Following on from their recent brochure shoot at our iconic Sheffield development Park Hill, Nest.co.uk’s Marketing & Communications Manager Toni is guest blogging for us this week. Find out what she has to say about investing in design.

When I was asked to guest blog for Urban Splash I was very honoured. I’ve admired their work for lovingly nurturing derelict and neglected buildings and bringing them back to life for a long time now.

Being born and bred in Sheffield I have a personal affinity with the Park Hill development. In fact my grandfather (on my Dad’s side) worked on the original build as a bricky in one of the ‘top teams’ and my grandparents (on my mother’s side) opened their very first hair salon in the Park Hill development in the 50s - which reminds me I really must hunt down the pictures!

So, you can see my routes are deep in Sheffield’s heritage and ‘love it or hate it’ I have a keen interest in preserving Europe’s largest grade II listed building. Anyway – I digress. I’m here to discuss the benefits of great furniture design so here goes!

We all know that times are hard right now and it can be all too easy to choose the cheaper option but please take a moment to pause and think.

There are many copies out there and these cheaper alternatives are made from poor quality materials that are much weaker, poorly executed and of inferior quality.

Check out this video showing the strength and durability of a real versus a fake Series 7 Chair – shocking isn’t it?

You may think you’ve found a bargain but it will be short lived. If you have a passion for design and you want to keep the item to pass down for generations to come, a copy is definitely not for you.

Authorised versions of design classics such as the Eames Lounge Chair are made by highly trained, dedicated craftsmen with the highest quality materials and will last a lifetime not just a few seasons. So, if you want to invest in design it may well be worth saving for.

Which leads me back to Park Hill…

You too can now invest in history and design and buy at Park Hill with the brand new shared ownership scheme. So, when your ready to take the plunge and that next big step to home ownership - remember to pause before buying your furniture and lighting and ask yourself ‘will it last?’.

Oh and by the way, if you’ve not guessed already… I love Park Hill!