FOR THE LOVE OF DESIGN BOOKS AND PAPER GOODS: Favorites from London

Well, friends, it has been a WHILE! Apologies for my absence while I moved from the US to London but here I am - bursting with lots of cool things & places to share with you. This post is what the Brits would call a “taster” — a high level survey of some of my favorite things so far. Cheers to a jollier 2022 than the past two years!

Two of my biggest obsessions are apparently obsessions of the British as well: books and paper goods. Above is the dreamy Maison Assouline, the international flagship store for design book publisher Assouline….housed (of course) in a 1922 landmark building by Sir Edwin Lutyens. With a cafe, a shop of both accessories and books, they accurately describe their store as “a refuge for those seeking style, culture, and art de vivre.”

I also find myself quite often at Daunt Books, the vast yet perfectly curated book store in the eclectic & buzzy neighborhood of Marylebone (images above & below)…

I’m currently reading Noble Pursuits: The Fall & Rise of the English Country House, which I picked up at Hatchards, the oldest bookstore in the city (founded in 1797). The book is a great primer on the massive changes in British society after World War I and their impact on the country’s architecture. If you’re watching the most recent season of Downtown Abbey, it will give you more historical context for what Lady Mary and Lord Grantham wrestle with in keeping their lifestyle going…

The Chelsea Design Centre (below) is an incredible resource for me in every way, as non-professional designers are welcome to browse their showrooms and library/cafe. Heaven!

I’m truly obsessed with the paper goods shop Choosing Keeping, which has most delicious array of marbleized paper boxes & notebooks, pens, wrapping paper, you name it. AND their website is also great - with delivery to the U.S.

In the shop they have marbleized boxes piled floor to ceiling - I felt like a kid in a candy store with the colorful variety of colors and patterns! (Makes storing old bills or work papers a lot more interesting:)

I’m particularly obsessed with French artist/entrepreneur Antoinette Poisson who has rescued lots of document textiles and prints from the rubble pile of the 18th and 19th century — available at Choosing Keeping (online & in store) as mini-poster size prints.

I mean, how cool would a pair of these above look framed in lucite with the deckled edge showing? Perfect for a small place like a powder room or a nook in a hallway…I love the two patterns below too.

There are LOTS of other amazing paper goods stores in London that also ship to the US, so I’ll keep sharing them on Insta (@elegant.mayhem) and in upcoming posts. Stay tuned for next Wednesday’s (Jan. 19) post with a behind the scenes tour of the inspired modernist country home of Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury group from my visit to Sussex, England. It was truly game-changing experience & I can’t wait to go back!

Hope you are well & coping OK during this continued odd time. Please let me know of anything you want me to research/share from over here. It’s a great excuse for me to keep in touch with my fellow armchair travelers & design lovers - so THANK YOU!!

xo

Lee