A DAY AT GRAND DESIGNS SHOW LIVE BIRMINGHAM

Last week I woke up at crazy o'clock and headed out into the dark morning light, joining the early rise commuters shuffling their way to Bristol Temple Mead train station. With tickets in one hand and a coffee in the other, I found my seat, excited to see what the Grand Designs Show Live at Birmingham NEC had in store.

It seems the early bird does catch the worm, as I arrived 30 minutes before the doors opened putting me at the front of the queue, which soon stretched out of the building. As they started the opening count down an excited buzz started to set in, as Kevin McCloud stood for press photos before cutting the red ribbon – yep they had a ribbon and everything – and opened the show. It's always fun seeing a TV personality in real life and I even managed to grab a quick hi with the man himself.

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On first impressions the show was a little overwhelming, a huge array of stands, demonstration stalls and of course people, all trying to get you to take a peek at their products. Thankfully the arena is well signposted making it easy to navigate and I soon found myself happily wandering around interior heaven.

I was immediately drawn to these gold hanging ceiling lights displayed over a kitchen retailer stand and these handmade Jam Jar lights which are produced in Birmingham, which are definitely on trend this year. In fact it has already inspired a DIY lighting craft post, watch this space!

And how about these beautiful hanging lights which were over at the The Tech Box stand which featured these delicate origami lights from London based design studio, Foldability Gorgeous right? And if you can't afford these beauties for your home then how about something smaller from Oragami Est to decorate your space.

After being enticed to the Kinetico stand with a bottle of their finest filtered water, I chatted to them about their home water system and after hearing the benefits I knew I had to share it with you. On listening to the amount of nasties added to our water, they soon had my attention.

The AquaGuard which is fitted to your kitchen sink removes: taste, odour, chlorine, sediment, lead, volatile organic chemicals, MTBE and there's even mention of Oestrogen and Prozac finding its way into our taps. So if you, like me, are thinking what the hell is this all doing in my drinking water, then definitely take a look at their water filter systems available for your home at an affordable price.

All too soon I was distracted by the smell of deliciousness coming from the Miele kitchen stand, as the chefs from Fleet Street Kitchen cooked up a storm to the delight of the onlooking crowd. I even had a demonstration with probably one of the most well designed kitchen knives you've ever seen, making me suddenly want to restock my kitchen drawers.

I ended the day listening to Kevin McCloud interview one of the families featured on Grand Designs, recapping their journey to a crowd of eager interior lovers. Back on the train I picked up a copy of the recent Mother & Baby magazine which features me and F *squeal* You can pick up a copy in shops now.

*This is a collaborative post but all words and opinions are 100% my own.