The Annual Homes & Interiors Scotland Exhibition is returning to Glasgow’s SECC on the 28th – 30th October 2011, bringing together a wide range of exciting attractions to improve your home and lifestyle.

Show highlights include the inspiring Interior Design Showcase, where the country’s leading interior designers show their unique takes on six different rooms sets, a Kids’ Zone filled with fabulous ideas for children and, for the first time, a Christmas Fair featuring luxurious gifts and stimulating décor ideas.

The Talented Makers section is returning to the show for a second year, presenting the work of the country’s finest up-and-coming furniture and craft makers.

Editor’s Picks, the show’s most popular attraction, features modern and contemporary designs from around the world, plus talks by one of the UK’s leading artists and interior designers, and President Elect of the British Institute of Interior Design, Sue Timney.

The Exhibition will also present a host of high profile chefs, landscapers and gardeners, who will be on hand over the weekend sharing their tips, tricks of the trade and trend predictions for 2012.

The exhibition will be split into zones with exhibitors grouped together by sector, to make it easier than ever to find exactly what you’re looking for.

There will even be a state of the art cinema room, kitted out in the latest high tech gadgets from Loud & Clear, plus a demonstration area.

Presentations will take place over the weekend in the show’s Design Theatre, in addition to TV personalities including interior designer John Amabile.

Meanwhile the hugely popular champagne bar and wine tasting area, will give you the chance to take a break from browsing to sample some fine tipples.

There will also be a host of retailers exhibiting with something to suit every style and budget.

Key Information:

• Opening times: 10am until 5pm, Friday 28th to Sunday 30th October 2011. Advance tickets £7

• From ticket soup: £7 (plus £1 booking fee) www.ticketsoup.com or 0844 395 4000.

• On-the-door tickets, £10 per person.

For more detailed information on the Homes & Interiors Scotland Exhibition, please visit the website.
Tel: (0141) 567 6025

The featured picture - courtesy of Amabile Designs.

Summer is replaced by autumn officially on Sunday 30th October when the clocks go back by one hour.

Kids’ Rooms, the leading children’s online retailer, has introduced a brand new range of colourful, fun wall and alarm clocks to make those darker, colder mornings that little bit more cheerful.

The ever-tricky task of learning to tell the time is a continuing challenge for many children (and parents!).

However, the new collection of easy to read and colourful clocks from Kids’ Rooms facilitates effortless understanding, with its comprehensive range of children’s “easy-to-read” clocks:

• With clear, large numbers and eye-catching clock-face designs, children are encouraged to learn to tell the time with a clock they really enjoy watching.

• Additionally, every clock in the Kids’ Rooms collection has a silent tick mechanism, to ensure children sleep soundly all night and wake up feeling refreshed for the day ahead.

• Kids’ Rooms’ fantastic range of colourful clocks makes clock-watching fun - there’s a clock to suit every child’s taste and interest; from the super-sonic Rocket Clock and playful Jungle Fun Clock, to the delectable Fairycake Wall Clock, pretty Pink Pony Clock and classic favourite - the Flowers Wall Clock featured here.

• There is also has a beautiful range based on hand-painted designs; including vibrant and fun designs such as Noah’s Animals, Friendly Dinosaur, Pretty Butterflies and Duelling Pirates.

• The traditional retro-cool ringing of the Pink Ponies Alarm will put a smile on their faces and help begin the day happily!

To view the whole Kids Room’s fantastic range of colourful clocks, please visit the website.
Stockist Tel: (02380) 675941

There’s fear and fantasy in abundance for All Hallows Eve, with Yankee® Candle’s latest collection of fun filled Housewarmer® jar candles and accessories!

Lining the pathway to your door with the new wicked scents, will give the tricksters a real treat this year.
Place the Housewarmer® jars on your windowsill to illuminate your home with a ghostly glow, or use Jack-O-Lantern as a spooky alternative to a pumpkin, illuminating his face to those daring to knock.

Witches Brew offers a dark mix of enchanting fragrances in a bloodcurdling jet black colour way.

