London calling: Why an interiors enthusiast's dream is an hour's flight away

It’s always been a destination for Irish fashion shoppers, but for interiors enthusiasts, London also offers shopping and ideas, and it’s just an hour’s flight away

Be inspired in Chelsea HArbour.

Over the last two years, I’ve missed visiting design and interiors events to see what’s new for the domesticated among us who have a yen for the decorative arts.

So off I jetted to London and the excitement of two distinctly different venues worth mining for inspiration, spending, or just to immerse in all things interior design — modern, historic and the bit in between we now call vintage.

First up: Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, where CEO Claire German tells me, they’re the largest design centre in Europe, home to 120 showrooms and over 600 of the world’s luxury brands.

Look up as you wander through Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, and be mesmerised by Spot On. This installation of spherical objects uses repurposed prior installations and additions of recycled materials in paint colours inspired by the season’s design directions and provided by Andrew Martin and Sanderson.

“In terms of offering, there truly is nowhere else that offers such a high concentration of renowned design names at one address,” she says. “Naturally, interior designers are always buzzing around the design centre, but we are also a welcoming space for design enthusiast consumers who are seeking inspiration and specialist expertise from our unrivalled mix of homegrown and international showrooms, from Colefax and Fowler to Pierre Frey, and the iconic Ralph Lauren Home who will open their doors here next month.”

Claire also cites the WOW!house event in June.

Claire German, CEO, Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, in a room curated by Arabella McNie, the Design Centre’s creative design director, to give a taste of what’s to come when Wow!house opens in June.

“We will be home to a huge 400sq m showhouse that has been specially commissioned for the event,” she says, “with room after room of imaginative wonder; each space created by one of 20 acclaimed interior designers including Kit Kemp, Rita Konig and New York-based Rayman Boozer of Apartment 48, working closely with renowned makers and international design houses.”

But if a trip doesn’t tie in with this event, Claire says, “For anyone visiting for just a morning or afternoon, a top tip would be to connect with our personal shopping team who offer a bespoke, complimentary service that is sure to connect consumers with the right showroom for their design needs.”

Second up: The Museum of the Home which opened during the pandemic-induced obsession with domestic life and decorating.

The Museum of the Home’s beautiful herb garden is a calm oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of London life. Picture: Jane Lloyd

Located in former almshouse in achingly hip Hoxton, there’s much to see according to Danielle Patten, Head of Creative Programmes and Collections.

“We’ve packed 400 years of history of the home into a modestly sized space over two floors,” she says, “Our ‘Rooms Through Time’ are room sets showing the homes of 10 time periods, from the 1600s to the end of the 20th century. Our ‘Home Galleries’ tell the story of domesticity, interior design, social etiquette, the role of women in the home, servants in the home, stories of mental health, social housing, and much more.”

As a recent visitor, seeing objects I remembered from my childhood was a delight, something Danielle witnesses in the course of her working day.

“It’s a joy when I overhear or see visitors stopping for a moment of blissful reminiscing while looking at one of our ‘Rooms Through Time’ from the 1930s onwards,” she says. “Many visitors are instantly transported to the memory of their beloved granny’s living room, their favourite auntie’s front room, or back into their childhood home.”

But modern influences also make their mark.

“What I also love is when I see young people Instagramming photos of things they identify with,” Danielle adds, “or something really strange they’ve learned about the past in our ‘Home Galleries’, whether it’s our display about bedbugs or our contemporary photographs of families at home.”

Special events include the Festival of Sleep from June through October.

Danielle says: “Our curators will reinterpret some of our ‘Rooms Through Time’ to reflect the furnishings, potions, magic, folklore, and traditions that have been used to bring about sleep and rest in the last 400 years.”

Danielle Patten, Head of Creative Programmes and Collections in a 1970s room set at Museum of the Home. Picture: Em Fitzgerald

And if that wasn’t relaxing enough, they’re stopping for all things tea.

“We’ll invite visitors to ‘Tea Through Time’, a free, self-guided tour through the museum’s stories and objects around taking tea at home,” she adds. “You’ll see amazing tea sets and furnishings set up for taking tea from our collections; paintings showing the socio-political dynamics of taking tea at home through the last few centuries, and enjoy a free cuppa in our ‘Gardens Through Time’ at the end.”

And for gardeners and tea aficionados, the head gardener at the museum will be showing a special display of their extensive range of herbs and flowers that can be made into tea.