Our Clerkenwell Design Week, 2024, Round Up

Despite a disappointing downpour of disastrous weather, our design team toured the fantastic furniture showrooms located in Clerkenwell, London, which proved to be a productive and inspiring visit. As an interior design and construction company, this visit was highly anticipated and one we wouldn’t miss.

It was hard to resist the hospitality inspired interior design trend featured throughout many showrooms, with its inviting and luxurious aesthetic luring visitors in. Not only were our designers on the lookout for new trends but came away celebrating the existing ones that are still going strong and the even more sustainable practices that continue to evolve and progress.

Read on to find out what our designers’ key takeaways were from the event.

A Rap Interiors Designed Showroom

Top of our list has to be the newly designed showroom for our friends at Orn Furniture who were lucky enough to have their showroom designed by our very talented interior designer, Alice Carr. The showroom has been carefully zoned and planned to showcase their beautiful commercial furniture collections. Exquisite design details such as biophilic backdrops and lustrous archways were introduced to create a memorable experience.  We were thrilled to see their completed space ready to welcome an abundance of visitors for Clerkenwell Design Week.

Pioneering Peg Boards

If you have ever had to search for a commercial peg board on Google, you wouldn’t have got very far…until now! One of our favourite manufacturers has come to the rescue. Innerspace Cheshire have created and developed a commercial timber pegboard with an array of storage and display capabilities from planter boxes to shelves, from a cork pin board to hanging pegs and even enclosed storage options. The innovative product called Ynghyd (Community in Welsh), is fully customisable and offers many open and closed display and storage options, as well as integrated biophilia. For a beautifully designed and detailed storage option, the Ynghyd is a winner!

What makes this product even more exciting for us is our involvement in being the catalyst for its conception. We approached Innerspace Cheshire to manufacture some features of our exhibition stand; our brief specifying a large plywood peg board to stretch across one of the walls. After working with us and delivering the perfect solution for our exhibition stand, they decided to develop this commercial product by adding it to their growing product list.

Similarly, we also saw Orn have produced a smaller scale peg board formed with recycled plastics. The aesthetics created from the manufacturing of the plastic sheet, forms an attractive marbled terrazzo effect , which in turn becomes a design feature when displayed on the wall. In addition, its recycled material brings the added value of having excellent sustainability credentials too.

Ample Accessories

The increased range of accessories on display in the showrooms was evident throughout.  With too many to name them all, we have picked out two of our favourites.

• Spacestor – Their neat streamline bracket system can be attached to their furniture or wall hung, which allows various accessories to be added such as shelving, storage pots, pin boards, white boards and pegs. The coloured metal finish offers even more options and choice to elevate any interior design scheme.
• KI Europe – Along similar lines to Spacestor, KI Europe offer accessory options that can be added to their 800 Series furniture with magnetic capabilities. We love the possibility to maximise the functionality across all surfaces.

Plentiful Pattern

Our interior design team were excited to see the return of the patterned fabric trend.  With many fabric suppliers producing predominantly plain fabrics of recent years, the sight of affordable patterned fabric sparked excitement and inspiration for future projects.

A striking example of this trend was visible at Sixteen 3, with their collaboration with Erica Wakerley displaying their furniture upholstered in her bold patterned fabrics with a retro geometric vibe.

Camira, leading the way in sustainable fabrics, are also bringing back a wide range of patterned fabrics offering something for all; with colourful geometrics as well as subtle natural checks in their woven wools.

An alternative use of pattern on fabric was interesting to see in the form of 3D layered fabric at Gabriel. The intricate woven angles across the surface of the fabric creates a dazzling combination of matt and shiny, presenting different textures as the light hits the fabric at different angles.

Zentia Ceiling Tiles

The latest product from Zentia caught our interior designers’ eyes.  Their capabilities to print on ceiling tiles allows the ceiling area to become an integrated element of an interior design scheme and therefore an added feature and not just a necessity.  Will patterned ceiling tiles become the next big trend?

Gorgeous Gresham

Gresham have always offered a range of interesting products, but our visit this year really sparked our interests. Not only do they offer practical furniture solutions, they also offer an extensive range of beautiful products; our designers will definitely be putting their products forwards in the coming year.

It was clear to see a strong use of wood featured heavily throughout their furniture collections, which emphasised the return of the natural wood finishes and the increasing trend of residential inspired design for commercial spaces. Overall we loved the aesthetic design and functionality of their products, all marked at excellent price points.

With sustainability high on everyone’s agenda, Gresham were able to exhibit their fully recyclable chair with zero waste.  Features such as these are always fantastic to offer our clients looking for sustainable solutions for their commercial refurbishments.

Davison Highley

We can’t leave this round up of Clerkenwell Design Week without mentioning the modular curvaceous furniture collection, Elements, at Davison Highley. The smooth, rounded, organic shapes enhanced further with its concealed framework, makes it the perfect product for creating a relaxed workplace aesthetic.  In their showroom it was perfectly adorned with integrated biophilia and an overhead hanging halo of preserved foliage, supplied by our friends again at Innerspace Cheshire.

KI Europe

Despite KI Europe not officially exhibiting at CDW, we had to stop by for a quick visit, and we were not disappointed.  Here are our three favourite picks from their showroom:

1. Ruckus Chair – The versatile capabilities of this chair are extremely beneficial for either office or educational settings. Its moveable function supports learning and work productivity whilst enabling the user to sit in a number of different facings on the chair.  Doing so allows the back rest to be used as a sideways arm rest, work surface or even a stable place to perch. The back rest can also be hung onto the table surface storing the chair off the floor and allowing a learning space to be easily reconfigured, creating a flexible work space for all.
2. Postura + Wood Mix – Our interior designers are already a big fan of their Postura chair but their brand new sustainable finish, Wood Mix, takes their fan level to new heights. This finish is created with 50% waste wood material and 50% polypropylene.  The wood aesthetic of the seat combined with black metal framework creates a modern take on the traditional school chair.  This would be an ideal furniture solution for any client wanting to make sustainable choice for their fit out or refurbishment project.
3. KI-nk Table – Despite many manufacturers offering coloured metal framework and integrated lighting, the variety of products on offer is increasing. The KI-nk table was a memorable product for its modern angled detailing on its legs and sleek integrated desk top lighting, important for the zoning of a workspace.

Thank You for Reading

Come rain or shine, Clerkenwell never fails to deliver on fantastic furniture, flooring and finishes.  Our design team came back to the Rap HQ full of inspiration and ideas to implement into their current and future projects. We’re excited to see these become a reality and hope some of our key highlights have inspired you too.

Is Your Workspace in Need of a Refresh?

If your office is looking tired and dated and could do with a fresh transformation, why not make it inspirational with some touches of Clerkenwell. Our team of experts have a wealth of knowledge and experience completing office refurbishments in London and across the UK.

To arrange a consultation, give one of our customer service team a call on 0333 600 1234 or complete the form below and we’d be happy to discuss your project.