Our founder Christiane is London this week launching Living by DwellStudio at House of Fraser (more on that later). So we decided it was time for another city guide... this time we're revealing our favorite London hot spots!
(Image via London2012.)
See: Pre-Raphaelites exhibit at Tate Britain
Our design team is loving the Victorian era right now. Tate Britain is putting a spotlight on some of the artistic radicals of the 1800s with its stunning show. The exhibition is full of luminous Victorian Avant Garde paintings, sculptures and photography by champions of the movement, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais.
Shop: James Smith & Sons
If you're obsessed with quality and craftsmanship (like we are) then you must stop by this Victorian-era umbrella shop. Founded in 1830 and still owned and run as a family business, the master craftsmen here still construct umbrellas and walking sticks right in the basement of the New Oxford Street location—where attention to detail is of the utmost importance. Plus, we're pretty sure that every dashing haberdasher in London carries one of James Smith's well-crafted parapluies!
Imbibe: The Bar at the Dorchester
We adore this elegantly furnished watering hole, with its lacquered mahogany walls and Dale Chihuly-like glass installations. We suggest sticking to the classics here like the house specialty, the Martinez, which is made with Old Tom gin and recreated from an early 18th-century recipe.
Eat: Portrait Restaurant in the National Portrait Gallery
(Image via Telegraph.)
This rooftop resto may seem like an unlikely spot, but the views of London are breath-taking at this little known British gem. Anything but stuffy, we suggest noshing on Butternut squash soup and the Duck Breast while gazing at the London Eye, Big Ben and Nelson's Column.
Sleep: One Aldwych
(Image via Hotel Traveler.)
Sometimes sleeping in high-style is a must, and One Aldwych tops the haute list. We love this tradition-with-a-twist hotel—Edwardian style architecture with sleek modern updates. Central located in Covet Square, the building was actually constructed in 1907 by the same architects who designed The Ritz in Paris.
Stay tuned to Christiane's Twitter for live updates from London.