Reminiscent of succulent sweeties, Candy Corn is bright orange with a sugary-sweet scent.
The Trick or Treat Housewarmer® Swirl® candle is a mix of two colourways - vibrant orange and creamy white, with an enchanting fragrance of candy corn entwined with luscious buttercream.

Conjure up a creepy but fun atmosphere, by recreating the childhood passion for scary stories and spooky illusions.

The new Halloween fragrances are available in Sampler® Votives, Tea Lights, Small and Medium Housewarmer® jars.
The Swirl® candle is available as a Medium Housewarmer® jar.

Add your choice of spine tingling accessories and place them around your home, to produce a chilling scene guaranteed to give you goosebumps.

The Spider Tea Light Holder, Jack-O-Lantern and votive holders will generate an eerie atmosphere and are sure to set the mood for an enthralling evening of fun and hi-jinks!

To view Yankee Candle’s complete Halloween collection, please visit the website.

Kandabi is a lighting design studio in Edinburgh, specialising in mood lighting, just right for those wishing to make a space statement in home lighting.

Mood lighting is a term now widely accepted in the interiors world inspired by cinematography:

Just as in film production, it involves the composition of a scene and addition of special effects, to achieve the images desired by the director – so mood lighting for interiors is a critical lighting layer used to create a desired atmosphere in a given space.

“Mood lighting is the indescribable stardust, the ’special something’ that allows an interior lighting scheme to become more than the sum of its parts.

It is all about injecting extra character into a space through visual drama, a sense of calmness and relaxation, an element of frivolity and fun, a quirky individual touch, or a combination of any of the above.”

Character and individuality is precisely what Kandabi stands for” commented Eva Hammerson, Head of Design, Kandabi.

Perhaps more than any other type of lighting for home interiors, mood lighting has the potential to create a true delineation point between one interior and the next.

Unlike most conventional lighting, mood lighting’s true reason d’être is perhaps less functional and more aesthetic and emotional.

As the interiors world moves into the age of personal interior design, the Kandabi statement wall lighting, (Five star rated by the UK Lighting Magazine) is designed to take centre stage and created to capture the eye, engage the mind, and put a big smile on your face.

From the pop art iconic “LOVE”, to the Japanese philosophy centred “The 4th Monkey”, there is a Kandabi design for everyone out there.

For further Kandabi home lighting inspiration, please visit the website.

Do you dream of working from home, but have limited space available, so need help to create a truly flexible and smart home office?

Sliding Panels from The Fabric Box offer an ideal solution for generating an office area for young professionals, living in contemporary spaces, for whom adapting a box room is seldom an option.

• Sliding panels are designed to divide study areas from sleeping, eating or living areas.

• You can leave the structure permanently closed to conceal the office clutter, or alternatively, pull it back to revert to the existing open plan.

• Prices for the Sliding Panel in ‘Boho Chic’ in our picture, start from £77.84.

Wherever your working space, a good blind is great for reducing glare and heat build-up, or simply to diffuse light.

There is a blind to suit every office in The Fabric Box collection, including some metallic-backed fabrics for ultimate light reflection.

• Roman Blind in ‘Lola Bolero’’ are priced from £84.70.

To see The Fabric Box™ collection for yourself, visit your nearest stockist or logon to the website.

For stockists – Tel: (0844) 8118280

Harlequin has produced a range of charming towels, in collaboration with Christy, designed specifically for kids - of all ages.

Harlequin’s What A Hoot amusing collection makes bath time both fun and trendy.

Novel, witty and great fun, they are mainly intended to enhance kids’ and family bathrooms - but the motifs are so irresistible that young-at-heart grown-ups might not be able to resist sneaking them into their en-suites and cloakrooms too.
The towels are 100% cotton 550gsm and are available in a range of sizes, according to the design:

Cupcakes: a deliciously yummy design - features exquisite pink cupcakes embroidered onto a plain cream ground, offered in three sizes: face, hand and bath.

Go Go Retro: Ilustrated with retro cars and scooters - this design comes as both a jacquard and an embroidered option, on a pale blue ground. The jacquard features oversized cars and bikes and comes in two sizes: hand and bath. The embroidered version has the vehicles embroidered onto its cuff in primary colours. It comes in an additional, face towel, size.

