Toronto's hip and beautiful braved the polar vortex last night to party at IDS, the annual Interior Design Show, which showcases the world of furnishings and anything pretty that belongs in a home. IDS takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre's north building, next to the CN Tower, and runs January 23-26.
As usual, the first two days, January 23-24, are devoted to the design industry, then the weekend, January 25-26, is open to the public.If you're looking for a new way to design your bathroom, this is the place. If you want to see the latest in tables, chairs and entire kitchens, this will inspire you. Vendors, mostly Canadian and some from abroad, such as Buzzispace, abound. Heavy hitters Cosentino, Ateliers Jacob and House of Rohl return.
Meanwhile, IDS continues to showcase new talent though the LIV Design Studio. This year's challenge is for students to design a lobby that encourages social interaction, yet allows comfort, adaptability and inclusivity. The top three designs will be experienced through AR augmented reality). For the latest in home design, explore The District for the industry's latest products.
Running through the end of Feb. 24 are a total of 22 accredited seminars that touch on the latest trends, case studies and issues in interior design.The key themes this year are AI and decarbonization.
The splashy opening night party, open to all, catered to professionals for networking, amid nibbles of pizza and glasses of pinot grigio. Toronto painter Tatjana Hutinec found IDS "a great way to meet professionals in design to help promote my work." Others not directly in the business, however, chose to stay home. A realtor cited the limited free food and drink as not enough to justify the $67-and up ticket price. And the -12C chill didn't help.
Those who braved the cold were rewarded a showcase of more than 220 vendors spanning the size of three football fields. It was a great idea to have Big Smoke Brass, serenading partygoers as they marched up and down the aisles until they took to the centre stage to warm up the crowd before the dance party. guests dressed in their finery, with black leather pants common as they are every year.
Toronto's Anatolia sponsored the opening night. To be fair, their array of Turkish-influenced mosaic tiles caught the eye, as explained by lead designer Basak Duman:
Vendors competed for eyeballs, and what better way than to invite a celeb chef Mark McEwen who prepared some delish salmon poke for Signature Design Suite:
The unusual and innovative also capture attention, such as wood-inspired weightlifting room by SDI Design:
Then there are Inspira's showers and tubs (top picture). The Montreal company can print high-res images onto shower walls and doors and bathtubs. Choose an image from their extensive catalogue or supply them one. You could be bathing with Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie.