Image credit: Kelly Hoppen

T.S. Eliot once claimed that April was the cruellest month, but I’m sure most of you would agree that January is no picnic either. This Monday is predicted to be the most depressing day of the year: foul weather, failed New Year resolutions…and still a week to go before payday. Luckily, Kelly Hoppen has stepped in to brighten up this bleakest of months with a sale on her beautiful range of luxury interior accessories.

Items are reduced by up to 50% (including Kelly’s coveted range of ornaments), so this is a great opportunity to invest in a little timeless elegance for your home. To bag yourself a bargain, head down to the Kelly Hoppen shop yard at 102a Chepstow Rd, St.Stephen’s Yard, Notting Hill. Better hurry though – these great offers are only around until 1 February.

Image credit: Channel 4

These days, talent is rarely its own reward. Why should it be when there are so many opportunities to gain praise, not to mention prizes?

The Grand Design Awards (yes it’s based on that programme you’ve seen on telly) offers gifted architects, builders and designers their chance for glory. There are no tangible prizes, but contestants will benefit from lots of free publicity, and winners will get a nice trophy to put on their mantelpiece.

Kevin McCloud, presenter of Channel 4’s Grand Designs says: “There are awards, and then there are the Grand Designs Awards. These are the awards that really matter, that are wide-reaching, and that are supported by some of the finest and most authoritative judges in the country.”

The ceremony itself is quite a fancy affair – there’s a champagne reception, a gourmet meal and a VIP after party. Mr. McCloud will also be in attendance to announce the competition’s finalists and winners.

The deadline for entries is February 21, and the event will take place at ExCel London on 6 May. If you haven’t designed anything other than your garden shed but would still like a fancy night out, tickets for the ceremony can be purchased on the Grand Design Awards website.

This year’s exhibit isn’t just about fresh products – the new ‘thinking space’ area has a variety of features designed to inspire designers, retailers and architects with ideas on how to enhance their business in the future. Highlights include a packed seminar program (not normally the kind of thing we’d get excited about, but this year mydeco design member Kelly Hoppen is speaking). Visitors will also be able to get the scoop on the latest trends, shop for products at discounted prices and (our personal favourite) enjoy a nice glass of bubbly from the champagne bar.

interiors 2010 will be running from 24-27 January at the NEC, Birmingham. For a very limited time, you can skip the £15 registration fee and get a free, fast-track entry badge to the event. To get yours, go to the website and enter your details. Better be quick though – space are filling up fast!

Note: This is a traders only event, so unfortunately the rest of you will have to wait for the new products to appear in stores.

To register for a free pass, click here.

For more information on interiors 2010, have a look at their website.

When heavy snow hit High Wycombe, 54 staff,  30 adult customers and 20 children were trapped in the department store overnight. Deborah Strazza, managing director of the store said ‘There was no way that I was going to throw customers out into that, or my own partners, and we just had to make use of what we had got. Basically we made up the beds and they all snuggled down in the bed department.”

Whilst the novelty might have quickly worn off for the adults, the stranded kids “absolutely loved it. They thought they were in Toy Story.”

Read the full story at the Daily Telegraph. Does anyone have any similar stories? Have you been stranded in a department store? Or anywhere better? We want to know!

mydeco’s pick of the top three news stories:

1. The Telegraph: The cupcake effect

Image credit: The Telegraph

It can’t be a good reflection of the nation’s dietary habits when a borough’s house prices are determined by baked goods. The ‘cupcake effect’ refers to the added prestige that cupcake boutiques bring to residential areas – so desirable have these sweet treats become that houses within walking distance of a posh bakery may go up in value. Forget counting the calories; if you’re lucky enough to live near a cupcake shop you can start counting the cash instead.

2. V&A: Decode: Digital design sensations

Image credit: Wallpaper

A new interactive digital design exhibition opens at the V&A museum in London today. The title pretty much tells you all you need to know: on show are the latest developments in digital design, including works by Julius Popp, Daniel Brown and Golan Levin. Highlights include an eye that mirrors the blink of the visitor’s gaze and an interactive Radiohead video which allows you to mutate Thom Yorke’s face. Follow the link for more info.

