The annual Ideal Homes exhibition in Earls Court, London, is packed full of exhibitors displaying products for your home and garden. I was fortunate to visit the show as a result of winning 2 free tickets courtesy of NfCG and the Daily Mail and, since it was 18 years ago when I last saw the show, I was interested to see how it had developed. Here is my report.
Things have indeed changed. 18 years ago I recall seeing more multinational companies displaying. This time there were many more small companies offering more choice and differing designs. There were also a number of stands showing furniture, furnishings and food from China, Thailand and India. The most noticeable change was that whilst there were still piles of leaflets and booklets to collect as you went around the stands, most companies were also enthusiastically promoting their web-sites. This gave customers the chance to see the products again from the comfort of their own home and of course, more importantly for the small retailers, a chance for the customer to buy from them over the Internet after leaving the show. [All very optimistic but, surely, even now, only a small proportion of homes are on the Internet - Ed].
The Ideal Home Show is renowned for displaying the latest gadgets and this show was no different. There were many kitchen utensils, all claiming to be labour saving - although many looked to me as though they would give you much more washing-up! Occasionally, there is a real gem of an idea, which gives an effective answer to a problem. My prize would certainly go to the Noverflow.
Noverflow is described as the miracle bath plug. Somehow, it detects the level of water above it, and when it gets to a predetermined level it releases a valve that lets water out of the bath, stopping the resultant damage that an overfilling bath can cause. In white this plug costs £5.99 and for £7.99 it can be gold plated!
At the exhibition you wander through extremes. From £5.99 bath plugs which are practical and worth every penny to a £749 (includes VAT madam!) lawn mower that cuts the grass on its own whilst you sit back, sipping wine and reading the paper. It wasn't being demonstrated but sat in the middle of a very square, flat lawn. I had visions of watching it, indeed sipping wine and reading the paper, whilst it mowed down all my flowers and disappeared into next door's garden too. I also wondered whether it let itself out of the shed when it detected that the lawn was getting long and cleaned itself afterwards?
The show site covers a very large area and after a while the sight of a settee gives you the urge to try it out (and have a rest as well). I sat on many settees at the show; of every shape, material and cost, but by far the most comfortable was a range of chairs and sofas made of soft leatherette and filled with beans, a chair retailing at £84.50. One chair is so comfortable that it also turns into a bed. Many people jumped at the chance to try them out - were they resting or fast asleep?
The show is definitely worth visiting so do look out for the dates next March. There are plenty of stands to interest everyone and good facilities, toilets, cloakrooms and choices of food and drink to help you enjoy your day. During my day I had my shoes cleaned twice - the second company was desperate to show how their ideal product could improve on the first. I received a very enjoyable, and needed, neck and back massage from a machine placed in a chair! I tried many different foods and allowed myself to be drawn in too many gadget demonstrations.
By the time I left the show I was weighed down with carrier bags of leaflets and my purchases, and yes I did come home with some gadgets; a wallpaper cutter which negates the need for pencil markings and scissors to trim lengths, a cable tidy and a kit for refilling ink cartridges. I'll let you know later whether these purchases turned out to be `ideal' but I certainly enjoyed my day and that's the main thing!
Karen Powell (Plymouth and District Consumer Group)
First let me thank you for the tickets for the Ideal Home show. It was good to be able to get into the show easily and not have to joint the mile long queue. However, for those purchasing tickets, it seemed to be efficiently organised.
There were plenty of places to eat, if required. Also seating if you brought a packed lunch or needed just a sit down to rest your aching feet.
The show guide and carrier bag, full of promotional stuff, we thought a bit expensive at ;C4. Once inside the exhibition we found that there were plenty of interesting displays and stalls to peruse, though we were disappointed that there was not so much this year on the gardening scene such as plants to purchase and so on, but plenty of gadgets.
Home Scene - plenty of good quality furniture, if you had a mansion into which to put it. Not so many displays of `new window' fittings. This year there was plenty of food to sample and to take home, which we liked.
The upper level of the show needed to have more air conditioning as it was very warm on the day we visited. Even the stall holders commented about this.
After spending most of our time looking around, when it came to looking at the Show Houses, and particularly the Lighthouse, the queues were long and we did not have time to look inside. A pity: next time we will visit them first.
Anyway, we enjoyed our day out.
Thank you for your contributions. I have received several others for which there is not room in this issue, but which will, space allowing, be printed in the next one. For those who asked - Margaret Williams lives in Louth, Lincolnshire, a place which you may be loath to visit, but you would be mistaken, it is a delightful, mainly stone built town with many historic connections.
Readers of the Plymouth Consumer Group Magazine will recognise Karen Powell's contribution as `A Consumer Diary'.
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