Ideas for smart living
Innovation and style abounds at Ideal Home Show,
The Daily Mail has been at the forefront of domestic innovation and style ever since this newspaper set up the first Ideal home Show way back in 1908. Now, 110 years later, the exhibition is as popular as ever – and thousands will pitch up at this year’s Ideal home Show Scotland seeking ideas and inspiration.
The event – from May 31 to June 3 at Glasgow’s SeC – will showcase interiors, gardens, lifestyle and renovations, with expert guests, top brands and exclusive offers.
The exhibit will be a ‘hive’ of activity thanks to Scottish Gas, which is using a specially constructed Victorian house, the Innovation home, to show that even traditional properties can host its hive ‘smart’ technology.
This allows you to turn your home’s heating on or off using your mobile phone – whether you are at work, out shopping or lying on a lounger in the Costa del Sol.
Scottish Gas will also introduce hive View, a camera system that starts recording when it detects movement, then sends a message to your smartphone.
Showing off technological innovation has always been a feature of the Ideal home Show.
Back in 1934, home builder Mactaggart and Mickel made a fully sized ‘modernistic’ show home at the end of the platforms in Glasgow’s Central Station.
The ‘colour home’ boasted stateof-the-art panel electric fires ‘which fit flush into the wall’ in two of the three bedrooms.
Steel windows were built into the side and corner of the semidetached property, which featured built-in wardrobes ‘of exceptionally commodious proportions’.
We may scoff at what was considered ‘modern’ in the 1930s but such a home’s occupants would be having the last laugh if they were still in situ, 84 years on – the £690 model built at Clarkston, Renfrewshire, is now worth more than £200,000.
TV presenter Phil Spencer will be on hand to offer his expert property advice, while top chefs will be hosting masterclasses at the Foodie Stage of the adjoining eat and Drink Festival.
Sophie Shaw, retail and events marketing manager for Scottish Gas, said: ‘The future will be the fully integrated house. You can now control the heating and lighting from your mobile phone.
‘The system allows you to change the colour of the light bulb and do things like turn on the lights whenever a door is opened.
‘You might want to know when your kids get home from school. The minute they walk through the door, you get a notification.’
Rob Nathan, group marketing director for show organiser Media 10, said: ‘This event has grown to become the biggest and best show of its kind in Scotland.
‘Whether you’re undertaking a big build, a home renovation or getting your feet onto the property ladder for the first time, there’s something for everyone.’
For tickets, visit www.ideal homeshowscotland.co.uk.