3. Interior Design: Best of the year awards 2009

Image credit: Interior Design

Last week the winners of the BoY Awards were announced in a glitzy event at the Guggenheim museum in New York. Essentially the academy awards of the design world, this competition celebrates both interior and product design in 65 categories. The winning products were rather uninspiring (but this was to be expected considering there is an entire category dedicated to window treatments). I was impressed however by the winning institutional project: the Genexis theatre in Singapore (see above) combines both art and technology to create a truly innovative design.

The best of the rest:

Interior Design: pop-up design clinic rises in New York

Daily Mail: You can’t bank on riverside living, says secret millionaire as he sells up

Daily Mail: Hollywood goes to Devon: Art Deco mansion recreates the ritzy times of Tinseltown in the racy Thirties

The Telegraph: Spa Spy: Gilpin Lodge, Windermere

The Telegraph: Beauty – but at what price?

The Telegraph: Design notebook: Novelty bin bags

The Telegraph: Word on the street; Jimmy Carr on the hunt for an interior designer

Wallpaper: Wallspace: Vladimir Kagan

That’s all we have for today, but make sure you join us again tomorrow for your next fix of scintillating design news.

mydeco’s pick of the top three stories:

1. Daily Mail: Thin house for someone with a fat wallet: Property 6ft wide on sale for £550,000

Image credit: Daily Mail

Wanted: buyer with an open mind and a narrow waist for unusual property in Shepard’s Bush, west London. Buyer must not have been affected by recession in order to afford £550,000 price tag. Buyer must also be mobile in order to negotiate five flights of stairs. Claustrophobics need not apply.

2. Cool Hunting: King Michael of Spain

Image credit: Cool Hunting

He was branded the ‘king of pop’, so the inspiration behind Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of Michael Jackson needs little explanation. One in a series of homages to the musical monarch at this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach, the painting was inspired by a Ruben’s oil of King Phillip II of Spain,and depicts Jackson at the peak of his career. No jokes about the cherubs, please.

3. 2modern: Tank chair

Image credit: 2modern

He might rap about getting a free lapdance, but Pharrell Williams’s latest furniture designs indicate that the artist and entrepeneur has thoughts that go deeper than P.Diddy’s pockets. This ‘tank chair’ examines – in Pharrell’s words – what it is like ‘to sit in the seats of our youth (as well as others)…fighting for a series of reasons most of which can be argued and debated….’ It looks pretty cool too.

The best of the rest:

The Times: Not just for Christmas

The Times: Zara Phillips: By royal appointment

The Times: A view to a killing

The Times:  The Dubai Dilemma

Daily Mail: Bright idea: Couple’s Grand Designs-style house that can rotate to follow the sun

The Guardian: John Lewis breaks sales record

The Guardian: My space: Freida Hughes, poet and painter

Inhabitat: Sustainable Design Firm Pugh + Scarpa Win 2010 AIA Architecture Firm Award

That concludes our segment for today, I hope we’ve managed to alleviate your Monday blues. Make sure you come back and see us for more design juice tomorrow…when we’ll be one day closer to Friday.

mydeco’s pick of the top three stories:

1.Cool Hunting: Gentlemen of Bacongo

Image credit: Cool Hunting

Dandy fashion may be making a comeback in the U.K., but for a group known as Le Sapeurs, dressing-up to the nines is a way of life. Don’t let the French name fool you: these gentlemen are not strutting down the temperate streets of Paris, but a much more unlikely style capital – a small shanty town in the Congo. In his new book, photographer Daniele Tamagni examines this contradictory world of designer clothing and abject poverty.

