There are so many inspiring international design events taking place this year, including city-wide festivals, interior design fairs, trade shows, conferences, workshops and design week events.
We’ve put together our guide to the best interior design events of 2019 to take the hard work out of it for you. Even if you can’t make it to any of them keep an eye on Instagram hashtags to stay across the latest happenings and inspirational finds from each event.
Get your calendar out and start planning!
January
IMM Cologne
14 – 20 January, Cologne, Germany
The first event of the year, IMM Cologne is the market-leading trade fair that sets the tone for furniture and interiors trends for the coming year with over 1200 exhibitors from 50 countries. Find out more here.
Formex
17 – 20 January, Stockholm, Sweden
Since 1960 this biannual event has showcased the best of Scandinavian interior design. Find out more here.
Interior Design Show Toronto
17 – 20 January, Toronto, Canada
Canada’s premier showcase of products and furniture, emerging designers and new concepts from North America and beyond. Find out more here.
Maison&Objet
18 – 22 January, Paris, France
One of the world’s leading events and an international authority for home decor, interior design, architecture and lifestyle culture and trends. Find out more here.
February
Madrid Design Festival
1 – 28 February, Madrid, Spain
The festival’s cross-disciplinary programme runs throughout the city and encompasses interior design, architecture, graphic design and communications. Find out more here.
Stockholm Design Week
4 – 10 February, Stockholm, Sweden
A celebration of design from Sweden, Denmark and Norway with collection launches and previews of the interior design trends for the year to come.[Photo above from the 2018 event] Find out more here.
Surface Design Show
5 – 7 February, London, UK
Architects, designers and specifiers attend this 3 day event to source new products and innovative materials and to connect with the latest technology. Find out more here.
Ambiente
8 – 12 February, Frankfurt, Germany
Ambiente is a leading international trade fair for consumer goods related to interiors and giving. Find out more here.
March
Sydney Design Festival
1 – 10 March, Sydney, Australia
Showcasing both emerging and established designers across various disciplines, the festival champions process, experimentation and the collaborative nature of design. Find out more here.
Malaysian International Furniture Fair
8 – 11 March, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
MIFF is the number one furniture fair in Southeast Asia amongst the top 10 worldwide. Find out more here.
Singapore Design Week
4 – 17 March, Singapore
Featuring trade shows, conferences, showcases, exhibitions and workshops, Design Week showcases the best design talents in Asia. Find out more here.
Design Shanghai
6 – 9 March, Shanghai, China
One of the world’s most prestigious international design events and Asia’s premier design event, showcasing the best design brands and galleries from across the globe. Find out more here.
Melbourne Design Week
14 – 24 March, Melbourne, Australia
200+ talks, exhibitions, tours and workshops highlight the best of Australian design and how it can shape our future. Find out more here.
Mextrópoli Festival
9 – 12 March, Mexico City, Mexico
Aiming to position Mexico City as a centre of architectural excellence, the festival promotes culture, urban regeneration and artistic heritage. Find out more here.
April
Milan Design Week
9 – 15 April, Milan, Italy
The biggest annual event in the design calendar, Design Week is a series of events and happenings throughout Milan that see the whole city come to life. Find out more here.
Salone del Mobile
9 – 15 April, Milan, Italy
The Salone del Mobile is the main attraction of Milan Design Week and the most important furniture fair in the world. [Photo above from our visit last year] Find out more here.
SIDIM Design Show
26 – 28 April, Montreal, Canada
One of the leading events in the North American design calendar showcasing the best international interior and exterior design. Find out more here.
May
NYCxDesign
10 – 22 May, New York, USA
With events, talks, installations and fairs held across all 5 of New York City’s boroughs, this festival showcases design of all disciplines. Find out more here.
ICFF
19 – 22 May, New York, USA
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair, coinciding with NYCxDesign, is North America’s platform for global design, showing what’s best and what’s next. Find out more here.
Clerkenwell Design Week
21 – 23 May, London, UK
In addition to being part of London Design Festival in September, Clerkenwell holds its own week of events mid year. The district boasts the greatest concentration of design, interior design and architecture practices and furniture businesses. [Photo above: Royal Approval at Clerkenwell Design Week] Find out more here.