Jolly Jurassic - certain to capture kids’ endless fascination with dinosaurs, this charming and quirky design is available in fresh green with a contrasting sky blue end hem. It comes in two sizes: hand and bath.

Love Hearts - totally, unashamedly girly and an absolute must for true romantics - of any age! Featuring tiny love hearts sprinkled over the towel, this design coordinates with other towels in the collection and comes in two sizes: hand and bath.

Polly Pirouette - the pinnacle of every girl’s aspirations! A pretty pink design depicting a delicately embroidered ballerina, available in three sizes: face, hand and bath.

Tutti Fruitti Stripe: Two incredibly bright colour combos, give this fabulous design a his-n-hers appeal - primary colours for the boys and pinks with lilacs for the girls.
Both colourways link the other designs across the Harlequin kids’ collection, as well as making a real style statement in their own right. They come in three sizes: hand, bath and sheet.

The towels are now available throughout the UK.

To view the whole range of the Harlequin Kids’ Collection of towels, or for stockist details, please visit the website.

Tel:   (08457) 585252

Monitor Audio has launched ground-breaking ultra-slim SoundFrame ‘picture’ speakers.

The new speakers present the definite audio and reliability of advanced driver technologies, while complying with the need for balanced room décor, and coordination with a resourceful range of grille colours, patterns and images.

The choice of frame options includes four photo styles, four graphical designs and five regular colours.

In addition, music enthusiasts can select from seven exclusive rock icon grille images, licensed to Monitor Audio by world-famous rock photographer Ross Halfin.
There’s also the option to have custom designs applied to the grilles if required.

The beauty of SoundFrame is that in preserving the wide dynamic range of the music, living space is also respected.

• At just 3.5”deep and fitted flush to the wall, or within it, the SoundFrame speakers are among the slimmest full-range audio solutions available.

• Retail prices (inc VAT):

• SF1 (in-wall and on-wall) £450 each.
• SF2 (in-wall and on-wall) £450 each.

• Grille options:

• Block colour £50 each.
  Library image including (rock icons) £100 each.
  Custom images £200 each.

The SoundFrame speakers are also easy to install.
Keyhole fixings for on-wall and pre-fix corner brackets for in-wall models, make the process simple and provide for a wire-free look, as the connecting cable runs in the wall cavity and enters from the back to connect at the front.

The new SoundFrame range is available from September 2011.

For more information about the Monitor Audio SoundFrame range, please visit the website.

Tel: (01268) 740580

Julia Kendell, interior designer, well known for her dramatic room schemes on TV makeover programmes such as DIY SOS and 60 Minute Makeover, has teamed up with Spaceslide, the sliding wardrobe door supplier.

Julia demonstrates how fitted wardrobes offer more than just a practical feature for a bedroom, but can become the main focal point to achieve some of the hottest home interior design trends for 2012.

Reflective And Relaxing (In our picture.)
A wall of mirrored wardrobe doors doesn’t have to be dreary –, but certainly makes a room feel twice the size.

The furniture is the lead feature of this room, where the doors complement the look and are just ideal for a spare room.

White and mirrored surfaces have all round, timeless appeal, so you can play around and update with coloured walls and accessories.

This calming mint scheme has a touch of glitz – where the metallic element in the wallpaper complements the wardrobe doors. This room delivers a New England feel with a contemporary twist. The use of reflective surfaces adds perspective and dimension.

Julia’s top tips for this room:
Mirrored doors make a room look bigger, but a sandblasted/mirrored mix gives the impression that there is a room behind the panel – adding another dimension.

The wallpaper panel adjacent to the feature wall provides a balance to the room and is an inexpensive alternative to artwork.

You can use either door architrave or a mitre block to create a frame that’s then glued to the wall, or wallpaper a strip of wallpaper to the wall and stick the architrave around it.

Other styles available include:

Contemporary Asian Style
The Asian influence of the Oriental Bar design on the sliding wardrobe doors led the theme for this room, and this is going to be hot look for 2012 predicts Julia

Catwalk Cool
Ideal for cool couples and sexy singletons, the frameless sleek lines of this mix and match wardrobe, provide a great backdrop to other design elements in the room.

