Exhibitions & Events – Home Office Charm

Colorful vs. White Lighting: Wow House Display Insights

Exhibitions & Events, Organisational Aesthetics

The current lampshade and lighting trend is for big white empires with the gathered version emerging as being a preference.

**Above is an array of white neutral lampshades for table lamps in a variety of styles and forms, seen at the Design centre Chelsea during my Wow House visit.**

However, please enjoy the feast of table lighting fashions taken from my recent trip to the various rooms in Wow House at Chelsea last week.

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This white lighting trend at some areas of the Chelsea design centre appears to echo what I wrote about in my previous posts, especially the one anbout high street table lighting.

As a lampshade maker, I don’t make big white lampshades.

Instead, I specialise in creating small lighting and shade accessories so that they both fit on a shelf system or bookcase arrangement on bedside tables adding a pop of colour, to support shelf styling and staging themes.

I’m here to support those whose tastes for colour are not yet met by monotonous style trends or lackluster supplier management tactics. Did the mainstream lampshade suppliers suddenly say you can have any colour as long as it’s white (just like Henry Ford said about cars in the early 1900s)? I also understand, the plethora of white lampshades might also be down to the minimalist’s quiet assertion and retaliation against the rise of maximalism.

Despite the dominant theme of white lighting, I was pleased to notice more bold and characterful displays of table and ceiling lighting for the home. These seemed to be more fun and cheeky suggesting a personality of their own. Alas, there wasn’t many of the colourful ones to find.

They are rare find indeed. I noticed that the more colourful ones were displayed in the trade shops in the Chelsea Design centre, while a couple of select dark red, purple hand sewn table lamps with or without gathers were thoughtfully placed in the Wow house display.

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This was a development from previous years as those with colour in the Wow house previously were looking a bit anemic, washed out. Might we see more colourful table lamps in the Wow house next year?

Update: 1st July. Just Seen Homes and Gardens on Instagram just posted a thought provocation, asking scrollers to consider the whimsical style featuring colourful lamps and various colour palettes Homes and Gardens on Instagram thus we live in hope of the un-bland-ing of ambient lighting pieces.

The main thing to remember when selecting your lighting or designing your lights for ambiance within a colour scheme is to not be pulled in by what is obviously available. Dog deeper for more interesting suppliers. Go for colour drenching, harmonising or coordinating until you are happy that you are making your own mark and showing your personality.

Do you prefer a colourful light for ambient lighting or white lights?

Let me know in the comments, below.

Click on the link to view the colourful lighting I have in my Etsy Shop

Since it’s the end of the month here are links to the previous four weekly posts, just in case you missed them.

A Night of Jazz, Art, and Warmth at Ladbroke HallFeb 8, 2026
Workplace Themes in Akram Khan’s Giselle PerformanceJan 18, 2026
How Bruce Springsteen Inspired My Creative ProcessOct 26, 2025
Natural Shades: Stylish Burlap and Rattan LampshadesOct 19, 2025

Cosy Office Decor and Shelf Styling Trends – Wow House 2024

Exhibitions & Events

On search for design inspiration, I went to the Wow house, down the road from me at Chelsea Design centre. The exhibition is in its third year, which means that I was there at the first Wow house see blog link. But then I had used visiting the Wow house as a tactic to get me out of the house after my pandemic imposed social anxieties.

Now that those wowes are behind me I had a bit more pep in my step as I visited this time. Now, in 2924, I was purposefully looking out for the latest thinking about home office design and where the field is on shelf styling and lampshade trends. This post is about examples of home office styling and accessorising I saw. I have pulled together my top five to comment on.

Study One: Conceptualising Studio Spaces

Subscribers will remember that I love the fantastical in art and this studio by Fosbury Architecture has done it in room design, furnishings and finishings. They have ensured that all work surfaces receive the maximum levels of cosy because every office artefact, tool and piece of equipment is covered by the fabric of the sponsor Dedar. I loved the sumptuous nature of it. It certainly is an answer to the current calling for cosy office or cozy office decor as they say in USA. I later sat in this room with 20 other people when we were on the guided tour.

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Conceptual Studio workspace created by Fosbury Architecture for Dedar Nicola Campri and Claudia Mainardi at Wow House 2024

Sitting there in the corner gave me a real sense of belonging and feelings of affinity with the others on the tour. It felt safe, cocoon like. It has given me some ideas about the future of training room design, that I have long complained to my colleagues about. Perhaps training room studios could be like this and the cocooning is the butterflies that will emerge from their day of corporate training.

Study Two: Functional Reality.

There were also office and study displays to be found in the showroom windows adjacent to the exhibition. The example below from Ligne Roset. This shows the reality of what people tend to buy. I do love the warmth of a dark walnut wood. It might be the new burled wood style that is coming in.

Study Three: Global Style Influences

East meets west. Japan has an influence in the room set up below. By Anahita Rigby’s cool office with a strange zen yet industrious feel. It was one of the rooms that enjoyed sitting in for a long time just absorbing all the textures.

Below are videos of lighter versions of studies.

Study four: How to elegantly place your desk in your bedroom

The exquisite desk arrangement in the Courtyard bedroom of Veere Grenney showing restrained elegance for Schumacher.

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Veere Grennay’s elegant desk creating a study area in the Courtyard Bedroom

I think you can hear other viewers giggling about another room, they were hinting at how one of the rooms reminded them of a cosy country cottage. I left the sound on as the music seemed to find to fit the calm feel of this desk arrangement.

