Design and London lovers, rejoice.
Shoreditch, Spitalfields and the streets in between make up one of the most design-rich neighbourhoods in Europe. Here's how to do it properly.
East London is unlike anywhere else when it comes to design inspiration.
For decades, the area has shaped British interiors culture, sometimes subtly and sometimes with a lot of energy. Even though it’s more polished now, it still has its unique character. Shoreditch and Spitalfields stand out for their mix of top design shops, lively markets, beautiful buildings, and excellent food. If you want to return from your trip full of new ideas, this is the place to visit.
Where to Stay: Wilde Aparthotel, Liverpool Street
The first choice is simple. Wilde Liverpool Street is in the heart of what was once historic Petticoat Lane, right in the middle of the East End Staycity Aparthotels. It's the perfect base for a design-focused 48 hours. You’re just five minutes from Liverpool Street Station and ten minutes from Shoreditch nightlife and Spitalfields’ boutiques, so the location couldn’t be better.
The 106-apartment property features a lobby, bar, and communal space designed with artworks and ceramics by London-based artists, hand-crafted tiles, traditional Crittall screens, and character furniture that give the space a retro-lifestyle vibe. An impressive curved feature bar decorated with handmade terracotta tiles takes centre stage on the ground floor. Staycity Aparthotels. It's the kind of hotel lobby you actually want to sit in.
We stayed in a rooftop room, the Wilde Retreat has its own devoted following thanks to its privacy, boutique-style charm and lofty roof terrace, and having sun loungers above the rooftops of the East End, with a coffee from the bar downstairs, is a very good way to start a morning. Room types also include the Wilde Residence, a one-bedroom studio with a private balcony and terrace, sleeping up to four guests. Staycity Aparthotels
Inspired by Oscar Wilde's spirit, the brand blurs the boundaries between apartments and hotels. Every room comes with a fully fitted kitchen, rainfall shower and Nespresso machine, so you have all the autonomy of an apartment with none of the sacrifice on style.
From Wilde, Spitalfields Market is right outside, Shoreditch is just a ten-minute walk away, and Columbia Road is easy to reach on a Sunday morning. We had brunch at Ottolenghi in Spitalfields (the shakshuka, if you’re curious) and made it to SCP on Curtain Road before noon. This is the kind of weekend you can have in this neighbourhood.
Book: wilde.com/london/liverpool-street from £160stg per night.
The Design Shops
SCP, Curtain Road, Shoreditch Start here. Housed in a former furniture-manufacturing warehouse and open since 1985, SCP spans three sizable floors and is a feast of design, furniture and lighting from exceptional brands, statement homeware, and collectable pieces from independent makers. SCP The range is designed by Jasper Morrison, Ilse Crawford, Donna Wilson, and Philippe Malouin. A+R It's the kind of shop that recalibrates your eye. Go slowly. scp.co.uk
House of Hackney, Mark Street (near Old Street). Founded by husband-and-wife team Frieda Gormley and Javvy M Royle, House of Hackney is a luxury interiors label with its flagship at St Michael's Clergy House, a stunning Victorian building near Old Street.
The brand specialises in British-made goods, reinventing traditional designs with bold prints inspired by nature, Victorian ornamentation and William Morris. Wallpaper, paint, fabric, furniture, all of it made to the kind of standard that makes you want to redecorate everything immediately. The building itself is worth the detour. houseofhackney.com
Jasper Morrison Shop on Kingsland Road is quiet, thoughtful, and truly unique. Hidden away on Kingsland Road, this carefully curated shop offers a wide selection of home accessories by Jasper Morrison and other international designers, including tableware, cookware, clocks, and storage containers. If you believe in buying fewer but better things, you’ll feel right at home here. jaspermorrisonshop.com
Monologue, Redchurch Street, is an independent concept store selling furniture and home accessories ranging from modular sofas to wallpaper, mirrors and cushions, the space evolves constantly, showcasing a curated edit of emerging talent. One of the best shops on Redchurch Street for discovering designers before everyone else does. monologuelondon.com
Labour and Wait, Redchurch Street, is a cult East London institution selling beautifully designed, genuinely functional everyday objects, enamelware, linen, tools, brooms, aprons. Nothing frivolous, everything considered. The kind of shop that makes you rethink everything in your kitchen and utility room. Always busy, always worth it. labourandwait.co.uk
Vitra’s flagship UK showroom is in the Tramshed building in Shoreditch. Even if you’re not looking to buy an Eames lounge chair, it’s worth visiting to see the full collection in its proper setting. The Tramshed itself, with Damien Hirst’s preserved cow hanging above the old Victorian cattle market, is a sight to see. vitra.com
The Markets
Old Spitalfields Market, Commercial Street Running since the 1600s, the covered market on Commercial Street is one of the best spots in the city for independent makers, ceramics, vintage finds and design-led homeware. Thursdays have a dedicated antiques and flea market that's brilliant for interiors hunting. The surrounding streets - Brushfield Street and Artillery Lane, especially - are some of the most architecturally beautiful in London. oldspitalfieldsmarket.com
While you're in the area, don't leave without visiting Dennis Severs' House at 18 Folgate Street, an immersive experience where you explore astonishing interiors as if the 18th-century residents have just stepped out, enlivened by ticking clocks and the scent of perfume and cloves. It's not a shop, but it's one of the most interior-obsessed experiences in London, and the kind of recommendation that makes a trip feel genuinely memorable. Book ahead.
Columbia Road Flower Market. Sunday mornings only Columbia Road sits at the edge of the City with Shoreditch to the west, and is one of the few streets in the country composed entirely of independent businesses, small art galleries, antique shops, gardening stores and delis all side by side. The flower market runs every Sunday from 8am to around 3pm. columbiaroad.info
Go early, buy more plants than is sensible, grab a coffee from one of the tiny cafés and work your way along. The shops on the street are as good as the market itself.
One for the Evening: Experimental Cocktail Club, Chinatown
This one requires a short Tube journey, from Liverpool Street, take the Central line to Tottenham Court Road, which is about 12 minutes, but trust me, it is absolutely worth it.
The Experimental Cocktail Club on Gerrard Street first opened in 2010 and has recently undergone a full reimagining of its interior, reopening with a new identity shaped by design, music and an ambitious cocktail programme across two floors.
You find the entrance through an unmarked door in the middle of a buzzing Chinatown street, step inside, and suddenly you're in what felt to us like the best-kept secret in London. The design is by Dorothée Meilichzon of Paris-based Studio CHZON, known for creating spaces that feel both cinematic and intimate and she's absolutely nailed it here.
We settled in upstairs, ordered our way through the cocktail list, the Experimental Negroni and one of their vintage spirit serves were highlights, and didn't want to leave. The menu spans classic cocktails, the team's own creations and Experimental signatures, alongside an exceptional selection of vintage spirits.
The music is equally considered, drawing from an eclectic palette: sundown disco and ambient grooves to live acoustic sets midweek, through to electro house and rock-inflected nights that roll into the early hours. Book ahead for weekends; walk-ins are taken at the door during the week. An absolute MUST when you're in London. Experimentalcocktailclub.com/london
For more inspiring spaces around the world to inform your next decorating or renovating project, check out our Inspiring Space review in every issue and more online.
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