2. London Design Guide: Thorsten van Elten pop-up shop

Image credit: London Design Guide

It would seem that retailers everywhere are capitalising on the thrill of novelty, as pop-up shops continue to thrive worldwide. London’s latest transient offering comes from Thorsten van Elten, whose pop-up store will be open until 13 December in the Brompton Design District. Despite bearing a distinctly unoriginal name (‘Thorsten’s 12 days of Christmas’), the store does offer some innovative gifts. This plant cup by Gitta Gschwendtner is my favourite.

3. The Telegraph: Britain’s worst Christmas tree

Image credit: The Telegraph

Being forced to wear clothes that are two sizes too big because ‘you’ll grow into them’ is often one of childhood’s most traumatic memories. It is understandable, therefore that the residents of Sacriston, County Durham were slightly incensed when the council fed them this very line in response to complaints about the town Christmas tree. At just 4ft, the fern is dwarfed by the 15ft frame provided to decorate it, but councillors are insisting that one day ‘the tree will be as strong as the community.’ If global warming doesn’t kill it first, that is.

The best of the rest:

Daily Mail: Google property portal threatens online housing market

Daily Mail: Vote for Witney: David Cameron’s constituency is an affordable option

The Times: Noughties Property: the ups and downs

The Times: Kenwood Place luxury flats may show te direction of the property market

The Times: Wanted: an artist with £5m and a penchant for Kensington

The Telegraph: Homebuilding & Renovating Awards 2009: The winners

The Telegraph: Tractor Ted property for sale

The Telegraph: Property market: power of the bike

Design milk: Coco mini bar

dornob: Wholly concrete home foundation

That’s all from us this week, but we’ll be back on Monday, fresh and ready for another week of daily news. (Or we might be grumpy and hungover, but either way we’ll have plenty of new design stories for you).

mydeco’s pick of the top three stories:

1. Moco Loco: Hands on Chair

Image credit: Moco Loco

Finally, a product to shield the world from couples who insist on exchanging significant amounts of saliva in public. Created by Joon Soo Kim, these chairs have magnetic shutters which can be open, closed, or connected to other chairs to create a larger meeting space. I suggest that they are made mandatory in clubs and bars everywhere.

2. Moco Loco: Tim Burton at MoMA

Image credit: Moco Loco

As the Edgar Allen Poe of cinema, it seems fitting that the entrance to Tim Burton’s retrospective at MoMA  should emulate a journey into madness. The 5 month-long exhibit in New York features previously unseen childhood drawings, English assignments and short films – all consistent with the ghoulish imagination we have come to recognise in Burton’s films. Follow the link to see more.

3. Inhabitat: Mad architects unveil forest skyscraper for China

Image credit: Inhabitat

From a journey into madness to the destination itself, this vertical forest design is the latest offering from MAD architects. Containing over 70 floors, this urban mountain aims to bring more greenery and open space into the dense city centre of Chongqing, China.  Some levels will contain offices or residential areas, whilst others will simply provide an open space. I can’t see this ambtious project ever coming to fruition, but an interesting design nevertheless.

The best of the rest:

Daily Mail: How estate agent tricked client out of 7m

The Times: The madness of Hong Kong’s property prices

The Times: Stars caught out as Dubai property bubble bursts

The Times: The CHIPS development in Manchester

The Guardian: House prices recovery is a rocky road

Wallpaper: Claridges tree by John Galliano

dornob: Bedroom design: 20 ideas for your own designer bedroom

Inhabitat: Solar powered camel clinics carry medicine across the desert

That’s all we have for today, but tune in tomorrow when we’ll be back with more of the best stories from around the globe.

mydeco’s pick of the top three stories:

1. Wallpaper: Stuart Haygarth at Haunch of Venison, London

Image credit: Wallpaper

Today marks the opening of Stuart Haygarth’s first exhibition at the Haunch of Venison gallery in London. ‘Found’, does exactly what it says on the tin: the artist examines his ongoing relationship with abandoned or ‘lost’ objects, ranging from spectacles to plastic wine glasses. The wing mirror table seen above is one of the most noted pieces, but that could be because of the rumours circulating at the opening party that it was actually fabricated from new wing mirrors, specially smashed up in the studio to give them that nice discarded effect. Gossip aside, I can’t help but feel that another artist exhibiting the old offers nothing visually new. For more information about Found click here.

