5 Places To Visit In London If You Love Interior Design


Image Credit: Heal’s

If you are planning a trip to London and you love interiors and home decor, today on the blog I am listing my top 5 favourite places to visit in the city to soak up the best interior inspiration. Whenever I visit a new place, I always want to discover the best interior shops and buy a variety of stylish home accessories to take back as a token of my visit. As a long-time Londoner, here are my favourite go-to haunts:

Image credit: Coal Drops Yard

Coal Drops Yard, Kings X

When I first moved to London 25 years ago, Kings X was an area of the city that had a terrible reputation. However, since then, Kings X has undergone a huge regeneration project with the development of the Eurostar and property refurbishment London; making it one of the best places to visit if you love cutting-edge interior design. Coal Drops Yard boasts over 100 stores containing a large mix of independent retailers including Caravane (a treasure trove of beautiful furniture, accessories and fabrics) and Earl Of The East (selling homeware and home fragrance - the black pepper bath salts are my favourite!) The area regularly puts on artisan markets and hosts art and culture events. Kings X is one of the easiest areas to access in London with multiple travel options to and from the district by both train and bus. It also offers the convenience of a secure bag-drop option via the left luggage kings cross service and the choice of a wide range of restaurants and bars. A must-visit!

Image credit: Coal Drops Yard

Columbia Road

The authentic London experience - if you want to hear the bellows of original East London cockneys, head to the flower market on a Sunday morning to puruse seasonal flowers at knock-down prices. The street is also host to a large number of vintage stores selling perfectly curated homeware, while popping into Straw London is a necessity for an on-trend frilly flowerpot or bell decoration.

A bustling Columbia Road Market. Image Credit: Time Out / Piers Allardyce

Image credit: The Shopkeepers

Tottenham Court Rd

Head to Tottenham Court Road for a full street of the largest home and furniture stores. Heal’s, West Elm, Andrew Martin, Timothy Oulton, BoConcept and Calligaris all have shops on this road, while on the smaller offshoot roads, you can also find the showrooms and flagship stores for Ligne Roset and Moooi. 

Image credit: Heal’s

Pentreath & Hall

Founded by interior designer and architect Ben Pentreath and designer and decorative artist Bridie Hall, Pentreath & Hall’s charming London store in Bloomsbury stocks a unique mix of homewares, including their popular alphabet pencil pots, botanic posters, decorative cards, candlesticks and plaster art. They also host in-store pop-ups for makers and artisans such as the amazing Polly Fern, who often can be found there selling her bespoke tree decorations before Christmas.

Image Credit: The Shopkeepers

Chelsea Design Centre

For high-end interior inspiration, head on over to the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour: a shopping mall-sized venue containing showrooms from the leading fabric wallpaper brands such as Romo, Sanderson and Osborne & Little. There are also a variety of lighting brands to discover including David Hunt Lighting and Original BTC.

Image credit: DCCH