So, 2015 sees IDEX come home for the first time in a number of years due to the demolition of Earl’s Court. I have heard many great stories about this show and the legendary amount of business some companies have made of the back of the expo. I had visions of a bustling environment with range of high end products on display with eager sales staff around every corner bursting with energy and enthusiasm. As a first time visitor to this event I can say that my expectations and the reality of the situation were quite different indeed!
I went along on Sunday afternoon with my other half and it was quite nice to be able to take some time away from work and have a leisurely lunch and take in an iconic exposition. I felt a little underwhelmed as you might have been able to guess from my opening gambit laden with a sense of disappointment. I was met with a relatively quiet entrance area around Kensington Olympia with any sense of buzz and excitement elsewhere, probably in a hipster café in East London. The approach to the event was big and bright and full of pictures of celebrity home improvement experts.
The view of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen high above the visitors milling around made me cast my mind back to the 1990s and Changing Rooms with Handy Andy rushing in with MDF and the odd power tool. I think that spirit lives on in our current time in the spirit of IDEX. It was very much a show about products that were for avid home improvement enthusiasts desperate to do something with their spare room and scrabbling around for some inspiration. There is nothing wrong with this, of course. However, my preconception of the show and the reality presented a real sense of disconnect.
I had a good look at all of the stands and it felt that there was a real lack of originality and design demonstrative of 2015. Whilst I have previously alluded to my preference for a classic style, I am also able to recognise that we need to move with the times and that classic elements and progress necessary bedfellows. As well as the ability to look at new products for the home there was an area dedicated to technology and also a shopping area filled with a range of products for the home. In the central area of the main hall there were some show homes that presented a showcase of design concepts.
The show home, in my view, needs to present a sense of unity and throughout with a distinct look and style that is carried from room to room. With one of the show homes I felt that this idea was abandoned somewhere outside of the exhibition hall for the design of the property did not flow adequately. In addition to this there was a distinct lack of attention to detail in the placement of some of the moveable and immoveable furniture and decoration. My eye was instantly drawn to these flaws and if there was greater attention to deal the show home would have come together and made a little more sense. However, there was a great property with wonderful sense of flow and a gorgeous deep blue-green paint and dark wood theme that followed the viewer from room to room. I certainly had a design “anchor” as I moved about the space and it felt modern and contemporary with a nod to eternal good taste.
So, all in all I was not overwhelmed by my experience at the Ideal Home Show. I think this is primarily because I was sold on a premise that it would be a high end luxury property and design show and this is not the case. There were positives and it really gives adventurous home improvers some concepts and ideas that they can replicate relatively unaided. It is onwards and upwards with the exhibitions and I look forward to my next venture out to an event. This is very much likely to be the May Design series and I think there will certainly be a different feel.
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