2. Daily Mail: Hothouse property gossip: The £6.25m house with the X Factor

Image credit: The Daily Mail

Imagine being able to sleep in the very same bedroom that Jedward once occupied, wash your hair in the same shower where Jamie cleaned his ‘fro (you’d probably have to unblock it first). Well your dream could soon become a reality, as  the house currently occupied by the finalists is soon to go up for sale. Located in Golders Green, North London, the six-bedroom pad comes complete with gym, media room and fingerprint entry system. If you fancy buying a piece of X-Factor history, it can be yours for a mere £6.25 million.

3. Interior Design:  Abu Dhabi Hotel Opens with World’s Largest LED Project

Image credit: Interior Design

The Middle East isn’t exactly know for its subtle taste in decor, so it’s no surprise that Abu Dhabi’s latest architectural venture demands to be noticed. The YAS hotel features the world’s biggest LED project: 5,300 diamond-shaped panels, which support 5000 light-emitting-diodes. How eco-friendly. I do hope this is suggested as a location for the World Future Energy Summit (due to take place in Abu Dhabi in January).

The best of the rest:

Inhabitat: Waterpleinen: Recreating rain reservoirs as dynamic public parks

Daily Mail: How Charlie Creig turned sixties suburbia into Miami art deco

Daily Mail: My £1.2m taste of Tudor living: Country house apartment with 3,000 sq ft – and most is in the drawing-room

Daily Mail: Get in the pink for Christmas

Independent: Ten ways to protect your property this winter

2modern: Embedded sculpture

Homes and property: Cheap Chelsea: World’s End gets smart

That concludes our selection for today, but don’t worry – we’ll be back again tomorrow to satisfy all your daily news cravings.

mydeco’s pick of the top three news stories:

1. dornob; ‘Formed wood furniture’

Image credit: dornob

Created by acclaimed designer Joseph Walsh, this collection of dining furniture is probably more enjoyable to look at than it is to eat from. An aesthetic exploration of the natural processes of erosion and formation, the wood bears an eerie resemblance to animal bone. Probably not the ideal furniture to ease family tensions over Christmas dinner.

2. Moco Loco: Ross Sawyers: Contained within

Image credit: Moco Loco

Continuing with our austere theme today, Ross Sawyer’s minimalistic photographs utilise light to suggest emotion and memory within rooms seemingly devoid of  human presence. The use of plastic sheeting adds to the ominous nuances of these images, playing with notions of creation and destruction. Follow the link for more examples of Sawyer’s work.

3. Inhabitat: Solar-powered knit at and gloves keep you warm for winter

Image credit: Inhabitat

You know you’re getting old when function begins to take precedent over fashion. This realisation struck me when I was immediately attracted to these solar-powered woolly accessories, which convert the sun’s energy into extremity-warming heat. They may not be likely to feature in Vogue anytime soon, but with temperatures predicted to drop as low as-5˚C (23˚F) today, I would be more than willing to make a minor style sacrifice in order to avoid frost-bitten fingers.

Daily Mail: Have a merry Christmas: ‘Tis the season to find the holiday home of a lifetime

Financial Times: Design: When culture meets commerce

The Guardian: Kitsch and tell: a 70s dream-pad in the Cotswolds

The Guardian: Crumbling concrete erodes house prices in Cornwall and Devon

The Times: Jamie Theakston: Leaving the past behind

The Times: Buy-to-let is back for cash-rich landlords only

The Times: Is it worth it? Carmarthenshire, £70,000

dornob: Invisible chair

dornob: DIY holiday decor idea

Design week: Boris Johnson adds Farrell and Parry to London design panel

That’s all for now folks, but make sure you come back tomorrow to see if we’ve managed to find a more jaunty selection of design stories for you.