Peggy Johnson and I attended the Toronto Interior Design Show on January 21 – 24.

http://www.interiordesignshow.com/

The event kicked off with the Opening Night Party where more than 5700 industry players gathered to check out the newest trends. One of the best parts of the evening was visiting with up and coming furniture, lighting and industrial designers. A portion of the evening’s ticket sales benefit Habitat for Humanity – that’s us in the photo at the Habitat for Humanity Megablocks House.

During the Professional Trade Day we continued our exploration of the latest and greatest in lighting, flooring, tile, appliance, furniture and home accessories. We also attended a number of seminars lead by some of the biggest names in design. A round-table discussion with some of Canada’s top interior designers revealed the top kitchen and bath trends from Europe to North America. Candice Olson of HGTV fame and Sharon Grech of Benjamin Moore presented their favorites from the Benjamin Moore Colour Trends 2016 pallet. (Spoiler alert: Benjamin Moore’s colour of the year is Simply White OC-117!) World renowned designers Tom Dixon and Ora Ito presented to packed crowds at the show’s mainstage. It was so inspiring to learn more about their design philosophies and incredible bodies of work.

We rounded out our trip to the big city with lots of walking in the downtown, especially enjoying the wonderfully renovated and repurposed heritage buildings in the Distillery District. Filled with restaurants, galleries, and interesting shops of all sorts, the brick warehouses and other buildings are a great reminder to respect the past, not just the most current trends in design.

Susan Knopp
Architectural Designer