London is in the top 3 of my favorite cities in the world and coming back is always very exciting because it is a constantly evolving City, super fast, like a little European NY.
The chance this time was the September Design Week, which is called London Design Fair.
I stopped here 4 days and I found great inspirations, but I’ll tell you right away that my favorite Design Week remains Milan, apart for the Salone del Mobile, which has no equal, but also for the City that breathes Design in every corner, in every event and in every showcase…
The London Design Fair is situated in the Shoreditch district, in the east of London.
I had never been in this area in so many years that I came to London …
It is an industrial part of the City, so many graffiti, artists and a lot of locals. It’s a lively neighborhood, and it was a beautiful discovery, the real discovery of these days.
Also the Design Fair holds in a large un-renovated industrial building, with exposed metal beams and unplastered walls, and has a great charm.
The exhibitors are very interesting, the innovative materials, and you can feel the personal contact with the designers, who are often at the stand to personally present their products.
We spent a day between the Design Fair and the London Biennial, for the rest, apart from the visit to some particular installation, I had a precise list of things to do and visit, that I had written during the year in one of my special list and then put everything in a tour.
I love the contrast between the Victorian and ancient part of London and the vertical innovation of skyscrapers that blend perfectly with the context.
A place where I recommend to go for lunch is the Sky Garden in London, is a skyscraper with a great garden at the top, all covered with its own microclimate, from where you will have a wonderful view of the City, including the Tower Bridge.
Mayfair and Covent Garden remains my favorite districts, in which every day I find a reason to go and see or do something, including very interesting art galleries.
Moreover, do you know that in Covent Garden there is a street called Floral Street?
I am very sensitive to flowers and for this London is absolutely unique…covered with flowers, many shops and clubs have ornamental flowers, but I didn’t know there was even a street with this name, I discovered it on this trip.
In Covent Garden, let’s lose yourself in the streets with all the colored doors and go get a tea from Laudree sitting outside the terrace of the Covent Garden square, if the weather is good. The flowers and floral elements in London are very powerful, often used as a characteristic and successful element of a local. If you like that genre you absolutely have to go to Elan Cafè, inside is a real garden in shades of pink and green, and you can’t book, especially inside, you will struggle to find a place, where there are walls created just to be photographed, but it’s worth it.
Another address on this type, tea room, cupcake and cakes in shades of pink, is Peggy Porschen. I suggest you to go to this street on foot and to go around the streets because you will discover many shops with very special floral installations.
You can imagine how stimulating is for me, that I adore the genre, to simply walk the streets of London.
About home and design, a non-trivial address is Harrods, we often think of the luxury department store, but if you find yourself walking downtown, you absolutely have to go and see the design department. Also for the technology they have very interesting, cutting edge things, they often have objects that I only see here. Even my husband spends hours in this department.
If you like me love Tea, you can’t miss these 2 addresses:
Fortnum and Mason, which remains the first place just arrived in London, the tea room is very pleasant, but it’s a great reference point for cookies, tea selections, chocolate etc, the decorations are fantastic and you always find some occasion in progress so there is a dedicated set-up. In September there were already the corners on Halloween and Christmas, and I’m not spared the Christmas shopping of cookies and advent calendar for Luna, my daughter.
If you have little time in London, I recommend Brigit’s Afternoon tea bus.
It’s a real red bus, typical of London where you can take tea on board, traveling around London.
My advice is to book in advance and to look well at times that are not many during the day.
There are so many things to see in London, just walking around some districts will keep you entertained for hours.
My advice is to take a route before leaving and to do the London Pass if you are planning to visit several attractions.
If you have some particular restaurant in mind, let’s book that in advance too, along with the beautiful Musicals that take place in London’s theaters all year round. There is a huge offer for all genres. Surely in London you will not be bored at any time of the day.
The museums in London are beautiful, and there are long lines during the weekend, so I will not list you the 10 things to see in London because you can find many sites online that talk about this, but I suggest you to try to do, if is possible, some jackpot tickets, or buy them first, even the day before while you’re in London.
One of the museums that I’ve never found in the top 10 things to see but that will leave you breathless is the Natural History Museum. What I recommend for the magical place even more than for the exposure that is still beautiful, like the genre.
If I can recommend a period to visit and shoot in London is definitely the summer season, from June to September, the weather is better and among other things in this period it is beautiful to visit the London parks full of squirrels and also very few know that the Buckingham Palace interior visit is scheduled only from July to September.
A part of London that I really like is London Eye, even this year we booked a hotel here and the room had a view of the London Eye, the Thames, Big Ben, Westminster and an incredible view of the City. From here I walk a lot on foot, weather permitting, and my nose is always upturned …
The London Eye is one of my favorite, emotional and panoramic attractions.
London is an intense and dense City of things to do and see, and programming is everything, because you risk to make rows of hours, to arrive in a place and find it closed, as it happened to us at Westminster Abbey, or not being able to see a show because sold out.
Over the years I’ve learned to leave nothing to chance and live those 3/4 days intensely taking the most from what the city can offer me, joining my interests in art and interior design.
A City of great inspiration for me and an amazing Floral Style, and if you also love London a lot, so Welcome To London.
See you soon…with Style! Definitely yours!
Viviana Grunert