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Shopping destinations: Pimlico Road by theartofbespoke in News & Noteworthy

Shopping destinations: Pimlico Road

Sponsor content by theartofbespoke in News & Noteworthy

How Pimlico Road in Belgravia became London’s best address for design and homewares.

London’s craftsmen have long grouped in certain areas. Hatton Garden has its diamond dealers; Savile Row its tailors. And now a discreet corner of Belgravia has quietly become a hotspot for upscale design and home furnishings. There are 25 antique and art shops in Pimlico Road, among which are names you might recognise – David Linley, Nicky Haslam, Wild at Heart – along with others you probably won’t. All, however, provide the kind of upper-crust offering you’d expect from this part of town.

Certainly this is a good place to come if you’re looking for an interior designer. This is where Haslam – who has created homes for Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger and Bryan Ferry, among others – runs his business. Joanna Wood, one of the UK’s leading interior designers, also has an outpost here. Wood’s shop in particular is a treasure trove of quirky pieces. Here you’ll find everything from flamingo-patterned draught excluders to the bestselling cricket-ball doorstop. Meanwhile, newcomers Coote and Bernardi offer everything from kitchens and joinery to a complete design-and-build service.

‘Jambs, Linleys, Luke Irwin – they’re all product designers that complement each other and work well together.’

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This is also where London’s bespoke furniture designers have set up shop. Down the road at David Linley’s store, you’ll find large, made-to-measure pieces, as well as a comprehensive interior-design service. As you’d expect from the Queen’s nephew, the aesthetic is quintessentially British, with an emphasis on old-fashioned craftsmanship. His clients, however, are an international bunch and include Oprah, Carolina Herrera and Jo Malone. Prices are similarly starry, although photograph frames start at £85 and candles £35. And if that still sounds too steep, you can simply check out the state-of-the-art, swanky new shop front.

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Soane is another firm making outstanding British furniture. The company produces everything from storage to lighting, and collaborates with the UK’s best blacksmiths, saddlers, silversmiths and cabinet-makers to create handcrafted pieces made exactly to the client’s specification. If you’ve ever been to Soho House, Claridges or Cecconi’s and wondered where they sourced their fabulous furniture, this is most likely the place.

But it’s the more specialist shops that give Pimlico Road its edge, such as Jamb. This is the place to head for antique chimney places and fire grates. Then there’s Marston and Langinger, specialists in chic conservatories, orangeries, greenhouses and pool houses. Jane Churchill, meanwhile, is the go-to shop for easy-to-live-with fabrics and wallpaper.

Ossowski are the Pimlico Road’s oldest inhabitants having opened in 1960. They are famous for their fabulous antique 18^th century looking-glasses, though also create bespoke giltwood mirror frames for clients from around the world. Their on-site workshop is a must see, and if you can manage to get into one of their masterclass party/events we hear the gold leaf really flies!

If you’re in the market for art or high-end antiques, you’ll stumble across a clutch of dealers here. Names to look out for include John Adams Fine Art, where you’ll find an eclectic mix of contemporary and antique art, although its real strength is French 20^th-century paintings. Prices start at around £1,500 and go right up to – discreet cough – POA.

Luke Irwin, meanwhile, makes rugs so beautiful they practically count as art. Each one is made in Nepal and Jaipur, with every stage of the process carried out by hand. There’s a bespoke service here, too, with customers able to pick the size, colour, weave, textile and design of their rug. Prices start at around £2,800 for the geometric maze design.

What turns a good shopping experience into a great one is the presence of decent places to eat. And Pimlico Road offers up some choice dining spots. First off, there’s the farmers’ market every Saturday morning, which takes place in leafy Orange Square. You’ve also got a branch of Daylesford Organic. One of the area’s best brunch places, it’s rumoured to serve the finest egg and soldiers in town. Be sure to pop into the adjoining shop, which stocks artisan homeware, including tablecloths and cushions. The area’s latest lunch spot, meanwhile, is the Orange, a newly renovated pub serving wood-fired pizzas and oven roasts.

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Helen Franks is head of commercial leasing at the Grosvenor Estate, responsible for letting property here. She’s seen the area go from strength to strength, and thinks it’s down to the fact that ‘you’ve got the best of the best congregated in one environment.’ As well as interiors shops, she’s deliberately brought in companies like Daylesford and Starbucks, ‘so that people can have meetings here and stick around.’ She’s also made sure there’s still the pub and corner shop ‘as people do actually live here.’

But, certainly, the main attraction for visitors is that you’ve got the same type of interiors shops grouped in one place. ‘Jambs, Linleys, Luke Irwin – they’re all product designers that complement each other and work well together,’ she says.

‘We call it the Design District here at Grosvenor,’ she says. ‘I want to build on that by attracting the best people in their field.’ This isn’t proving difficult. ‘People don’t often leave Pimlico Road. And demand is huge, so we get at least 10 good offers for every shop that comes up.’

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