Earlier this month, the Interior Design Show Toronto 2026 welcomed thousands of designers, architects, brands, students, and design lovers to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for four days of exploration, experimentation, and exchange.
This year’s edition positioned the show floor as a laboratory and used space as a medium for inquiry as opposed to a backdrop for display.
Across three major features, How We Work, Furniture Forecast, and ILLUMINATE, IDS shifted from traditional product presentation toward immersive, spatial experimentation.
Visitors moved through environments that explored cultural questions such as “what the workplace means as boundaries between office, home, and hospitality dissolve, how quality and longevity in furniture are being redefined amid material reckoning, and how light is increasingly becoming architecture itself.”
The event featured various keynote speakers, including Yves Béhar, Eames Demetrios, and Tatiana Bilbao, whose talks underscored design’s role in shaping culture, technology, and the future of daily life.
“IDS has always been about creating a platform for ideas, not just products,” said Will Sorrell, national director, IDS Canada. “This year we leaned into experimentation — inviting designers, brands, and visitors to experience design as a living discipline and to test new ways of thinking about space, materials, and how we come together. Even in the snow, the energy on the show floor was extraordinary.”
Together, these features formed a portrait of design as a living discipline.
The Booth Awards jury faced a challenging task in selecting this year’s standouts. The 2026 recipients include Hollis+Morris — Booth 502 for Judges’ Choice, Coolican & Company — Booth 1334 for Sustainability, Legacy North — Booth 2140 for 50–199 sq. ft., Baril Design — Booth 1640 for the 200 sq. ft. Gold Award, San Marco — Booth 934
designed by Bettencourt Manor for the 201–499 sq. ft. Gold Award, and Montauk Sofa — Booth 1310 for 500 sq. ft. and above.
IDS also recognized the next generation of design talent through its Studio North and Prototype Awards. The Juror’s Choice Awards were presented to Daniel Roe for Prototype and Peak Woodworking for Studio North.
The jury also offered special recognition to Shu Wang for Prototype and Kari Serrao for Studio North.
