The Contemporary and Family Fun garden room sets

I’m sharing two of the garden room sets today from this year’s Ideal Home Show. I’ve already shared the Grow Your Own Garden, which means after today there’s just one more to share, and you’d be right to think I’ve saved my favourite garden until last. But before I tell you all about that space and spoil that post, let me share the pictures and info on these two gardens.

I’m sharing them both together so you can see them both, as I’m unlikely to share the Family Fun garden on its own, it’s just not content I usually cover, but it is full of bright colours and colour is quite at home here on my blog, isn’t it?

The Contemporary garden

This garden was sponsored by Gardena, and is an ultra-stylish garden, full of modern planting and design ideas by Charles Benton, one of the Benton Brothers, who you may know from their appearances on ITV’s This Morning.

The space is based around entertaining and making the most of the garden, as well as somewhere to eat there’s somewhere to cook, complete with a barbecue I’m not sure I’d show MOH for fear of it ending up quite high on his wishlist, on size alone.

There’s also somewhere to relax, which was my favourite part of the garden - and it seemed the perfect spot to sit and watch the robotic lawnmower go about its work. There’s other gadgetry in the garden too, including smart watering which is part of the Gardena smart system, which comes complete with its own smart app so you really can garden from your armchair, or sunlounger.

Family Fun garden

This garden room set was sponsored by Flymo and according to the leaflet it’s inspired by children and includes all the fun things they can get up to that will keep them entertained all day, and focuses on the sensory experience. It seemed to be well received, as unusually for a space like this, children were in the garden playing.

It was designed by the Skinny Jean Gardener who’s aka Lee Connelly, best known for his work as the CBBC Blue Peter Gardener. It seems gardening for kids has come a long way since Percy Thrower was the Blue Peter Gardener when I was growing up!

The bright colours, activities and sensory elements were all very much evident, and it shows you can have gardens, or spaces in gardens that are child friendly and stylish.

So two very different gardens, with quite different audiences in mind, but two great spaces. Look out for the final - and my favourite - garden room set next week.

Big Ideas: A vintage bathroom

This is the first of the Big Ideas room sets from the 2019 Ideal Home Show, and I’m sure it’s a first in that I’m posting about the show while it’s still on. it’s amazing what an early-in-the-show visit can do isn’t it?

The Big Ideas to add glamour to a vintage bathroom are:

1. On-trend shades: using pinks and greens to create a Miami vibe

2. Roll-top bath: adding a bespoke finish or a freestanding finish, or both

3. Statement walls: using decorative wallpaper and a panelled effect

It’s quite a statement bathroom isn’t it?

And it’s totally got the Miami vibe. I’m not sure it’s for me, but it was one that was drawing the crowds and encouraging discussion from the strangers viewing it. Most of the comments when I was there was about the size of the roll-top bath. It is quite diddy.

And quite high up.

The conversation I had with four ladies I’ve never met before, centred around how we’d get in, and once in how we’d get out, as well as if it was possible to stretch out and relax in a bath like this. None of us were sure about any of those, although we seemed more convinced about getting in, than getting out. But only with a step ladder, which might spoil the look.

I’m not sure this roll-top bath is for me.

I do like the wallpaper though. Even now I’m trying to work out the pattern, and which birds have their wings up and which have them down. I think the overall effect, along with the pink clouds (?) give the sense of movement and I have to wonder where we’re flying off to.

Remember my trends from the Ideal Home Show? Well one of them was ‘wire furniture’ - well this bathroom, has one I didn’t clock until just now. Like the commenter on my earlier post, I’m not sure about the functional-ness (yes made up word alert) of this kind of furniture. The basket/stool above looks great, but put stuff in it and I’m sure it’s charm evaporates. It’s not ideal for a washing basket now, is it?

And how about that for a radiator and towel rail that’s in keeping with the style of the room? In fact, it’d look great in any kind of room, but what’s your view on this room set, and what about the bath, could you get in and out of it easily?

The Grow Your Own Garden at the Ideal Home Show

This was one of the garden room sets that I’ve already said I was keen on, and the keen amongst you will realise that that’s because of my penchant for growing my own, but also for the geometric print rug, which is reminiscent of the cushions in my conservatory, and made from recycled plastic straws. But there’s another reason and it’s mostly how four crates have been fastened together to create a good looking and functional table. I’m forever saying I need a small low height garden table, mostly for my gin and tonic, and while this isn’t exactly what I’m after (it’s a little on the large side) I do admire its design.

The garden focuses on sustainability as well as the grow your own element. It shows ways of using your garden space making use of the latest Gardena technology, as well as featuring sustainable designs with items from the decking to the furniture made from recycled plastic bottles, milk cartons and tyres.

Which means, that everything might not necessarily be what it seems.

As well as the funky crate table on castors, I’m also quite taken with the raised, slatted looking planter at the rear of the picture above. The vertical struts provide extra growing space, for what looks like herbs, as well as looking stylish. It’s a bit too tall to have alongside my greenhouse - it’d block too much light - but otherwise I think I’d be tempted to look into recreating these raised beds by made from sustainable British timber.

Even the classic shaped Adirondack chairs, another long term favourite, are made from recycled plastic bottles. Which makes a lot more sense - they’re by Polywood if you’re also interested.

There were plenty of herbs in this garden - as well as the rhubarb amongst the hydrangeas above in planters made from old car tyres - and herbs are no bad thing. They’re great for flavouring food and are a good substitute for salt, as that’s something else that we all more than likely need to cut down on.

The final thing that caught my eye was this planter full of unruly peas, who look as if they’re arguing with each other about climbing up the cane supports.

On closer inspection the container is a milk churn, which is another way to reuse an container and to introduce some charm to your garden at the same time. It’s one of those garden spaces that has plenty going on, and much of which you don’t spot on first look.

What do you think, are there elements you’d have in your garden?