Playtime
Keep playrooms clutter free to let fun feature walls take centre stage with the clever and practical use of sliding door wardrobes.

Spaceslide.co.uk is one of the UK’s largest online stores for made-to-measure sliding wardrobe door systems and wardrobe storage solutions

Julia Kendell’s six exclusive designs for Spaceslide can be viewed online, and clearly show how sliding wardrobe doors can suit all styles of bedroom interior, whether classic, traditional or trendy in design.

Tel: (0800) 9803499

The Nomadic peoples of the remote Tien Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan are renowned for creating brightly coloured wool rugs for over two and a half thousand years.

Known as Shyrdaks, the rugs have a tough flattened felt base sewn with striking geometric patterns and are available from the Felt Rug Company.

Felt also supplies Shyrdak cushions… offered in a vivid array of colours and patterns, they make brilliant unique gifts and provide superb décor pieces, suitable for both traditional and contemporary interiors.

• The felt shapes, which symbolize the birds, animals, mountains and rivers that are part of the nomads’ lives, are stitched together with hand-spun twine and embellished with a hand-woven braid, made from the same indigenous wool.

• Felt’s cushions and floor cushions are available in the latest colours including hot brights and subtle neutrals, or can be commissioned to order.

• Each cushion contains an ultra comfortable extra-stuffed duck feather cushion pad. The tribal women cut each set of geometric shapes from a single sheet of felt, creating a ‘positive and negative’, and therefore part of a mirror-image pair (but can be bought separately).

• Backed with linen or felt, Shyrdak cushions measure 50cm square and are priced at £120 each. Naturally, the cushions look great teamed with Felt rugs!

To view the Felt collection of unique Shydrak rugs and cushions, please visit the website, or you can view by appointment at Felt’s London showroom in SW12.

Tel:   (020) 8772 0358

Vi-Spring the British bed maker has produced a collection of eight new beds, exclusively for John Lewis.

The remarkable new divan and headboard designs are available in a choice of excellent quality fabrics; from natural, muted brushed cotton linens, soft wool, and sumptuous velvets in strong, earthy tones.

Every mattress has been carefully hand crafted to partner its matching divan base. Filled with a choice of naturally deluxe fillings, they are available in a choice of four spring tensions, to give support that accurately matches your body weight and provide Vi-Spring’s signature comfort:

• The Highgrove with Viceroy Divan: (featured here) The sumptuously deep Highgrove mattress partners the Viceroy divan and is upholstered using a selection of the finest natural materials, from supremely soft cashmere and alpaca, to pure cotton, silk and Platinum Certified real Shetland wool. The mattress features 2,812 pocketed springs (in the 150 x 200cm size), and is covered in a soft silk blend and finished with hand-tied silk tufts.

• The Blenheim, Cliveden and Stowe with Sovereign Divan: These three new mattresses have been designed to partner the Sovereign divan. Each one is filled with an indulgent selection of Platinum Certified real Shetland wool, cotton, horsetail and silk.

• The Gatcombe with Wool Prestige Divan: A sleek, tailored, all-wool bed, the Gatcombe is filled using an abundance of the finest quality Platinum Certified British fleece wool and real Shetland wool.The Gatcombe is covered in 100 per cent wool fabric and hand tied with woollen tufts.

• The Chatsworth and Heligan with Prestige Divan: Natural, sustainable and exceptionally soft pure bamboo is used in both the Chatsworth and Heligan mattresses, which partner the Prestige divan. A blend of Platinum Certified British fleece wool and horsehair is also used in hand-filling the mattresses, which are covered in a bamboo blend fabric and finished with woollen tufts.

• The Hanbury with De Luxe Divan:Supremely comfortable, the Hanbury contains a mix of the softest cotton with Platinum Certificated British fleece wool. Covered with cotton fabric and finished with felt-tufts.

Every bed in the John Lewis collection is hand-filled and stitched by Vi-Spring’s master craftsmen in the Devon workshop.

For your nearest John Lewis stockist of the Vi-Spring range, or to order a brochure please visit the website.