London's East End Walkabout in Shoreditch

Like most cities, London is divided into sectors.

Oh don't you know North London / I ain't buvered.com Saaf London

Hooray darling West London / Innit do luv East End

But slowly these boundaries are being blurred.

I am not a born and bred Londoner.
But I do have loyalties like one does for football teams.  
Fierce but meaningless.
I came as a tourist so I still cling on by living near the the sights.
 I have been east of Holborn Station fewer times 
than I have been to Paris.

And yet now the East End has blossomed.

And yes even that word bandied about all over town - gentrified.

It has become the new "downtown".
Even looks the part.

Having never been stylish, 
I refused to partake of the scene in uber trendy Shoreditch.
In fact I must be one of the only people who couldn't be bothered to check out the Shoreditch branch of Soho House.
( I told you I wasn't cool.)

But alas, times they are a changing and all that.
Confirmed when my brother also a west London stalwart decided to move there in the next month or so.

He is moving into a new build and I joined him for a snagging list before it was due to complete.

Want a little tour of the flat and his new neighborhood?

For most of you who don't live in London, 

I find it strange that a building has a lobby.

London doesn't have a doorman culture.

So I truly felt it wasn't in London.

This is the internal courtyard of three different style of buildings that form a triangle.

One section is dedicated to rehoused public housing tenants and key workers such as nurses and other civil servants.

Most new developments have this as standard practice from the respective council.

 He lives in an Edwardian flat right now so this is a huge change.

Rather standard hallway with bedroom on either side.

His open plan living room is rather small but he does have a view.

The overground is in front of his building but

 it does ensure his south-west facing view won't get obstructed.

Not a great picture but you can see Canary Wharf in the distance.

And to the right of the balcony...

This is very New York-esque - peering into neighbour's windows.

I think they are going to need blinds.

This is the north east facing view through his kitchen window.

Hang on - is that the famous AllPress coffeeshop down there?

Zoomed in, confirmed and went there after!

Standard white new build open plan kitchen layout.

Sorry but no architectural features here.

But one thing we were told which is unbelievable is that 
due to the design of the kitchen sink and taps  

only one of the kitchen windows can be opened!!  

I can't believe the architect couldn't think of another option.

Very safe tile choices but as it is new he won't be changing anything.

So after I discovered a few items to add on to the snagging list, 
we decided to have a quick coffee at what is supposed to have one of the best coffees in town at All Press.

The local low built area has a lot of post war new builds as 

it was bombed during World War II.

re

The cafe is in nestled in the streets full of independent shops and 
is now a proper tourist destination for some.

The Wills building is the home of Aubin Cinema - 

the east end version of the Electric.

Les Trois Garcons is a London dining institution which 

now seems to have become such a brand that it has other outposts all within Shoreditch.

We were walking around the streets soon to be his village 
and then I see...

Is that seriously a Santa Maria Novella?

One in Walton Street, one in Mayfair and now Shoreditch!

I turned around in front of the store to take a picture of 

the intersection which would surely morph in 5 years time 

but got photo-bombed.  

Then the moment became so "Shoreditch."
Hipster in the middle of the day in a lilac Faroe Isle style onesie 
in a side street that even the Kray brothers would have ignored 
houses one of the few London outposts 
of a chi chi 400 year old Italian beauty brand.

 I have a funny feeling I will be showing you a few more snapshots from the area in the future...