Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel outdid themselves with their 2010 Come Up to My Room show, an annual alternative design event which ran from Jan. 21-24 and coincides with the Interior Design Show.

This year’s exhibitions were a clever, fun mixture from concept to execution. They made creativity look easy, as good design does. It was arguably the best show in years.

“We always try to pick a very diverse group of people that we think will engage our audience,” said Jeremy Vandermeij, one of the curators of the show. “I’ve come to the show every year and helped to put it together for the past two years and never know what to expect. It’s picking up a momentum of its own.”

Entries ran the gambit this year from functional to conceptual, but all were thought provoking.

Two-man collective Chevaux de Bois, comprising Alexx Boisjoli and Ian Philips, featured an installation based on a carnival freak show the duo saw in New York. Their installation sought to challenge the perception of beauty and the acceptance of people who have an appearance outside of the norm.

“We wanted to take the negative connotation away and make something beautiful,” they said of their colourful whimsical contribution that incorporated a carnival game.

Many of the installations were done by collectives of mixed disciplines, many of whom had high hopes for their work after the show. Maggie Greyson, Christina Lieu and Phoebe Lo put together a room with a wall of preservative jars filled with various items that the girls found, or had donated. They encouraged people to trade items and talk about the piece they were leaving.

“We would like our show to travel, preferably internationally,” said Greyson.

Arguably, the best back story came from Erin O’Hara and Andy Reed of Fireweed. They showed a thought provoking display about a plane crash where everyone lives, a response to the recent unfortunate media stories. The ladies put together a strong contribution despite each giving birth in the past three months.

“I had a baby ten weeks ago and Andy gave birth 7 days ago,” said O’Hara. “I’m working around a sitter to be here.”

Alongside the conceptual pieces, there were also the practical ones. Stephen Lindsay made an alternative hallway storage furniture piece out of retro skis for disorganized folks to throw their clutter on.

“It’s a bit Olympic inspired and the parts came mostly from Craigslist and Value Village,” he said of his works. “It’s meant to throw your coat on, and even stick your mail in.”