Retro meets Modern Design - Emma Jane Palin’s takeover of VitrA’s first stand at London Design Week 2023
We made our debut at this year’s London Design Week at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour (DCCH). The interiors event brings together 600 international design brands across lighting, textiles, wallpaper coverings and more. Over time, it has become a ‘must see’ in every interior designer’s calendar.
VitrA Design Director, Erdem Akan, worked alongside leading interior blogger and stylist (and long-term VitrA brand ambassador), Emma Jane Palin, to design the stand.
Known for her bold use of colour and pattern, as well as her penchant for retro design, we asked Emma to build a memorable stand that inspires visitors to embrace creativity in the bathroom.
The result was three bathroom sets that housed our designer collections, Liquid by Tom Dixon and Plural by Terri Pecora, enriched with a range of decorative tiles, paints, wallpapers, lights and accessories, selected by Emma.
At the front of the stand, we displayed a shower feature that consisted of the Liquid thermostatic shower in the iconic black gloss finish, fixed on a wall of Retromix and RAL tiles in yellow, green and red. The Liquid collection lends itself perfectly to bold colour blocking, and Emma wanted to show how it can complement a curated maximalist approach. We also built a sample wall across the back of the stand, allowing visitors to mix and match samples, create moodboards and browse the VitrA Pinterest board for ideas.
Emma comments: "Having worked on the designs for my own bathrooms for the last year, I know first hand how daunting it can be to design a bathroom. Choosing neutral colours and opting for a simple design is a very easy choice to make when you’re overwhelmed with decisions. We’re constantly told to think of future buyers when designing a bathroom, but I’m firmly in the camp of bringing your own sense of style to the space."
"With the VitrA stand, I wanted to bring an essence of whimsicality and colour, but also show how these designs could still be classic and long lasting. For example, a statement stripe of colour in the shower area, the scallop detail created by the Liquid tiles, and the modern reinterpretation of the classic avocado and peach bathrooms by Terri Pecora in the Plural collection. I hope that the bold choices inspired others to experiment with their bathroom designs and bring their personality to the space."
Erdem notes: “London Design Week was the ideal setting for us to be a little more daring with our stand design. Minimalism has reigned the bathroom for far too long and it can so easily border into sterile design, but our collections are far more dynamic and vibrant. Colour, pattern and texture all contribute to the theme and atmosphere of a bathroom, as well as its connection to the wider space, whether in a residential property or in a hospitality or retail context. As a must-see for interior designers, we wanted to demonstrate the flexibility of our collections at London Design Week through an engaging exhibition that ultimately encourages joy and playfulness.”
