4 everyone’s talking about... BLOOMIN’ MARVELLOUS

TULIP VASES

With or without flowers, these designs are natural beauties

These contemporary interpretations of the original Delft Blue designs will add pure joy to your mantelpiece or tabletop. Fashion a glorious vignette by grouping a few together. The more the merrier. KLEI Tulip vases, £50 each, Heinen Delfts Blauw (libertylondon.com)

Introducing the stylish new shades you’re about to see everywhere

This hue rocked the runway and it’s the hot new pick for interiors, too

The self-taught designer on what he’s done and what’s to come…

Turning heads at this year’s London Design Festival, Christian Watson, the British designer and former cabinet-maker by training, is redefining heirlooms of the future, creating minimal pieces that not only resist today’s trends, but can adapt to the environments of tomorrow. We find out more…

What sets your work apart in the design world?

I’m self-taught, so I see my work, and that of others, in a different way. I’m not restrained by rules and that means I can go for opportunities or see different possibilities with the design, materials or processes involved.

Where does your passion stem from?

I’ve always been very tactile and visually oriented, and I enjoy the social aspect of creativity. My story started with fine cabinet-making training first in Devon, then outside Brighton. It taught me a lot about making but also about attention to detail, quality and patience.

What was the inspiration behind your latest chair and lighting designs?

For the Abinger chair, I wanted to play around with a chunkier profile – something that had a sense of fun and informality about it, and that would stand alone as a sculptural statement piece. The Richmond lighting is a simplistic, elegant and minimal approach to sustainable lighting – my first chance to work with solid cork.

The design world is always changing – how will you contribute in years to come?

Having grown up in a house of antiques, I’ve always had an ambition to create future heirlooms. It’s about keeping furniture in the home, hence we offer a ‘repair or replace’ service, where we fix or replace parts of a damaged piece, or change materials and colours rather than throwing the piece away. It helps to create a culture where the customer knows that they’re buying something permanent, not temporary. That’s why we try to create products that are not only built to last, but that have a sense of timelessness in their aesthetic.

It’s always noteworthy when Farrow & Ball releases a new set of colours. Happening once in a blue moon (now, there’s a good name for a paint), each collection inevitably ends up including at least two shades that set the tone for how we want to decorate our homes. So what will be the new Stiffkey Blue, launched in 2014, or Jitney, from 2018? Our money is on Templeton Pink, shown here, a slightly duskier version of Sulking Room Pink – but it could also be the soft blue grey of Kittiwake or the comforting richness of Wine Dark. Take your pick from this perfectly edited palette. From £29 for woodwork. Wall in Templeton Pink modern emulsion, Farrow & Ball

Huishan Zhang paraded romantic rouge ruffles

The Conner Ives runway was all sultry sparkles

Eton three-seater sofa in Melton Wool in Red Oxide, £3,209, Heal’s

Nikkeby chest of drawers, £80, Ikea

Anyday Oxford cushion cover in Vermillion, £15 for two, John Lewis & Partners

Rey chair in Scarlet Red by Bruno Rey, £572, Hay at Finnish Design Shop

W151 extra large pendant light, £2,640, Wästberg at Skandium Brights side plate in Red, £25, Wonki Ware at The Conran Shop

Jasper Morrison round bowl in Red, £49, Alessi at Amara

Sam Son armchair by Konstantin Grcic, £579, Magis at Utility Design

Supersolid Object 1 stool, £1,035, Note Design Studio for Fogia at Viaduct

Above, the Richmond lamp in cork. Below, Abinger dining chair and Wandle desk