some photos.

The six Show Gardens have been designed and built by students from the top UK horticultural colleges in just a few days as part of the Ideal Young Gardeners of the Year competition. We voted - using the tried and tested green disc method a la Waitrose charity voting - and right now I'm struggling to find out how the garden we liked did. More on which one(s) we voted for later on in the post.

Each of the gardens have just a 5.5 m x 4m plot and are founded on sustainability and tranquility in urban spaces and this year they have all considered how they can make best use of excess rainwater in their designs. It's the fifth year of the competition run in association with the Prince's Foundation and organised by TV Gardener David Domoney (from Love Your Garden). So onto the gardens...

1. Splash the Cache, Chichester College

This is designed as a secret retreat and somewhere to unwind from the stress of a busy urban lifestyle. The living roof, water harvesting system, chains and water barrels enable saving water and the plants and structures support garden wildlife too. The planting scheme is simple and the grasses are used to soften the vertical elements.

I like the watering can waterfall but it's unlikely that I'll incorporate something like this into our garden. I'm more tempted by the paving, with the gravel inserts among the blocks. MOH was taken with the simple wooden benches and was seen strolling up and down muttering things like "you could make this yourself" and "it's only bits of wood bracketed together" so now I'm expecting great things, but between you and me I'm not holding my breath!

2. The Shower of Life Garden, Capel Manor College

This garden claims to provide an environment where you can carry out many of life's daily functions, as it's a place to relax, cook, eat and cleanse oneself. I'm less sure about the last one, I must say - an outdoor shower abroad is a much more attractive option! It's a tranquil garden though with a light and relaxed seating area where you can enjoy the warmth from the fire (and you'll need it after that outdoor shower!)

It was a lovely light garden and I think lighter than I'd want in a garden, I wasn't sure about the metal gabions filled with white stones and plumbing scrap materials, but I did like the vertical living wall behind the fire and we've toyed with something like that before, but decided against for now. The thing I liked most though was the horizontal scaffolding boards to divide the space, along with the bird feeder in the picture above.

3. Regeneration Garden, Shuttleworth College

This garden was designed to bring the countryside to the city and demonstrate how fruit, vegetables and herbs can be grown alongside edible ornamentals and cottage herbaceous perennials to create a haven for wildlife and provide a tranquil space for rest and relaxation.

Of the Show Gardens I think this one is most like a normal garden, and that's not a bad thing. I've got bags of that grey slate (well a tonne to be precise) waiting to be distributed around our garden at some point. I'm also a big fan of the vintage-style table and chairs, although MOH thought they could do with a good rub down, rust treatment and a nice coat of Hammerite - and he wonders why I won't let him near my vintage French table. We bought a set similar to this (but in better nick) at Chelsea a few years ago, but it lives in our Conservatory as I don't want it getting wet outside. Seriously. The French table lives outside though - one day I'll get around to doing it up!

I've also noticed that Birch is becoming quite the thing and I like these ones set at different heights with holes drilled into them for insects and to hold various bird feeders - but can you imagine what fun the wildlife in my garden would have with something like this?

4. Beyond the Wood Garden, Writtle College

This garden was designed for an urban city space and aims to create a green space that reduces dependency on mains water and helps clean the air. The garden has a woodland feel with clean lines and slick materials. It uses millboard - a composite decking - instead of timber for the wall which has low energy lighting as well as feature lighting within it.

I liked the dark walls of this garden, though again I'm not sure that's right for our garden, I love the planting as there's lots of ground cover going on - I like my soil covered - and I like the many levels and the contrast in the materials used for the step. Definitely food for thought in this garden.

5. Go With The Flow, Pershore College

This garden design creates an idyllic urban retreat for the city dweller with an inner circle of peach which is constantly changing. It makes good use of the vertical dimension and provides privacy despite the garden being overlooked. Elements, such as the trickling of water down the chains and the gentle rushing of the bamboo are used to help block out the noise of the surrounding city.

I like the flooring area of sliced wooden logs, which I think would be relatively easy to replicate at home. I'm less sure about relaxing back onto a fish tank though, I don't think I'd ever fully relax for fear of falling through it and in with the fish! That'd be quite a shock for both of us.

6. Urban Feast Garden, Askham Bryan College

This garden is about growing your own and making that easy to do so with moveable containers to help with space management and garden functionality, and gives you the flexibility to adapt to the weather. The plants reflect those of a traditional allotment and the herbs, fruit and flowers echo a Victorian plot where each plant is displayed for aesthetics as well as selected for cooking or medicinal purposes, and in this garden makes the best use of vertical height too.

I liked the bright colours of this garden, but it was the plants that I was really drawn to here. I think that's because I like to grow vegetables, and in containers too so I'm always looking for new ideas. I can't see us growing veg on the top of a pergola though, but it's an interesting idea. And look, there's those scaffolding planks as a divider again, I think I need some of those somewhere...

And the winners are...

As I've written this post I've discovered the awards given to each garden, I've not yet found the People's Choice winner so I'll continue to look for that. And clearly they're all winners, but here's how the awards went:

Bronze - Urban Feast (#6 above) and Splash the Cache (#1 above)
Silver - Regeneration (#3 above)
Silver Gilt - Shower of Life (#2 above)
Gold - Go With The Flow (#5 above)
Gold and Best At Show - Beyond the Wood (#4 above)

And as promised I said I'd share which I voted for. I used most of my green discs (we had a handful each) on the eventual winner, Beyond the Wood but also voted for Splash the Cache as my second choice and the Urban Feast as my third choice. Unusually there was agreement from MOH who also voted Beyond the Wood as his first choice, so I'm glad it won as it was pretty special.

There's lots of inspiration though from each of the Show Gardens, which one or parts of the gardens do you like?

Love this 55: Ikea zipped storage boxes

January 5, 2015

Remember our new wardrobes? Last October we had floor to ceiling wardrobes fitted and the interior was designed around our needs by Bluefield Wardrobes. At the planning session we talked through what worked in our old wardrobes, what didn't and what we hoped for with the new wardrobes. The outside of our wardrobes look like this:

And the inside like this:

Initially we thought there wasn't enough room, but as we started unpacking our clothes it became clear that we had plenty of storage. I was keen to get some storage boxes for the top shelf as neither of us can reach it without a stool, so anything stored up there without organisation could be lost up there forever! And it's the ideal place to store our summer clothes in winter, and winter clothes in summer.

These Garnityr zipped storage boxes from Ikea are ideal. At £10 each they're provide cost effective storage too, and I can fit five of these on the top shelf. Each zipped box measures 44cm x 55cm x 19cm and they're part of a wider range of storage solutions.