IDS VANCOUVER 2026 || A Complete Guide to the West Coast's Largest Design Show
IDS Vancouver, billed by organizers as the West Coast's largest interior design event, takes over the Vancouver Convention Centre West from September 24 to 27.
This year's edition is staking its claim on materials as much as ideas, from soaring BC timber arches to a marketplace built entirely around the region's independent makers. Eight features anchor the show floor this year, each one built to be walked through rather than simply viewed, with a public day on Sunday for visitors ready to see it all in person.
The first is impossible to miss. Reflection, designed by Squamish's Stark Architecture, greets visitors at the entrance with an installation exploring light, stillness, and self-awareness. Stark returns to IDS Vancouver after its Perpetua Bar, the 27-foot circular beacon that earned an Award of Excellence at the 2025 IDIBC awards, set the tone for the 2024 show. Reflection continues that thread, which the studio describes as existing at once as light returning, a pause before thought takes shape, and what a surface reveals about the person standing before it.
Rendering of the entrance feature, Reflection by Stark Architecture.
From there, the floor opens onto STILL/not still, the Central Bar by Synthesis Design, built entirely from British Columbia wood in partnership with naturally:wood and Western Forest Products. Twelve-foot interlocking arches form an architectural forest with a clearing at its center, a bar area where attendees can pause away from the energy of the show. The installation doubles as a statement on BC's forestry sector, home to more than 11 percent of the world's certified forests.
Rendering of the Central Bar.
Landscape architect Andrew van Egmond, founder of Designing Landscape, debuts Nature Adopted nearby, created with Solstice Landscapes and Broadwell Metal. The piece moves away from rigid, mathematical layouts toward informal, tranquil spaces shaped by circularity and climate adaptability, offering a rare argument for landscape architecture inside a trade show built mostly around interiors.
The keynote program will feature the industry’s most influential voices this year. Michael Sørensen of Henning Larsen and Nancy Bendtsen of Inform Interiors headline a lineup that includes Tommy Smythe in conversation with Kelly Deck, May Globus recording live episodes of The Craft, and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh artist and designer James Harry.
For shopping and discovery, Studio North gathers custom work and limited-edition collections from some of Canada's most established designers and international talent, spanning furniture, lighting, glass, ceramics, textiles, and surface design in a gallery-like setting. Prototype sits inside it this year, curated by Kaito Forth, offering a glimpse at experimental furniture and home products not yet in production. The District rounds out the marketplace with a curated mix of independent home décor and lifestyle brands, from ceramics and textiles to jewelry and wood sculpture.
Guests mingling at IDS Vancouver’s Opening Night last year.
The show kicks off Thursday, September 24, from 7 to 10 pm with the return of The IDS Party, presented by Bravada Homes. Held directly on the show floor, the opening night brings music from Girl on Wax and performances from Zynth Entertainment, with the Central Bar serving as the evening's networking hub and the seminar space temporarily reimagined as a listening room for a set from DJ J. "Freeky" P. Pascual.
Four days, eight features, and a floor built almost entirely from material honesty and regional craft. That is IDS Vancouver's pitch for 2026, and it is one worth experiencing in person.
Photos courtesy of IDS Vancouver
