![Earls Court Exhibition centre (geograph 2871555)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Earls_Court_Exhibition_centre_%28geograph_2871555%29.jpg)
The Ideal Home Show (formerly called the Ideal Home Exhibition) is an annual event in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, held at
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
. The show was devised by the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' newspaper in 1908 and continued to be run by the ''Daily Mail'' until 2009. It was then sold to events and publishing company Media 10.
Overview
![Thomas Sanderson Stand at the Ideal Home Show, Manchester](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Thomas_Sanderson_Stand_at_the_Ideal_Home_Show%2C_Manchester.jpg)
The goal of the Ideal Home Show is to bring together everything associated with having an "ideal home", such as the latest inventions for the modern house, and to showcase the latest housing designs. A regular feature of the show for many years was the
Ideal House Competition, where designs were invited and the winning schemes erected at the exhibition the following year.
The first
exhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...
was held in 1908 at the
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
exhibition centre, with sections dedicated to "phases of home life" such as construction, food and cookery, furniture and decoration. Demonstrations and contests included an Arts and Crafts competition and a competition to design the "Ideal Home". Wareham Smith, advertising manager of the ''Daily Mail'', founded the exhibition as a marketing event for the newspaper. It was often visited by celebrities and royalty.
The archive is held at the
V and A Museum.
1908–1919
The inaugural Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition was opened by the
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...
at
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
and the Daily Mail explained that you would see:
Visitors queued to view the furnished houses and to tour a landscaped garden. Stands became rooms with all the merchandise available for sale – offering the opportunity for people to see the latest designs for luxury living.
In 1908, 90% of the population rented their home. It took over 3,000 men a week to build the first Exhibition.
Lord Northcliffe
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...
, proprietor of the ''Daily Mail'', founded the Ideal Home exhibition in 1908 at London's Olympia exhibition centre, in the spirit of social reform, to stimulate debate about better housing conditions. For a fee of one shilling, the public were educated and entertained by displays of labour-saving appliances and show homes.
The exhibition was next held in 1910, then 1912 and 1913, disrupted by the 1914-18
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
A dispute about the content of a room designed by members of the
Omega Workshops
The Omega Workshops Ltd. was a design enterprise founded by members of the Bloomsbury Group and established in July 1913. Shone, Richard. (1999) ''The Art of Bloomsbury: Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant''. Princeton: Princeton University ...
for the 1913 show was instrumental in the secession of several artists from that group.
[ Shone, Richard. (1999) ''The Art of Bloomsbury: Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant''. Princeton: ]Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...
, p. 138.
The 1920s and 1930s
Technological developments gathered pace throughout the 1920s and 1930s and new products were often featured in demonstrations at the Show. The event became a focal point for the housewife to view the latest in household technology.
Throughout the 1930s building was Britain's chief industry, and the suburbs began to spread. Mortgages were becoming more accessible and more people than ever before bought their first home.
The ''Daily Mail'' was committed to the drive for greater efficiency and for one year in 1921 it even renamed the show the Daily Mail Efficiency Exhibition. In 1937 the BBC broadcast television for the first time.
1940s–1970s
The Second World War meant that the exhibition was suspended from 1940 to 1946 but from 1947 onwards it continued to grow, culminating in a huge attendance in 1957 of almost 1.5 million people. The show continued to 'Educate and Entertain' throughout the decades and in 1953, the Coronation year, it even featured a two-thirds scale copy of the state coach.
The first microwave oven was launched at the show in 1947. In 1957 the British housewife still spent an average of 70 hours a week on housework
The 1960s was an era of forward-looking fashion and the first man on the moon, yet the most popular house style of the period was
mock-Georgian
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Hano ...
. One exhibit, in 1960, "A Home in Space" was created by the
Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...
. It was a full mockup of a potential space station design and visited by 150,000–200,000 people. It has been cited as an important step towards the creation of operative space stations.
The disco decade of the 1970s ushered in a new look for interiors featuring chrome and smoked glass and the show reflected trends in all the latest house designs and interiors.
The last Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition to be held at Olympia was in 1978.
1980–present
![Ideal Home Show, Earl's Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road SW5 - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Ideal_Home_Show%2C_Earl%27s_Court_Exhibition_Centre%2C_Warwick_Road_SW5_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1769391.jpg)
Corner baths and conservatories caught the eye in the 1980s and new technology was still very much in evidence. Through the 1990s, a new shopping experience was developed for the Show, with entertainment high on the agenda and a mission to provide everything for the home in one environment.
In 1997 a rainforest was created and visitors could experience a tropical downpour every hour from the shelter of a tree house.
In 2008 people could take a trip down memory lane and see some of the highlights of the last century in the Century Street.
In September 2009 the show changed hands for the first time in its history, after being sold by the ''Daily Mail'' to Media 10.
The 2010 Ideal Home Show won the award for Best Consumer Show over 2,000sqm at the Industry AEO Awards.
The 2011 Ideal Home Show took place from 11 to 27 March at
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...
. With more than 50,000 buyers each exhibitor sold goods worth £1,000,000.
In 2008, one of the more adventurous bedroom recreations was that of
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...
. Bassey appeared to have a 10' x 10' bedroom, with bedlinen from
Dunelm Group
Dunelm Group Plc is a British home furnishings retailer operating throughout the United Kingdom. One of the largest homewares retailers in the United Kingdom, The company headquarters are based in Syston, England. It also has its own factory for ...
. A mannequin of Bassey, dressed in tight-fitting sequined nightie, was stood – arms outstretched – as though she'd just got out of bed to sing "
Goldfinger" to members of the public passing through her Ideal Home bedroom.
References
External links
Official siteArticle, Museum of LondonIdeal Home Show 2010 InformationMedFood which is part of the Ideal Home Show
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1908 establishments in England
Festivals established in 1908
Recurring events established in 1908
Annual events in London
Exhibitions in the United Kingdom
Housing in the United Kingdom
Daily Mail and General Trust