{"id":101385,"date":"2025-10-03T16:02:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T16:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/101385\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T16:02:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T16:02:16","slug":"celebrating-40-years-of-the-decorative-fair-the-interior-designers-not-so-secret-weapon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/101385\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating 40 years of The Decorative Fair: the interior designer’s not-so-secret weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018In the very early days, there was a lot of Victoriana and highly decorated furniture,\u2019 recalls longtime exhibitor Helen Linfield. \u2018Now, it is more 20th-century, designer-led pieces, refined period furniture and timeless country house antiques.\u2019<\/p>\n

You could argue the Fair has been a leading voice in the aesthetic conversation, influencing how decoration<\/a> is viewed. \u2018It has helped demystify the art of buying and selling antiques,\u2019 says interior designer Mary Graham of Salvesen Graham<\/a>. \u2018It shows how styles can sit together, reinforcing our belief that if a piece is well designed and well made, it\u2019ll work in any scheme. We\u2019ve bought many pieces over the years; everything is so good, you can\u2019t wait around.\u2019<\/p>\n

The eclecticism of the Fair\u2019s exhibitors remains a major draw for industry insiders<\/a>. In recent years, a new wave of dealers, such as Dorian Caffot de Fawes, Cal Smith, Two Poems Gallery and Florence Evans, have expanded their offerings beyond 20th-century classics to reflect movements such as 1970s Brutalism, ensuring it resonates with a younger audience.<\/p>\n

\u2018I love the Fair\u2019s variety \u2013 not just of styles and periods, but in how dealers approach them \u2013 as well as the range of pieces at sensible price points,\u2019 says Dorian. \u2018You can almost furnish an entire home here, in a laidback yet curated setting.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

Inside the March 1990 fair<\/p>\n

This sense of discovery is echoed by Ed Foster of Foster & Gane<\/a>: \u2018For us, the thrill lies in finding something that gives you a jolt to the heart, whether a piece of Roman porphyry or an art nouveau vase. It brings together dealers who share this passion.\u2019<\/p>\n

Forty years into its history, the Fair is as relevant as ever, especially in light of the global changes affecting the field. \u2018With the closing of many shops, I\u2019ve come to rely on Battersea for sourcing unique pieces,\u2019 says Los Angeles-based decorator and textile designer Rose Tarlow. \u2018Every season, it gets better with new dealers emerging and incredible finds to explore.\u2019<\/p>\n

A longtime overseas attendee, Rose once brought Oprah Winfrey along to hunt for treasures. And she is not the only celebrity to grace the preview days \u2013 always a whirlwind of excitement. A few years ago, while she was working on his London house, Rose Uniacke took David Beckham round the Fair, sparking plenty of selfies.<\/p>\n

As Helen says, \u2018Battersea\u2019s ongoing success can largely be attributed to its ability to keep pace with the fashion landscape, offering a multitude of disciplines without losing authenticity.\u2019 But more than anything, its secret lies in the fact that everyone \u2013 organisers, dealers, visitors \u2013 loves being there. It is an experience to enjoy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018In the very early days, there was a lot of Victoriana and highly decorated furniture,\u2019 recalls longtime exhibitor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,64247,366,18,117,3124,19,17,5,797],"class_list":{"0":"post-101385","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-buying-antiques","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-eire","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-events","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-shopping"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}