The hottest new trend that everyone’s doing

Robin Birch, group Finance Director at the National Design Academy, has jumped on the up-cycling band wagon and embraced his creativity. Restoring old furniture isn’t just for the professionals, although Robin’s attempt is rather brilliant! He tells The Design Hub how he transformed unwanted items into a functional piece of furniture.

Get the spring feeling – make your home and garden bright

Design of the day

The sun is starting to creep out, the birds are chirping in the mornings and green leaves are sprouting – spring is upon us! As we start to say goodbye to our winter warmers and dark colour palette, we’re starting to brighten our homes in harmony with the season change. Created by Laurie Cinotto of La La Laurie, these cute handmade bird lanterns are the perfect way to bring a bright and cheerful mood to your home or even your garden in celebration of spring time.

Crafting is this spring/summer ‘s hottest trend, as many people try to stretch the pennies they’re fining lots of creative ways to spruce up their home without spending a fortune. Even Linda Barker was spreading the craft message in her chic styling seminars during this years Ideal Home Show. So if you want to make your own array of  chic birdie lanterns click HERE to get the DIY step-by-step guide and get sticking!

Want to save money? Start up-cycling

Interior Designer Karen lane loves restoring old and unused furniture, she often looks for second-hand goods to “up-cycle”. With times of austerity upon us, “up-cycling” is becoming the hottest new way of re-decorating without the huge price tag.

Karen gives us some examples of pieces she’s restored and how she went about doing it! So if you fancy re-vamping a room or particular piece of furniture check out Karens tips below and let us know how you got on – send us pictures or a video! Or, if you’d like Karen to sprinkle some of her design magic on your old furniture, you can contact her through her website Autograph Interior Designs.

Mood board created by Kellie Hill

Words and pictures by Karen lane

Design of the day – Personalise your own fridge freezer!

 

You can now create your own funky fridge design to set your kitchen apart from the rest.  You can have any design you fancy printed onto panels which cover the front of the fridge -  you could go crazy with family photos, your favourite celebrity or even your own print! I’d have a certain Mr David Beckham on mine. Available from GE Appliances, the  535 ltr American side-by-side fridge freezer is A+ rated and has a combined water and ice dispenser. To grab yourself a personalised fridge freezer go to www.geappliances.com , they cost £1850 with the panels an additional £200.

Spatial Planning and Technical Drawing video

Lead by Liam Kerrigan, a tutor at The National Design Academy, students learned how to create a design/room plan and demonstrate that design clearly with a variety of techniques. Click and enjoy!

Video by Kellie Hill

Design of the day

A Royal occasion

Image source: notonthehighstreet.com

Celebrate your national pride and get in the mood for the most exciting Royal wedding for decades with a pair of stupendous “Pip and Pen” vintage dining chairs by Melanie Porter. Individually knitted and felted, the covers give a sweater look and seem extremely comfy! It takes up to five weeks to knit the covers and restore the chairs back to their natural beauty, and a perfect way to inject character into your home.  You can grab a pair from www.notonthehighstreet.com for £1500.

Design of the Day

Modern Medieval

Designer Tortie Hoare studied a BA Hons in Furniture design and craftmanship at Bucks New University, Buckinghamshire. She’s making a huge name for herself with her very successful Leatherwork Furniture Collection. The Butterfly Chair is her most popular piece, with crowds of people admiring it at this years Birmingham Interiors Show.

She created the chair through boiling leather (a medieval process) which enabled her to create 3D shapes and it’s also environmentally conscious, rather than using materials like plastic or resin. The leather is beautifully soft and comfortable and the colourful print ads depth and character to this handmade piece. I just can’t take my eyes off it!

In 2010 Tortie won one of the most prestigious prizes for a new designer, the  BDC New Designer of the Year award. She aims to create ergonomic, durable and aesthetically pleasing furniture. You must check out her whole range its astounding.

Design of the day

Perfect furniture for a fashionista!

Revealed at the [D3] Design Talents at imm cologne last month, this multi-functional storage chest doubles up as a handbag! It can be carried like a bag but also as a piece of portable furniture, this piece is definitely up my street!

Created by young designer Anna Lorenz, the “Home Traveller” was apart of her graduation project. The fashion/furniture handbag is meant to be a smart accessory for the home, spacious like a chest but more flexible than traditional furniture.  The bag is made from leather and the base from wood. I hope she’ll expand her range and bring out a variety of colours so I can have one for every room and occasion!

Linda Barkers 2011 Interior design trend forcast

Linda Barker reveals what the hottest interior design trends are for 2011. At the top of the list is Eco chic, sleek black units, knitting and bronze.

Linda is the force behind the “Ideal Interior of the Year” award at this years Ideal Home Show, and will be offering her design expertise in person at the event, with a series of demonstrations and seminars giving practical advice on home interior products, styling, design, tips and more to keep you on track with the latest looks. So you don’t miss out!

But to make sure you’re in the loop, thedesignhub have collaborated with the Ideal Home Show 2011 to give you a chance to WIN tickets to go to the event. Click HERE to enter!

Home – our true love

For most interior design lovers secretly, the biggest love they have is their home. We invest so much time into choosing the right colours, furniture, accessories and more to make our castle perfect.  So celebrate your interior love affair  and indulge in a few special delights. Give your home something extra special, check out our Valentines home shortlist. You know you want to!