House 2017 - Why has no one done something like this before?

That was the one question that came up most often when you talked to both exhibitors and interiors fans at house 2016. house was certainly not just another interiors event. ​​It was an interiors and design event for a modern Ireland, for a nation who know their stuff, a nation that consumes interiors magazines, house and home supplements, a nation that knows all about light, space, and flashes of colour and statement pieces.

So what was it that made house such a resounding success? What was it about house that made it different from anything that had been done before in Ireland? house was high-end, but not too high-end. house presented an aesthetic that was aspirational, but attainable. house presented an environment that was cool but welcoming and comfortable. house was full of serious sellers, but more importantly it was full of serious buyers. From the array of art in the Art Loft to kitchens & bathrooms to bespoke furniture, deals were being done wherever you looked at house, prospects were presenting themselves, consultations being booked, appointments being made. 

​Look at what we did in year one, and consider that was only the beginning, and how the appetite for home improvement has grown again through the second half of 2016, and how people’s purse-strings are loosening again. Consider all that, and you realise that the question is not can you afford to be at house 2017, but can you afford not to be?
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Brendan O’Connor Editor, LIFE magazine; Deputy Editor, The Sunday Independent