Now under new management, 100% Design has taken on a fresh new look this year. Using the same formula as its sister show Grand Designs Live - tunnel entrance and central bar leading to themed spaces - it still manages to maintain the air or ambiance associated with 100% Design.Think of a uber-chic Cocktail bar where it's so stylish, you feel you shouldn't be allowed in. Door hosts? Check. Dark, theatrical areas? Check. DJ spinning chill-out tunes, designer labels. Check and check. It's fashionable, it's bang-on trend but far from being effortless, this show is contrived to be the at the apex of cool.
Yet is it simply a case of style over substance?The division of the exhibition space and dedicated Kitchens & Bathrooms zone helps to focus on these rooms of the home. But separated from the Interiors space, it does lose out on the relationship between designs that influence kitchen and bathrooms.
The Kitchen & Bathroom space of the show may not have the largest representation - visitors could navigate the area in a matter of hours - but think posh shoe shops, the more expensive, the fewer in the window. And, although far from comprehensive, it does have a wide choice of products on display from appliances to work tops, furniture and hot taps through to sanitaryware. But what makes 100% Design stand-out is the names the show attracts, which differ from the regulars on the kitchen and bathroom exhibition scene. Silverdale Bathrooms, Venete Cucine, Ella, DeVol, Not Only White, Doca and Bora are just some of the designer brand names on show.
It would be unfair to judge 100% Design as a bathrooms and kitchens show, after all the space forms part of a wider contemporary design event, including Offices and Eco Design & Build. But for bathroom and kitchen designers, who want to see the very latest in cutting-edge cool, 100% Design is in its 18th year and has come of age. And it will be interesting to see how this revamped show continues to mature.
The Kitchen & Bathroom space of the show may not have the largest representation - visitors could navigate the area in a matter of hours - but think posh shoe shops, the more expensive, the fewer in the window. And, although far from comprehensive, it does have a wide choice of products on display from appliances to work tops, furniture and hot taps through to sanitaryware. But what makes 100% Design stand-out is the names the show attracts, which differ from the regulars on the kitchen and bathroom exhibition scene. Silverdale Bathrooms, Venete Cucine, Ella, DeVol, Not Only White, Doca and Bora are just some of the designer brand names on show.
It would be unfair to judge 100% Design as a bathrooms and kitchens show, after all the space forms part of a wider contemporary design event, including Offices and Eco Design & Build. But for bathroom and kitchen designers, who want to see the very latest in cutting-edge cool, 100% Design is in its 18th year and has come of age. And it will be interesting to see how this revamped show continues to mature.
100% Design takes place at Earl's Court in London and runs until September September 22, 2012
To see the products from the show, read the review of 100% Design in the November issue of Kitchens & Bathrooms News. Subscribe for FREE.
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