I was six when I went to my first IKEA store. In Stockholm. Back then it was like walking into a dreamworld of cool design, funky colours, and lampshades made of bendy material that looked like something I might make crafts with at school. I didn't know it then, but I had discovered a future addiction.
This weekend design addicts have the opportunity to overload their senses at IDSwest. The Vancouver Convention Centre West is home to the Interior Design Show through the end of the weekend with more than 200 exhibitors ranging from furniture artisans to interior designers to flooring specialists to architects. Speakers throughout the two days include House & Home style editor Mark Challen and editor Suzanne Dimma, as well as a panel discussion on "The Art of Good Design."
The show runs Saturday from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. General admission is $15. Full details are available at idswest.com.
And if you find it all just a bit too much, just head for the Tom Dixon Pub in the centre of it all.
photos by liisa hannus, adegreeofwonder.com