An NDA Royal Wedding celebration

It's hard to resist the excitment of this Friday's Royal wedding, everyone is getting ready to celebrate wheather it's a street party, tea party or traditional afternoon tea watching the ceremony on the television.

The staff here at National Design Academy were certainly going to celebrate in true British style with a street-style tea party and all the old favourites everyone loves - especially the trifle!

Amongst the ham and cucumber sandwiches and Victoria sponge, our Instructual Designer Sara and Web Developer Lyn, made some exotic dishes to spice up the spread; Persian sweet, Pashmak, (like cotton candy) Kung Pow chickin and Tang Cu Paign (pork ribs).

All the food went down well  and it was a great way to get ready for Friday, so we wish you all a fantastic Royal Wedding weekend and hope your celebrations are wonderful!

We're all getting into up-cycling at the NDA!

By Robin Birch Group Finance Director 

It's a while since I blogged,so I thought I'd share my creative side with you folks. I'm quite handy with working with wood and I hate wasting things. I think the posh term is 'upcycling'. 

Anyhow, a while back I made a free standing corner cabinet and here's a couple of photo's.... the pine door was from a demolition site and had been in my garage for some 15 years prior. 

The half legs and rails were adapted from a friend's broken pine table set.The sliding latch and keep are made from oak sills that came from the windows of my house when we installed double glazing. 

The turned knob is in the shape of an acorn -linking back to the material.The finish is Farrow and Ball's Estate Eggshell Mouse's Back' and 'Strong White'. It came out quite well. 

Have a lovely Easter/Royal Wedding break. Don't forget the course work!  

How to re-decorate without spending a fortune

It’s the hottest new trend in the design sphere and I find myself banging on about up-cycling every week. But why not, Linda Barker‘s doing it, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and of course interior designers have been re-vamping tired furniture forever! If you’re wanting to save some pennies and transform your home don’t think you can’t have your cake and eat it, because you can!
 
Here are some examples of up-cycling by current BA student Karen lane, with a short guide of how to create the desired effect. So set aside a lovely Saturday or Sunday afternoon and enjoy being creative. If you need any advice on your project or want  Karen to sprinkle some of her magic on your furniture just  visit her website Autograph Interior Design or leave a comment.

 

Design a mood board based on your favourite song and WIN an exclusive Kube mp3 player with the National Design Academy!

  

Calling all National Design Academy students! We all have that one song we just adore and never get tired of hearing. Whether it's a sad ballad, funky dance tune or a bit of George Michael, we know every word and screech every note. 

Well, it's now the time to put yourself to the sing along test and be in with a chance of WINNING a Kube Player which has just been launched in the UK at the Gadget Show Live this week! 

The Kube Player is the smallest mp3 player in the world and can store up to 8000 songs with up to 6 hours listening time. It comes with matching ear phones, USB cable and an SD card. You even get to choose which colour you want; white, light blue, light pink, black or yellow. 

All you need to do is design a mood board based on your favourite song and write a rationale (max 200 words) explaining your thoughts behind the board.

Submit the board in the form of a JPEG or PDF to competition@nda.ac.uk along with your name, address and student number.

You have until midnight on Thursday 28th April 2011 to enter and the winner will be announced the following week. This competition is only open to current NDA students,

So if you think you're up to the challenge and want to own the worlds first bite-size music box get cracking and good luck!

Former NDA student has a unique take on traditional interior design services

The usual practices of being a freelance Interior Designer such as; meeting clients, understanding their lifestyle, presenting sample boards, working out a design scheme and project managing, can be a little difficult to say the least, if your client lives in Durham and you're based in the Isle of Wight.

Well, Interior Designer Jo Acheson wasn't fazed by this hurdle and set up a clever design service which meets her clients every need without having to leave the island!

The design bug first hit Jo when she re-decorated her first home, she then started a Professional Interior Design Diploma course at The National Design Academy in 2004. After the success of her interior design business based on the island, Jo aimed for new heights and is now re-designing homes all over the country.

Find out how Jo challenges the traditional practices of  interior design and brings it bang up to date with twenty-first century living.

Snap shots from this weeks Professional Interior Design Diploma studio course

Photography: National Design Academy

Tutor Kim Moore wins MyDeco moodboard competition

Congratulations to our very own National Design Academy Tutor Kimberley Moore, who won MyDeco's Mother's Day moodboard competition and scooped a Union Jack DIGITEX  roller blind and wallpaper set!

Kim based her Union Jack themed mood board on the often neglected part of the home, the hallway. She chose a chic and retro "London Vibe" style, that caught the eye of voters and subsequently shot her to the top of the competition.

But, Kim isn't going to be the only one excited about winning the prize as she plans to re-decorate her niece's bedroom into quirky teen pad  as a surprise.

Well done Kim, we can't wait to see the finished room!

WIN a pair of tickets to this years Grand Designs Live

 
Be in with a chance to WIN one of 5 FREE PAIRS of TICKETS to this years most anticipated home improvement show, Grand Designs Live!

Based on the aspirational Channel 4 series Grand Designs, presented by Kevin McCloud, Grand Designs Live is the perfect place to be for design junkies.

Held at the ExCel Centre in London's Docklands, from the 30th April - 8th May, the award-winning event has everything you could possibly want from home-ware and gardens, kitchen and bathrooms, to innovation and design.

You'll be spoilt for choice with over 500 exhibitors, a spectacular Grand Village of show homes, Grand Build sponsored by VELUX, Grand technology and much more! So if your mouth is watering and you're desperate to get your hands on a pair of tickets, just simply answer the following question:

Q: How many sections does the show have?

Email your answer, name and address and a contact number to competition@nda.ac.uk

The competition closes at midnight on Thursday 14th April and the winners announced on Friday 15th April.

You only have a week to get your entry in and be in with a chance of winning so hurry and GOOD LUCK!

Get free day passes and cheap weekend tickets to Grand Designs Live

BIID (British Institute of Interior Design) have teamed up with the organisers of this years Grand Designs Live show to bring you an exclusive free day pass to the show and up to 50% off tickets prices during the weekend.

Book your ticket before the 15th April and get free entry on a weekday from 3rd - 6th May. All you need to do is visit
www.granddesignslive.com and quote BIIDFW on the booking page.

Don't panic if you can't manage to swindle out of work on the Friday, with this code TRDNINE you can buy a weekend ticket for only £9 instead of £14! You only have a couple of weeks to grab your ticket before they all run out so hurry!