Travel - One Last night in London at The KNIGHTSBRIDGE HOTEL

On a tree lined street in London's Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea stands
                                      The Knightsbridge Hotel. 

Kit and Tim Kemp have spun magic for their company Firmdale in creating eight boutique hotels in London and one in New York that feel as if you are in a private home. The Soho Hotel, Covent Garden Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel and Ham Yard Hotel have their own state of the art screening rooms. Kit Kemp has created rugs and fabrics and tea sets and her design book A LIVING SPACE as well as the luxurious Rik Rack collection of bespoke bath products for each guest room. I have had the FIRMDALE collection  https://www.firmdalehotels.com  on my radar for quite some time. 

The Knightsbridge lobby where drinks are served, papers are read, one awaits their taxi.

Great tubs of champagne and wine make this table groan at 5 p.m.,
or, if you prefer, afternoon tea first at 4.

The beds are a marvel. I've already messed up the perfect bed which can be seen on their website. https://www.firmdalehotels.com/hotels/london/knightsbridge-hotel/rooms-suites/single-rooms/
The bed is dressed in Frette linens, down pillows and duvets, and there is the
Rik Rack Collection in the bath, a jammed mini bar, flat screens, wifi, granite bathrooms, oh, the correct placement of handbars, robes and towel warmers in the bath, it's all there.
It's luxurious and embracing…and a girl can stay there alone
and feel as if she owns the place.

Lovely way to give the room another layer of ambiance. 

How DO they make scrambled eggs taste better? Is it the butter? Is it the eggs? The butter is soft, the toast is hot, the coffee is delicious. I'm not kidding. Superb breakfast.

Kit and Tim Kemp let their imagination run free in all of their London hotels.

The staff are happy and they make me feel that way. Thank you Jennifer McCabe. But you might ask: What's wrong with this hotel? Where is the weakest link? 
What's wrong - is I could only stay one night. They have done it right.

And their website shows last minute availability anywhere in London. That's what brought me here, last minute, easy and fun. Next stop, Charlotte Street Hotel  https://www.firmdalehotels.com/hotels/london/charlotte-street-hotel/  in September for a walking Bloomsbury celebration, and The National Portrait Gallery Virginia Woolf Exhibition. http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/virginiawoolf/home.php

https://www.firmdalehotels.com

Travel - Charleston in East Sussex Shop

Collect here. 

Acquire here. 

As the boundaries are blurred in the farmhouse, as well they are blurred in The Charleston Shop. 

It takes more than one turn through the lovely books, cards, lamps, ceramics, and prints to make any choice, and there is a second room for fabrics and dresses and jewellery as well as a short video on the Bloomsbury group and the heritage of the house and garden. 

The sling chairs covered with Bloomsbury fabric are wonderful.

Artistic inspiration.

There is so much to see I forgot to purchase the Charleston Magazine. Please pick up a few for me when you are there.


The Bloomsbury heritage continues through the work of artist, textile designer and cake decorator Cressida Bell,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cressida_Bell

daughter of critic, author and artist Quentin Bell and Anne Olivier Bell, granddaughter of Vanessa Bell and grandniece of Virginia Woolf.

Cressida offers her own range of lamps, rugs, and bespoke designs for interiors as well as her recently published book 
CRESSIDA BELL'S CAKE DESIGN on her website.
http://cressidabell.com

Cressida Bell's textiles honor the influence of Bloomsbury and intensify through her own vision. 

 A must have Cressida Bell design. 

And then there are must have dresses in the shop.


The jewellery somehow did not get photographed, you know how sometimes you just miss things?…
but I am dreaming of it, brilliant colours to go with the clothing.


Help me remember to acquire Charleston jewellery on my next trip.

And then the fabric….more than a must have…an I cannot leave without.

Designed by Duncan Grant. My choice.

Collect here.

Acquire here.

Learn more about Bloomsbury and help support the Charleston Trust.






http://www.charleston.org.uk