Go-To Meal:
I love Cafe Deco, tucked behind the British Museum. Simple, fresh, seasonal—the menu changes daily so you’re always getting something different. Come with friends and plan to stay for hours.
Under-the-Radar Neighborhood:
I recently moved from Parsons Green to Holland Park, so I’m still discovering it. Portland Road feels like a tiny European square. St. Clair does a very good cafè latte. Piano Nobile Gallery has an excellent art program (currently showing Barbara Hepworth).
In the evenings, Julie’s with my partner Jonathan. And, on those special evenings when the dogs are away, we go to the opera in the park. It’s easy to forget you’re in the middle of London.
Portobello Road is also just around the corner, and I have always enjoyed its layered, slightly unpredictable character, where antiques, curiosities and everyday life sit side by side.
Place You Find Inspiration:
I find I’m constantly inspired while going about daily life. For English Baroque, you can’t beat Wren’s churches. St. Paul’s obviously, but also St Margaret Lothbury, a beautiful interior with carvings by Gibbons.
I go back again and again to Sir John Soane’s Museum. Soane was a proto-modernist so there’s always something new to find.
Favorite Spot to Grab a Drink:
On rare occasions, Flute at Broadwick Soho, a hotel we designed in 2024. Wonderful views of London, a lively atmosphere, and a sense of fun—which was part of the vision for the hotel.
Favorite Store:
I love a bookshop; you can never have too many titles. John Sandoe Books off the King’s Road is the kind of place you go in for one and leave with six. I think it’s important for designers to seek inspiration from physical places, books, buildings, exhibitions, the natural world, to ensure we don’t end up designing another iteration of what’s seen on social media. And Objects on Pimlico Road is my own shop, with furniture, lighting, and a rotating collection of work by artists we admire.
What Still Surprises You About the City:
How quickly it changes from one street to the next. You can be surrounded by the energy of the city one moment and find yourself somewhere unexpectedly quiet the next. Each neighborhood retains its own identity and history, which is one of London’s greatest strengths.
The blue plaques are a detail I never tire of noticing, quietly marking the homes and studios of writers, artists and designers who shaped the city’s cultural fabric. As a designer, it is an endlessly inspiring place to live.
