Whatever your interest in interior design, London is likely to have what you are looking for. Maybe you are seeking inspiration and imaginative tips on interior design for your own home or you are an interior designer and want to promote your own work, or perhaps you want to hire the services of a professional designer or even study interior design yourself, no matter what your need is, there is no better place to satisfy it than from the design capital of the UK itself, London.
Visiting Exhibitions in London
London hosts a number of exciting exhibitions every year, some of which focus on a specific area of interior design and others that are broader in their approach. Exhibitions serve many purposes, they can showcase new talent and fresh ideas from up and coming interior designers often alongside the work of already well established and highly sought after designers in the industry, they highlight the latest fashions and trends, spark new creative ways of thinking, provide opportunities to network and increase business sales and of course they offer the chance to view the work of some of the best interior designers in the world.
The following list represents just three Interior Design Exhibitions that regularly take place in London:
o 100 Percent Design – Exhibition usually takes place in September over 3 days and is open to the general public on one of those days. More information can be found at http://www.100percentdesign.co.uk
o Decorex – This exhibition also takes place each September but is only for trade and professionals in the interior design industry. Details of the next exhibition can be found at http://www.decorex.co.uk
o New Designers Exhibition – opens to the public and exhibits the work of thousands of new and up and coming designers every July. You can find out more information from http://www.newdesigners.co.uk
There are of course many other exhibitions taking place throughout the year and a list of them can be viewed on The British Interior Design Association website at http://www.bida.org
Hiring a professional Interior Designer
Many of us would like to transform our own home and although we may start out with great ideas and intentions, quite a few of us never actually get around to doing anything about it. Hiring a professional interior designer is one way of getting it done and if you don’t have someone in mind already; one place to start looking is The British Interior Design Association. The BDA keep a list on their site of interior designers who are either registered members or associated members.
Registered members are the most qualified and have the most experience as in order to get registered they have to satisfy the Association’s strict criteria. An Associate member has to have been working in the industry for at least a year and will have passed the association’s interview process for membership. You can search for an interior designer at http://www.bida.org.
Another option is The Interior Design Handbook website at http://www.interiordesign.com, where you can search a list of potential designers by location as well as speciality. You will also be able to view their profiles online.
Studying Interior design in London
London offers hundreds of courses on various aspects of interior design starting from the most basic right through to graduate degrees and beyond and so finding the right one can seem like a daunting task but it needn’t be if you know where to look.
A small sample of interior design schools in London include:
o The KLC school of Design
o The AIU School of Interior Design
o The Interior Design School
You could also try searching for other courses at http://www.floodlight.co.uk, which is the official guide to all the different adult education courses on offer throughout London. UCAS will also be able to provide you with comprehensive information on different undergraduate courses that are interior design related and what colleges and universities are offering these courses.
Why London for Interior Design?
London attracts a wealth of talent and creative thinking within the interior design Industry and is an important springboard for launching the very latest designs from some of the best interior designers in the world. London also provides endless opportunities for up and coming interior designers to showcase and promote their own work and can be a source of inspiration for anyone interested in interior design at any level.
