Grand Designs Melbourne 2012

I saw Kevin McCloud up close and personal today at the Grand Designs Live in Melbourne 2012 today! Two years ago I would not have known about him at all but an accidental switching of the channel to ABC brought me to Grand Designs and I have been in admiration of his style of presenting, his knowledge of the subject and his passion for sustainable building ever since. Yet, Grand Designs is now in it's twelth year and still going strong as is evident from his many fans in the convention today.

From Grand Designs, there have been a few spin off programs such as Kevin's Grand Design where he undertakes a public housing project with a focus on sustainability and community networks, and Kevin's Grand Tour of Europe. He has even written a couple of books and launched simlar conventions in the UK.

We got to the show half past the opening time at ten a.m. The line to get into the venue was long but luckily it was fast moving. The first impression I got was 'wow'.. The layout of the booths was orderly and the decoration of real blossoming fruit trees - cherry, plum, apple caught my eyes. I think they looked beautiful.

Although we already had breakfast, I couldn't resist a taco at the Grand Cafe. We had a spicy slow braised pork taco with Asian slaw topping. The sauces were at another booth where we could take what we wanted. I loved the chipotle mayo, and guacamole but Gaz also had lemon and chilli mayo on his side of the taco. Hmmm.. With our tummies filled, we made our way to the Grand Theatre (not so grand because there weren't enough seating for us who had to stand) to hear Kevin talk. We could neither see nor hear anything so we wandered to the booths instead.

We sat in on the House of the Future presentation where the latest gadgets where shown. They include a mirror which turns into a tv, a tv which moves from its position to suit the angle you want which is good for tight spaces, an escape pod which is a meditation and relaxation hideout, a clear shower stall glass which clouds when you wish it to for privacy, a Dyson hot and cool fan (we have this, so I guess we're one step closer to the future!) and an elevator oven (pretty cool, it is hidden in the kitchen bench and elevates up when you need to use it).

Despite the crowd, we did manage to hear Kevin talk later in the day. We also saw many more gleaming kitchen appliances, pretty pictures of homes, beautiful bidets which is one of Gaz's faves since our trip to Japan, and unique home accessories (one booth showed a revolving shoe rack... Now that's something I like!).

'Hands up those who would like to have dinner with me!'

However, one of the events I would have liked to have gone for is the Miele Kitchen demonstrations where guest chefs such as Matt Stone and Maggie Beer cooked for the audience. We did not manage to get a seat or a good standing space (only the people on seats were provided samples of the food cooked) so we had to leave both times we were there.

We left at closing time, at 6 pm and this officially makes it the longest time I have ever spent at an expo!