Study Five: Library Decor on Stage

And lastly putting on a grand appearance (his background explains why) is the Library by Andrea Benedettini. He used to be a Ballet Dancer and the Library was inspired Swan Lake and theatre curtains. I love the ballet and have seen many productions and this library setting was significant for me as it including floor to ceiling curtains to cover the walls. Andrea Benedetti is said (by the tour guide) to have been inspired by stage curtains for the wall draping. It was beautiful. I love that the overall look acknowledges the importance of presenting those bookshelves. And this room is a great exemplar for shelf styling cabinetry integrated into a room.

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Andrea Benedettini Library

Overall I found I was full of wonder at the wow house. I was struck by how every study room appeared to use fabric as a wall covering. There was also deeply considered treatment of the ceilings as a feature or complement the room

Metal tended to feature in the lighting for all office desks and shelves so this might influence what I do with future lighting collections too.

Art was another big feature for shelf and desk displays, with nearly every room acknowledgeing the important role that art plays for personalising the space and conveying the inhabitant’s unique personality. I particularly loved how in the Martin Moore kitchen with Studio Vero (Romanov Brihi and Venetia Rudebeck) they purposefully curated and displayed green and organic themed art for shelves in their kitchen. It complimented the beautiful green and black marble surfaces they used, to make the space feel like a place to spend time and truly enjoy.

As a bonus i have added the Colefax and Fowler Morning Room by Lucy Hammond Giles. For some reason this was the room where everyone seemed to just want to sit in and rest and take in the decor.

What are the best office set ups or studies you have seen? What did you like about the five studies I’ve looked at?

Like or comment below.

Finding Affinity in The Black Fantastical

Exhibitions & Events, Symbolism & Storytelling in Art

I saw the In the Black Fantastic exhibit at the Haywood Gallery. A big show of artists from the African Diaspora. Including Chriss Ofili, Nick Cave, Hew, Locke and others. Below is the full list of artists at the In the Black Fantastic

Artists at In The Black Fantastic

Wangechi Muto
Lina Iris Viktor
Hew Locke
Nick Cave
Tabita Rezaire
Rashaad Newsome
Ellen Gallagher
Chris Ofili
Cauleen Smith
Kara Walker

I was excited to feel a sense of affinity developing as I saw the work of these artists. That sense of like mind arose because many of these famous artists used gold or gold leaf, some used gems or Swarovski crystals. I saw gemstones sprinkled and how some used raffia trim as fringing on the edge of a painting. Others used fringing within the painting.
I loved the idea of fantastical art as it is an escapist emancipatory healing kind of space to work within as an artist.

I get a sense of hope, but it is not blind hope. It is the kind of surreal conceptualisation of the future that recognises the hurt that has gone before in a beautiful way.

In the Black Fantastic is showing at the Haywood gallery London until 18th September 2022. It is a little awkward to get there. The nearest entrance is on the south side of the Waterloo bridge,

Watercolour Conversations

Exhibitions & Events, Personal Reflections

I recently saw the David Remfrey exhibition at the Royal Watercolour Society. I was invited to the exhibition by my old friend Rick who knows the artist. Rick was pleased to see his likeness in a couple of David’s paintings.

The images below show my friend Rick pointing and repeating the pose in the painting “What the Night Tells Me,” which is normally in someone’s private collection.

We also met another watercolour artist at the exhibition (viewing David’s work, I think he was from New York). We had wonderful conversations about the different characters found in David Remfrey’s work. My friend was very proud to see his portrait in the painting, and the back story was wonderful to hear. I had heard the story before but seeing the painting in real life while he explained how he knew David and his partner made the tale more significant and profound.

**Left:** The Dancers is my favourite painting by David Remfey. **Right** his 2022 book

Visiting the exhibition was a real treat for me as a dance and art enthusiast. I was delighted to be given a signed copy of David Remfrey’s book there (it was my birthday). Book title is David Remfrey Watercolour by Royal Academy of Arts and Royal watercolour Society 2022.

I loved how exquisite the paintings were. The impromptu gathering of people was magical. It set off an intriguing, informative and interesting conversation about watercolour art. As someone that uses acrylics mostly, the visit inspired me to try out doing a watercolour series of paintings/ creations at a later point.

I might link back to this post when I post the pictures of watercolour items I create at that later point.

Result of my Recent Creative Pilgrimage

Exhibitions & Events

The Journey

I took a short break to St Ives in Cornwall last week. The journey was full of adventures for many reasons. It was my first big trip after two years of lockdown. I had to practice being less anxious about social spaces.

My longest train journey yet: It takes 5 hours to travel from London to St Ives

Purpose

It was meant to be a creative pilgrimage as I was visiting Tate St Ives and Barbara Hepworth museum

Colourful seats for visitors at Tate St Ives. When I left it was full of school children and beach walkers sheltering from the rain.

Finding affinity

I was surprised to feel less alone with my design style because the hotel room decor was expressive of the cosey smart effect you get when combining pinstripe fabric with nailhead trim as I do in my lampshade collections.

Finding Inspiration

A picture of Barbara Hepworth in her studio. The museum is her studio, interestingly. I was impressed that she might have had lots of parties there. Downstairs is the kitchen and upstairs is the workroom. Similar to my set-up. I felt encouraged.