Grand Designs Live, proudly sponsored by Anglian Home Improvements, is gearing up for its biggest and most inspirational show yet! Whether starting out on your first renovation, building a new home, redecorating a room, looking for ideas for a small space or simply searching for inspiration, here are just some of the inspiring activities, talks and events going on every day at Grand Designs Live from 9 – 13 October!
Meet Kevin McCloud: Based on the Channel 4 TV series, this exciting event will be presented by design guru Kevin McCloud; offering top expert advice as he leads educational seminars, dynamic debates and discussions with panels of industry experts. Visitors can go behind the scenes of Grand Designs with Kevin McCloud and Grand Designs Director Marc Beers as they take to the Grand Theatre, sponsored by Go Ultra Low, to discuss how the show is created, and take a look back at some of the unseen bloopers from the past 20 years of filming.
National Home Renovation Week: Grand Designs Live has partnerted with the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) to support National Renovation Week. Throughout the week, Grand Designs Live will host a series of events celebrating, promoting and educating visitors on renovation as a route to creating their dream home. Visitors will find a variety of talks, headed up by Kevin McCloud, featuring advice from experts in renovation and first-hand experiences from designers and home-owners who have refurbished homes from Grade III listed mansions, to modern townhouses, to 1970s bathrooms and beyond. One to one expert advice sessions focusing on renovations will take place every day throughout the show, including topics covering everything from retrofitting a kitchen, modernising a bathroom, to bringing home fixtures and fittings up to date.
Get Expert Advice: The popular Ask An Expert service, will offer free 30-minute consultations with specialists across a range of home-improvement areas including finance, self-build and everything in-between. The show also launches the Home Renovation Clinic to offer visitors the opportunity to speak to expert members of the Federation of Master Builders about their upcoming home projects.
The Innovation Trail: Visitors can follow this all-new trail around the event; comprising of nine ground-breaking brands that are changing the landscape and nature of home building and renovation. The trail incorporates the world’s first Milk Bottle House, by Six Miles Across London Limited (SMALL), which demonstrates the kind of green-minded and design-friendly innovation that Kevin McCloud, and Grand Designs Live choose to champion. Modern Method of Construction (MMC) specialists Built & Spaces, who will showcase their innovative, adaptable and sustainable approach to construction through a 200 square-metre interactive space that has been custom created for Grand Designs Live. Green&Blue design an award-winning range of products for wildlife, creating nesting and resting and feeding spaces for birds, bats, and bees; using recycled materials and inventive methods, to encourage biodiversity within builds. Graven Hill’s Plot Shop is a pioneering advance in the self build industry, making it easier and more affordable for aspiring self builders to get the land they need to get started. Other innovators include Kevin’s Green Heroes, Smarthaus, Composite Garden Buildings, BORA and Lutron.
Small Space, Big Change: After its success at the London show in May, Grand Designs Live’s Under The Stairs feature will be reimagined with a new series of 8 installations, each imagined by a different interior designer. This competition will focus on the increase in the use of unconventional spaces and Grand Designs Live have chosen 8 exceptional and pioneering finalists to bring their ideas to life. Finalist’s designs include everything from a more traditional, but beautifully designed storage area from Amanda Dawn Clothier, to a discreet desk space, complete with bike storage, as imagined by Johanna Davies, to a gin-themed garden area and bar from Samantha Theakstone and much more!
Meet Kevin’s Green Heroes: Hand-picked by Kevin himself, the new Green Heroes will make their debut at the show, giving visitors the chance to discover the very best design-friendly, eco-innovations of today; new brands to the show include BIOFASE Avocado Seed Cutlery & Straws, by 4eco Limited, handmade, biodegradable composite interior products from That’s Caffeine, By Atticus Durnell, Along with fungus and yeast-based bioplastic Korvaa headphones, and Chip Board, a biodegradable alternative to MDF, both designed by Finnish studio Aivan in collaboration with scientists.
Meet the Grand Designers in The Grand Theatre: Kevin McCloud will be joined by some of the most memorable Grand Designers from the latest series of Grand Designs, alongside some of his ‘Top 20 Grand Designers’ from over the past 20 years of the TV series.
Invaluable Inspiration: Be inspired by over 400 brands, across five different sections covering Build, Kitchens, Bathrooms, Gardens and Interiors. Discover RIBA architects, building suppliers, kitchen and bathroom designers as well as unique bespoke designs and original pieces of artwork plus much more.
Green Finger Campaign:The Wildlife Forest makes it return to Grand Deisgns Live, alongside The National Trust OakMobile engaging with visitors throughout the show, offering interactive bush craft activities, and information on conservation for everyone!
This October’s edition of Grand Designs Live is set to be one of the most exciting, engaging and informative to date.