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About The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair

Modern Living & Interior Design at The Decorative Fair: UK Style

Pair of Italian Angels

For more than two decades, the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair has led the way as the UK’s premiere antiques fair for interior design.  In Battersea Park, London, (near Sloane Square, Chelsea), it was the first in the UK to offer a ‘look’ for decorating.  The Winter Decorative fair usually runs in the last week in January each year, followed by a Spring Fair held in April/May and in the Autumn, in September/October at The Marquee (now “Evolution”), in Battersea Park, by Chelsea Bridge.
See the Decorative Antiques & Textile Fair 2012~2013 info

“After many years of minimalism and simplicity, I think people want to add more personality into their homes…” Sir Paul Smith. This recent statement by the eponymous British designer may be one of the reasons why the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair, unlike some others, has seen continued growth in the past year as to the number of exhibitors and the unflagging demand from both decorators and private buyers for the stock they bring to the Fairs.

Whilst the make-up of the Antique Fairs has changed since it was launched over 25 years ago, the experience at the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fairs has not.  Buyers still find it the most inspiring and relaxed antiques event in the UK.  Dealers offer interior decorators and private buyers the best design options around for a very individual look.

The interior design mainstays of the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair are:

  • Decorative and painted furniture
  • Traditional English wood furniture
  • Art Deco and post-war modern design
  • Lighting: from 18th century rococo chandeliers to modernist 1960’s wall lights
  • Mirrors: from carved & gilded or mirror-framed, to painted over-mantels
  • Textiles: for wall decoration or practical application, rugs and kilims
  • Upholstered and leather furniture
  • Garden and outdoor furniture and ornament

And for Antique & Design Collectors…

Design schemes are also about the personal touch, and the Decorative Fair does not omit the needs of collectors of objects from the C17th to C21st, with dealers in:

  • Sculpture and statuary
  • Ceramics, porcelain & glass
  • Oriental antiques and artefacts
  • Paintings and prints
  • Kitchenalia and gardening antiques
  • Collectors’ items from snuff boxes to antiquities, from tribal art to toys

The unique aspect of the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair…

and for which it is renowned, is the quirky and the unusual; dealers have a great eye for spotting objects that work as decorative highlights in a home.  You might find:

  • Industrial or factory furniture
  • Architectural antiques
  • Shop fronts and fittings
  • Fossils and other natural objets trouvé

Current trends include:

Objects on a Grand Scale – huge armoires, glass-fronted cabinets, giant mirrors and over-sized lighting have been especially popular this year.

Black accents: look out for lamps, small furniture such as ebonised or japanned chairs, desks and occasional tables, and glassware.

Upholstered furniture is more popular than ever; it was flying off the stands at the Autumn 2008 fair. Antique offers better quality value-for-money than new.

Hotel Chic incorporating boudoir glitz and gold, with C20th furniture especially in unusual finishes such as parchment, vellum and lacquer, antique Venetian mirrors, and lots of antique gilding – furniture, frames or lamps.

Industrial lighting vs feminine crystal: top sellers include quirky wall lights, original Anglepoise lamps, modernist glass chandeliers, extravagant antique crystal chandeliers and all kinds of floor-lamps.

Floral and colourful textiles, used as a ‘statement’ in a room: just one piece of upholstered furniture will get the look, or cushions and bed/sofa throws using antique textile lengths such as C18th toile de Jouy.

Useful, English & Decorative wood furniture that complement wallpaper schemes: chests of drawers, side tables, consoles.  It’s a great time to buy. Some prices are half what they were in the 1990s.

Natural history objects as decorative features – large shells, fossils, antique coral, antlers, and large pieces of polished or natural quartz and semi-precious stones are being snapped up by decorators.

Antiques & Textiles & Interior Design Dealers From Around The UK & Europe

See details of the exhibitors at the next Decorative & Textiles Fair

MORE DETAILS ABOUT LONDON’S PREMIERE ANTIQUES FAIR

Venue: The Marquee, Battersea Park, London SW11 4NJ
Tickets: £10.00 on the door, including catalogue
OFFER: Decorative Fair.com for FREE TICKETS
Transport: Free transport from Sloane Square Tube. Here.
Enquiries: +44 (0)20 7624 5173
Website: www.decorativefair.com

FUTURE DATES: Spring Fair 3-8th may April 2011

Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair: Press Information