So I went to the Home and Design Show and I am happy to say that I noticed a bit of a difference between this show and the Home and Garden Show. Although not as impressive as SIDIM or IDS, it seems like they are moving in the right direction.
The best booth design was the one from Stereo Plus & Design. They had actual fully furnished rooms on display. You can see right away that they got help from an interior designer. People were not only going inside the boot, they were sitting down and talking with the representative.
EQ3 had an attractive setting with various arrangements and a nice color palette. They were easy to spot with the bright red accents.
AH Design had nice pieces but they could have used the help of a designer or decorator. The booth looked more like a bunch of cool pieces thrown into an open space as opposed to a designed room. I don't get the short black curtain on one side or why they left the other side open. It creates a cluttered look and kind of cheapened expensive and attractive pieces. That's too bad.
I don't like the chairs used in front of the stage. I find them boring. If it was up to me I would have used more interesting chairs like the one that can be rented at Luxe Rental (eg. 1,2,3,4)
Alteriors had some great pieces. I found out the store changed owners and is now run by a husband and wife team. They are bringing a lot of pieces made in Canada like izm on top of the Italian lines the company was already carrying.
Aside from that, two other companies grabbed my attention. The first one is Devine Finishes which specializes in resurfacing counters, cabinets, floors, tubs and more. It's a good and perhaps an eco-friendly alternative for those who want to improve the look of their space without replacing everything.
The other one is Modulex, a company in Quebec that specializes in prefabricated home. What I like about prefabricated homes is that they usually are very energy efficient and well built since the components are constructed in a climate controlled environment. They have a model call Ibiza that I just love. It's interesting that it's called Ibiza, who knows, maybe it will be my house in a few years :)
Thanks for sharing. I kind of stopped going to the Ottawa shows over the past number of years. Your previous observations explain why. It does seem though that things might be improving. Lets hope so...
ReplyDeleteWe'll make room for Ottawa on the style map someday!
I went to the show on Friday. I really liked the pieces in the Alteriors booth. And those huge bean bag chairs in the AH Design booth are pretty comfortable!!
ReplyDeleteI totally missed the Modulex booth -- bummer. I'll have to check out their web site.
I was at Kimberley Seldon's talk on Friday afternoon. It was fun and informative, and Kimberley stuck around after the talk to give decorating advice to everyone who asked for it.
Kelly
@ girlaboutOtown : No problem. I think (hope) Ottawa's on its way... at Ottawa pace :)
ReplyDelete@Kelly : Modulex was in the second building. There wasn't a lot in term of design there, but still a few things here and there.