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Best in Show: 5 IDS Vancouver Highlights

From a forest-inspired central bar to immersive lighting and Canadian-made shopping, here’s what we’re bookmarking for IDS Vancouver 2026.

By Anicka Quin /

From a forest-inspired central bar to immersive lighting and Canadian-made shopping, here’s what we’re bookmarking for IDS Vancouver 2026.

It’s the design event of the year: IDS Vancouver returns September 24 to 27 to the Vancouver Convention Centre West, where you’re likely to find both your favourite designer and your favourite design magazine mingling among the booths. Here’s what we’re excited to see on the show floor.

Stark Architecture’s Reflection entrance feature sets the tone for IDS Vancouver 2026 with an exploration of light, material and perception. Rendering courtesy of IDS Vancouver

Meet the Team

We’re back hosting great Western Living Talks, now in a new seminar space designed by Gensler with walls provided by Hush Acoustics, right in the middle of the action. Look for our editors Anicka Quin, Stacey McLachlan and Kristi Alexandra chatting with hospitality queen Mandy Farmer of Hotel Zed, the winners of our Designers of the Year awards and more.

Pictured from left: Editor-in-Chief and Vice-President of Content Anicka Quin, Managing Editor, Food and Culture Kristi Alexandra and Vancouver magazine Editor-in-Chief Stacey McLachlan.

READ MORE: Meet Western Canada’s standout designers

Shop a Little

The District marketplace is always curated with design-forward Canadian-made products perfect for early holiday shopping, like Vancouver Island-based Laykhaus candles, handmade in small batches in B.C. and inspired by the landscapes and lakes of the West.

Laykhaus’s Hiker Trio Giftset brings the Vancouver Island brand’s nature-inspired scents into The District marketplace at IDS Vancouver. The product name is confirmed by Laykhaus. Courtesy of Laykhaus

Find Some Chill

Experience the nature-as-design-guide philosophy of landscape designer, Andrew van Egmond. His Nature Adopted installation, created in collaboration with Solstice Landscapes and Broadwell Metal, takes landscape architecture beyond rigid, mathematical layouts to create a relaxing, tranquil space amid the bustle of the show floor.

 

Andrew van Egmond’s Nature Adopted installation, created with Broadwell Metal and Solstice Landscapes, brings a looser, nature-led approach to the IDS Vancouver show floor. Courtesy of IDS Vancouver. 

Spread a Little Cheer

The central bar feature at IDS Vancouver has developed a reputation for being a showstopper. In fact, last year’s In/tension design by dHKarchitects won a Western Living Design 25 award. This year, Synthesis Design creates a forest-inspired installation featuring a series of 12-foot interlocking archways made entirely from B.C. wood.

Synthesis Design Architecture’s 2026 Central Bar evokes a B.C. forest with a series of 12-foot interlocking wood arches. Rendering courtesy of IDS Vancouver 

READ MORE: Enter Western Living’s 2027 WL Design 25 Awards

Light the Way

It’s fair to say that lighting is one of the most exciting areas of design right now, and ILLUMINATE returns as an immersive showcase curated by ThinkL Lighting Studio, inviting visitors to wander through some of the latest ideas in lighting design and innovation.

ILLUMINATE transforms an industrial scaffold structure into an immersive showcase for contemporary lighting design. Photo by Laura Harvey, courtesy of IDS Vancouver

IDS Vancouver 2026
September 24–27, 2026
Vancouver Convention Centre West, 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver
Tickets, registration and show information

Anicka Quin

Anicka Quin

Anicka Quin is the editor-in-chief of Western Living magazine and the VP of Content for Canada Wide Media. If you've got a home design you'd like to share with Western Living, drop her a line at [email protected]