Design Destinations
London City Guide
To mark the opening of our newly expanded London showroom on May 19, we offer a route through the city as we experience it.
Our London City Guide traces a route across the city, from a Hackney Wick gallery dealing in rare modernist furniture to a medieval palace reimagined in Art Deco, and a sauna buried beneath Canary Wharf.
As London rewards the curious, this is our selection of the spaces worth finding.
Ferm Living London Showroom
Newly refurbished and spanning four floors on Clerkenwell Road, our London showroom is a space that invites you to take your time and move through the collection at your own pace. Each floor offers a distinct atmosphere - a layered experience of materials, textures and forms that reflect the way we think about the home. Whether you are discovering the collection for the first time or returning to something familiar, there is always something new to find.
Re-opening on May 19, 2026
70 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1M 5QA fermliving.com
Open by appointment only.
Inquiries: londonshowroom@fermliving.com
1. Béton Brut
Tucked into an industrial unit in Hackney Wick, Béton Brut is one of London's most notable destinations for rare, design-led furniture and lighting pieces from Europe and Japan. Founded by Sophie Pearce, the gallery also represents contemporary artists who share its design philosophy, collaborating with emerging talent to create exclusive and often limited edition bodies of work. Open by appointment during the week, it is the kind of place that rewards a dedicated visit.
Unit 2, 30 Felstead St, London E9 5LG betonbrut.co.uk
2. Blue Mountain School
Set within a silver six-storey townhouse in Shoreditch, Blue Mountain School is a multidisciplinary environment shaped by dialogue across craft, design, hospitality and art. Founded in 2018 by James and Christie Brown, BMS is both a progressive vision and a place of contemplation. It is known for an evolving archive of one-of-a-kind works, a programme of exhibitions and residencies, and Cycene, an intimate one-Michelin-starred dining experience.
9 Chance St, London E2 7JB bluemountain.school
3. Gegend
Tucked above street level near Old Street, Gegend is a tea house and cultural space rooted in Eastern sensibilities. High-grade Chinese teas are served with care and precision in a room of warm natural materials and considered proportions - a rare pocket of stillness in one of London's most frenetic neighbourhoods. A space for an unhurried afternoon or an evening spent immersed in one of their numerous events.
First Floor, Pump House, 10 Rivington St, London EC2A 3QB gegend.co.uk
4. Pophams
Since opening its original Islington bakery in 2017, Pophams has become one of London's most recognisable names in pastry. The viennoiserie is crafted daily by hand, making it worth an early trip to the space. Next door, Pophams Home carries ceramics, linens and glassware that speak a similar language to the bakery itself: considered, tactile and made to last.
19 Prebend St, London N1 8PF pophamsbakery.com
5. Space Talk
A short walk from Smithfield Market lies a hi-fi listening bar, Space Talk. Opened in 2024, it has quickly established itself as one of London's most well-designed spaces. Walnut panelling, a sunken vinyl booth and bespoke acoustic walls wrap a room built entirely around the experience of listening. The music shifts across the evening - from jazz and ambient to propulsive electronic - and stays with you when you leave.
18–20 St John St, London EC1M 4AY spacetalklondon.com
6. The Hero
A Victorian pub on a residential street in Maida Vale, The Hero dates to 1878 and has been carefully restored by the team behind The Pelican in Notting Hill. The ground floor serves recognised British pub classics alongside cask ales; upstairs, the Grill Room offers a more considered menu cooked over an open fire beneath high corniced ceilings and sash windows. Warm and inviting, it's the kind of pub made for afternoons turning into evenings.
Credit: Public House / 55 Shirland Rd, London W9 2JD theherow9.com
7. Arc
Buried beneath Crossrail Place in Canary Wharf, Arc pioneered the UK's first communal contrast therapy club. Designed by Cake Architecture, it features a 65-person sauna, eight ice baths kept between one and five degrees, and a coliseum-shaped lounge arranged across a dimly lit underground space finished in terracotta tile and grey stone. Guided sessions move through breathwork, aromatherapy and cold exposure - as good alone as it is experienced with others.
Level -2, Unit 46, 1 Crossrail Pl, London E14 5AR arc-community.com
8. Japan House London
Set on Kensington High Street, Japan House London spans three floors and serves as a cultural home for Japanese art, design, craft and food in Europe. A focused selection of Japanese objects fills the shop on entry - ceramics, glassware, tools and textiles chosen for their appreciation for material and precision of form. Upstairs, Akira Restaurant offers a full Japanese dining experience alongside a rotating programme of free exhibitions.
101–111 Kensington High St, London W8 5SA japanhouselondon.uk
9. Eltham Palace
On the outer edge of south-east London, Eltham Palace presents one of the city's most unexpected architectural contrasts. A 1930s Art Deco mansion sits directly alongside the medieval Great Hall of a former royal palace where Henry VIII spent his childhood. The two structures exist in deliberate dialogue: Swedish-designed interiors, an aluminium-leaf dining room ceiling and a gold-plated bathroom set against a 15th-century oak hammerbeam roof. A trip to the outer edges of the city, well worth the distance.
Court Rd, London SE9 5NP english-heritage.org.uk/eltham-palace
Photo credit: Felix Speller