Tent London 2012 preview

The design world is already gearing itself up for the London Design Festival 2012. One of the best elements of the event, I think, is Tent – where emerging and less mainstream designers air their wares in the Truman Brewery, in east London's Brick Lane.

Tent runs 20-23 September, so ages to yet. But I've already had a nose around who and what will be there. Here are a couple of very early picks...

Global Color Research™, a colour trend forecasting agency, which predicts fashionable shades for the likes of interior designers, retail marketeers and design students, has decreed that green – from 'zesty' to 'greyed off' to 'aquatic' – is the hue of 2014. Find out how they come to such decisions (and look at lots of nice green things) by following their Trend Trail at this year's event. Green is a big theme in my house as I find it such a calming colour – I love it when I become fashionable inadvertently...

Alex Garnett, whose ghoulish porcelain skull lamps I love (above, priced £150). 

British textile designer, Claire-Anne O'Brien, who specialises in knitted furniture inspired by the shape of the stitches involved, which she enlarges for her pieces, such as these beautiful stools.

Barnby Designs, which produces wonderful wooden pieces, including these very sweet children's ash stools and table sets; the stools are inset with colourful felt which is a tactile shift from the formica you might take it for at first glance, from those 1950s lines. These are currently on sale on the Barnby Designs website, £60 for the stools, £128 for the table, which could also be used as a grown-up sized coffee table.

And Deborah Bowness, she of the now-quite-famous bookcase wallpaper shows off some of other other  visually confounding trompe l'oeil designs.

How to... fill a big blank wall

Alun is a man. And his flat has been declared “too manly” by his
new flatmate, who is very female in her Calamity Jane makeover
scene urges (Doris Day’s spartan cowgirl shack gets a girlie gingham spruce-up). The main concern? Bare walls. BIG bare
walls. Small budget. Tips?

Wall of me Wall of me: clockwise from top left: the home-made art at the Saltoun Supper Club; BHS's chic, cheap standard lamp;  a V&A botanical prints; Deborah Bowness 'Books' wallpaper; 'Pottery' wall stickers from John Lewis; Scandivis 'Raven' clothes hangers.

Stand tall Forget attaching things to your walls. A giant plant and a stylish standard lamp (to create interesting shadows) will go a long way. Love the Elin floor lamp, just £35 from BHS (top right in collage image above).

Stick 'em up I've gone off wall stickers a bit, on the whole I think they've jumped the shark. However, I have long loved the shades-of-green vase-shaped 'Pottery' ones from John Lewis, £19.

Shelve it To fill a whole bare corner in my house I had some wonky box shelves built – different sizes and depths (there they are, above). Painted to match the wall the effect is quite sculptural and, MDF-made by a builder (not a specialist), cheap too. Or try Cubit.


Portraits of you Think you can’t afford a huge portrait? Try Paperface – from £299 for a quirky collaged commission.


Hang up Dangling pretty dresses or giant bits of jewellery from your walls is instant and free (if you already own them, of course). Love the Raven wooden bird clothes hangers, £39 a piece, at Scandivis (see collage image at top).

On the tiles Away from the kitchen/bathroom, tiled walls are a striking statement. Mismatched = more affordable, so pick odd tiles (one colour but different thicknesses) or mix patterns in the same palette. The floral Welbeck Tiles vintage range (above) is gorgeous (thanks, Flowerona, for the tip-off).

Wall for one A papered “feature wall” can look passé. The “books” wallpaper from Deborah Bowness, however… wow. £173 per (generous) drop. Or make a patchwork of favourite samples – again, limit the palette. If you're crafty – or inclined to become so – the lovely, and super stylish Papered Parlour in south London do screen-print-your-own-wallpaper classes. You can see their own design in the PP studio, above. 

Collage days Use what you have: Odd plates, favourite old record sleeves, or cherished postcards and photos. For the latter, frame them using the same types or colours of frame for cohesion, and build a grown-up collage. Love the wicker baskets (above) covering a brick wall at the chic Saltoun Supper Club.


Take art Paint your own: Stylist Pippa Jameson suggests using a giant canvas and painting a loose, random pattern in favourite colours. “The bigger the better: this type of painterly effect looks great in really large spaces,” says Jameson.


Flower power V&A Prints sell gorgeous repro antique botanical prints from £15-£100. Create your own wallpaper by pasting a selection to your wall for the ultimate girlie makeover (see collage image at top).