June
Barcelona Design Week
12 – 19 June, Barcelona, Spain
Attracting more than 40,000 visitors last year, Barcelona Design Week has a full schedule of conferences, exhibitions, installations, workshops and events. Find out more here.
Denfair Melbourne
20 – 22 June, Melbourne, Australia
A curated design event featuring hundreds of local and international brands for professional designers, architects, interior stylists and design-lovers. [Photo above: Carin Elliss Design at Denfair] Find out more here.
San Francisco Design Week
20 – 28 June, San Francisco, USA
SFDW is an essential week long city wide festival that showcases the unique intersection of ideas, design, business & entrepreneurism. Find out more here.
July
Interior Lifestyle Tokyo
17 – 19 July, Tokyo, Japan
A major Japanese trade fair showcasing global interior design trends. Find out more here.
AIFF
18 – 21 July, Melbourne, Australia
Part of Decor + Design, the Australian International Furniture Fair is Australia’s longest running furniture buying event, showcasing the best furniture from Australia and New Zealand. Find out more here.
Decor + Design
18 – 21 July, Melbourne, Australia
In its 16th year, this 4 day event is part of the AIFF and features the latest in furniture design and innovation. The International Seminar Series celebrates Australian design and the industry’s future trends and topics. Find out more here.
August
São Paulo Design Weekend
18 – 25 August, São Paulo, Brazil
São Paulo hosts an urban festival that aims to promote design culture and its connections with architecture, art, decoration, urbanism, social inclusion, business and technological innovation. Find out more here.
September
Helsinki Design Week
5 – 15 September, Helsinki, Finland
With around 250 events every year, Helsinki Design Week is targeted towards both professionals and the general public. The programme takes place throughout the city from museums to markets and seminar halls to secret shops. Find out more here.
Paris Design Week
6 – 15 September, Paris, France
Encompassing part 2 of Maison & Objet 2019, Design week is held throughout Paris and focusses on students and emerging design talent. Find out more here.
Furniture China
9 – 12 September, Shanghai, China
Both contemporary and traditional furniture designs are featured in China’s international furniture expo which is associated with Maison Shanghai and Shanghai Home Design Week. Find out more here.
London Design Festival
14 – 22 September, London, UK
The Festival features Design Districts consisting of clusters of events within a short walking distance of each other, enabling visitors to navigate the 400 events and geography of the city. There are 5 separate major events including 100% Design, Decorex, designjunction, Focus and London Design Fair. Find out more here.
Feria Habitat Valencia
18 – 21 September, Valencia, Spain
This furniture and lighting design fair features the best of Spanish and international design. [Photo above from the 2018 event] Find out more here.
Beijing Design Week
23 – 30 September, Beijing, China
Conferences, exhibitions and installations with the theme of ‘Design Capital – Smart City’ showing national cultural innovation and development. Find out more here.
October
XVII Biennial of International Architecture
15 – 26 October, Buenos Aires, Argentina
For the past 34 years the City of Buenos Aires has hosted one of the most outstanding celebrations of international architectural culture. Buenos Aires hosts lectures, exhibitions, discussions and conferences featuring renowned international architects. Find out more here.
Smart Workspace Design Expo
17 – 18 October, Amsterdam, Netherlands
With 60 speakers, innovation site visits, masterclasses, and even silent discos and meditation sessions, this 2 day event is packed with opportunities to explore office design topics. Find out more here.
Dutch Design Week
20 – 28 October, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
With over 2600 participating designers, Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven is the largest design festival in Northern Europe. The event aims to encourage emerging talent and looks to the future of design. [Photo above from the 2018 event] Find out more here.
November
Dubai Design Week
12 – 17 November, Dubai, UAE
The event programme includes Downtown Design, which showcases over 175 international contemporary design brands including 40 regional designers. Downtown Editions curates limited edition and bespoke design by young brands and designers with a focus on the Middle East. Find out more here.
December
Design Miami
2 – 8 December, Miami, USA
Exhibitions of twentieth and twenty first century furniture, lighting and objets d’art feature alongside progressive cultural programming, collaborations with designers and design institutions, and events led by luminaries from the worlds of design, architecture, art and fashion. Find out more here.
Inside Festival
4 – 6 December, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Inside Festival combines an international awards programme and conference where the interiors community come together to create global connections and celebrate the world’s finest examples of interior design. Find out more here.
