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London Design Festival 2021 - Highlights & Trends

After a run of lockdowns, there are few things more exciting than an actual IRL event 🙌  and the recent London Design Festival was no exception. Held annually to celebrate the capital's wealth of design talent, London Design Festival 2021 ran from 18-26 September, filling the streets with colour and inspiration 🥰

Whereas last year's Festival was a slightly subdued affair with a reduced schedule and virtual talks, LDF21 was back with a bang – bigger, bolder and brighter than ever 🌟

We were there, right in the middle of it on Rivington Street with our first ever store.

And as well as meeting lots of COAT customers and industry pals, we took a look around the Festival so that we can round-up some of the highlights and trends that might be filtering into our homes in the coming months…

WHAT DID I MISS? 👀

Well, the London Design Festival is THE event for creatives, rounding up the best in art, architecture and furniture design in a city-wide celebration. Showstopping outdoor installations are a trademark of the Festival, and this year saw designer Yinka Ilori transform pedestrian crossings in Tottenham Court Road into deliciously stripy works of kaleidoscopic art. 

Talking of bright colours, 'Sonic Bloom' in Mayfair's Brown Hart Gardens was a riotous celebration of primary colours from designer Yuri Suzuki.

This interactive sculpture featured colourful tentacles culminating in trumpet-shaped microphones. Visitors were invited to record their voices to reconnect with the city after such a long period of isolation. 

More colour was on display at illustrator Justyna Green’s ‘100 Days of Gratitude’ exhibition. During the summer of 2021, Justyna asked 100 creatives what they were grateful for and created one illustration a day for 100 days. The result is an inspiring glimpse into some of the UK's most creative minds, featuring Justyna's bold and colourful graphic art. 

Sustainability was also big news at LDF this year, with 'Planted' – the world's first zero-waste design event – aiming to reconnect people and spaces with nature.

Eco-friendly retailers exhibiting at the King's Cross event included furniture brands Another Country,  Vestre and Benchmark. 

WHO WERE THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS AT THIS YEAR'S LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL?

One of the big names at this year's Festival was fashion designer turned homewares retailer Henry Holland. Having developed a love of the Japanese ceramic technique of 'nerikomi' during lockdown, Henry launched a new range of rugs at LDF21 in collaboration with Floor Story. The rugs feature flowing patterns and rave iconographies such as the classic '90s smiley face. 

Heritage interiors retailer Heals has been a long-time advocate of new design talent. Their annual 'Heals Discovers' event recognises new faces in the industry and is always a key part of LDF. Ones to watch this year are glass artist Lea Randebrock who makes beautiful vases from glass offcuts, and maker Kieran Letts who creates contemporary mirrors made from sustainably grown British timber. 

Designer and creative director Ilse Crawford CBE was also celebrated at LDF21. The interior designer, author and founding editor of Elle Decoration magazine was awarded the 2021 London Design Medal, a kind of lifetime achievement gong recognising consistent design excellence 👏

WERE THERE ANY EXCITING NEW PRODUCTS LAUNCHED AT THE FESTIVAL?

Hell yes! All the buzz around LDF makes it the perfect platform for retailers to launch new products and shout about what they've been up to over the past year. We're particularly loving the new, colourful versions of Hans Wegner's classic chair designs from Danish company Carl Hansen. A limited edition release of five classic, mid-century designs in five new colours was launched at the Festival. The perfect investment piece for your gaff 👍 

The other chair that caught our eye this year was Benchmark's new 'Ovo' design. Designed in collaboration with Foster + Partners, this carbon-negative chair has clean, timeless lines and is available in solid European oak or American walnut. 

So that's the chairs sorted, but what about the drinks? We can't get enough of Ahu's 'Meyhane' mahogany drinks cabinet which was launched at the glamorous St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Made in Istanbul and inspired by 'ikram' – the Turkish tradition of offering endless hospitality – the cabinet combines bright, graphic art with handcrafted mahogany shelving. Pre-dinner drinks have never looked so good! 🥂

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR INTERIOR DESIGN TRENDS?

As well as showcasing some of the cutting edge innovations of the design world, LDF can also give us some useful pointers in terms of future interior design trends. So what inspo can we take away from this year's event? Well, bold colours were everywhere at LDF21, so as we emerge from the pandemic the clear message is: go big or go home. Life is short. So let's make it interesting with brave colour choices to uplift and inspire 🌈

Balancing this gutsy approach is a cautious note struck around the topic of environmental issues. Sustainability was a key buzzword at LDF21, with a marked emphasis on planet-friendly approaches and natural materials. We've already seen this spilling over into interiors trends in terms of the use of materials such as bamboo, rattan and wood, but we also know that more of you than ever want to buy paint from a company with solid eco credentials.

Increased awareness of sustainability makes us do a little happy dance here at COAT Paints HQ 💃  That's because we care about the planet, and it turns out you do, too 🤗  Read more about our ethical and eco-friendly approach here 🌱

Inspired to get the paint brushes out? Transform your home with our range of on-trend, eco-friendly paints

 

 


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