An event hosted by Country Life at WOW!house is one of the highlights of a programme that features some of the biggest names in interior design.
Antique furniture, textiles and treasured collections bring both mood and interest to a space. Yet creating interiors with a sense of the past doesn’t only require a deep understanding of history — but also colour, craftsmanship and texture. It was that creative challenge that attracted designer Alidad to his profession more than 40 years ago. This year, his huge contribution to the interiors world will be celebrated with an invitation to create the Legend Room at WOW!house, the biggest and most inspiring design event of the summer, held at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour.
Alidad is creating the room in collaboration with the historic textile, wallcovering and passementerie specialist Watts 1874, founded by the Victorian architects George Frederick Bodley, George Gilbert Scott and Thomas Garner, which has worked at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire and Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire. Raised in Iran, Alidad started his career at Sotheby’s, where he specialised in Islamic art and textiles.
After setting up an interior-design studio in 1985, his work caught the eye of Min Hogg, founding editor of The World of Interiors magazine, and he gained a reputation for creating highly layered schemes inspired by his interest in 18th- and 19th-century European art and architecture, as well as a host of other styles, including Islamic design, chinoiserie and Art Deco. He has been commissioned to design houses in London, Paris, Beirut and Kuwait, as well as to restore the interior of Buscot Park, a National Trust house in Oxfordshire.
Alidad will be in discussion with Giles Kime, Country Life’s Executive Editor, and will explain how he takes inspiration from a wide range of historic influences to create distinctive interiors. The talk is part of a programme of events in June that will feature several of the 20 designers at WOW!House, including Charlotte Freemantle, Guy Goodfellow, Katharine Pooley, Lucy Hammond Giles, Romanos Brihi, Suzy Hoodless and Veere Grenney.
History in the making: The WOW!House Event
When: June 25, 2pm
Where: Design Club, Third Floor, South Dome, Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, London SW10
Tickets: £5; visit www.dcch.co.uk
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