We were delighted to attend the annual Northern Design Awards ceremony held on the 22nd November hosted by none other than Wayne Hemmingway MBE.  This years venue was The Monastary in Gorton – a stunningly refurbished 19th century building which was previously a Franciscan friary.  It has now been listed as one of the 100 most endangered sites in the world along with the Taj Mahal and the ancient ruins of Pompeii!  It was the first time that we had entered the awards, and this year we were short-listed for 3 categories; Living Etc Best Room of 2013, Best Independent Retailer and Best Interior Design Practice.

There were over 300 attendees on the night, including some of the North’s leading architects, designers and retailers.  It was a nail-biting time waiting for each winner to be announced, so we were overwhelmed when the “Abbott Family Garden Room” was finally revealed as the winner of the LivingEtc Best Room of 2013.  This award was presented to us by Amy Moorea Wong (Editorial Assistant, Living Etc) and has particular significance as the winning submission was voted for by Living Etc readers out of a total of 26 entries.

We were also proud to share our table with our friends from NoChintz, who also walked away with 2 awards for their work for Natural Retreats in John O’Groats and the Yorkshire Dales.  They came to us to supply lighting which was used throughout the luxury lodges.

It was a great achievement to get some recognition for our design work, and hopefully this award will be the first of many!