Sunday 19 January 2014

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...

44 comments:

  1. I luff me some AllPress coffee.
    every time I come to London I try and go someplace new.
    Last time it was Chelsea.
    The time before it was Islington and Portobello road.
    I mainly stay around Bloomsbury.
    My friends stay in Covent Garden.
    Might have to go east.
    Funnily enough the eastern subs in Melb and Syd are the posh ones.

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    1. You def need to check it out - I felt like a proper tourist when I was there. It smells great there too because they roast their beans in that location as well!

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  2. I LOVE touring about London town with you Naomi…
    The fact that you say you aren't stylish or cool is laughable…you are.
    You don't try too hard, u just simply are…
    Wearing a lav wooly onesie - now really, that is trying so hard it hurts.
    xx
    p.s. how is the reno going?

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    1. Isnt that onesie hilarious?? You need to see the fashion - everyone trying to be so different that they look the same hehe The renos are chugging along - will post on it soon when I see a change :) xx

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  3. I stayed in the East End for a couple of days on my last trip and loved it. Have you seen the blog/website called Spitalfields Life? It's excellent and shows a dying way of life.

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    1. No but thanks for heads up - I do love that one corner in spitalfields that looks straight out of a movie set - but those houses are now super duper expensive.

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  4. I don't know London well, but hope your brother enjoys his new apartment. Is his dog allowed to live there? Or will he be smuggled in/out? Europe seems much more accepting of pets than in public places/apartments in Australia.

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    1. Funny you mention that because the doggie might have to live with me a few nights a week and get smuggled in and out the rest! I think with new builds they are getting stricter with things like that.

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  5. Looks like a nice enough area ... if your not easily offended by purple!

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    1. Yep! There is still a lot of graffiti although I hope they keep it as it adds flava as they say.

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  6. Heidi will have a fit when she reads about that window!
    It's ages since I've been down that way, we are always so rushed when we're in London, we were just talking about taking a holiday down there and mooching all over like we used to, we only tend to go down for a night on our anniversary and have to pack in Christmas shopping to that so never get to wander, we really miss Hampstead and Notting Hill/Portobello, it's years since we've been back.

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    1. I know I couldn't believe it when the guy was explaining it either but it seems a lot of money to move things around so he will have to live with it. I think a nice dinner or lunch at trois garcons - a passegiata and a coffee at all press is in order for your next trip down here. I can't believe the change.

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  7. I'm pretty sure there's a checkpoint, a bit like in Passport to Pimlico, wher you have to be under the age of thirty to enter Shorditch.

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    1. It is an invisible and stealth zone for sure! But I find it hilarious how they take themselves so seriously the hipsters of today. Plus they don't look like they wash very much. It is all a bit weird. But apparently true trendsters say Shoreditch is over - Dalston and Peckham is where it is at!

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    2. There will always be a forgotten corner of The Old Smoke to be rediscovered by the hipsters, with the louche developers snapping at their trend setting heels. I don't think I fit the demographic. Apparently prices in Peckhamshire have risen so ominously that trend setting couples have to flee to The Isle of Wight to be able to afford a home. The travel time, at just under three hours, is roughly the same as travelling into Central London on a weekday morning from zone 2/3.

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    3. Don't I know it - when we were in South London it once took me just over two hours to get to Chiswick. I could have flown to Florence in the same time plus it costs a fortune even on the tube because you have to chop and change so it can cost a tenner to get to where you need. I would say drive but the traffic is atrocious. I know someone who does commute from Bath though! Takes two hours and 15 but you get a seat on the train. We need to have drinks with Boris to sort this out.

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  8. I love your London photos and commentaries! I can't believe Santa Maria Novella is in Shoreditch.... How times have changed! That purple onesie is terrifying. The Krays wouldn't have put up with that kind of sartorial rubbish!!

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    1. Can you adam and eve it eh? all of it - the boutique, to the onesie... you are right though - the Krays would not have put up with that at all!

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  9. Thanks for the wonderful tour Naomi!

    Okay - I have to ask - he left an Edwardian for this? It seems so sterile! And the window is a crazy thing!

    As for the purple onesie - well I just wish I was that ironically cool! I am going to work on that now that I am in my 50s. Actually, I think I am working on being ironically uncool!

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    1. Yes he lives in a moderately high ceiling flat with original fireplaces in almost all the bedrooms...Plus he has been there for 13 years so it is sad for me not to have that base that was a constant for me...Wendy - you would be craning your neclk looking at all the fashion - I got lucky with him as I was already holding my camera and he walked in but otherwise there were quite a few people who the fashion police would have ripped to shreds!

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  10. Thanks for the visit, I don't know at all that part of London. I tend to think like Wendy, leaving an Edwardian flat to move there... I am not crazy about the all neighbor window peaking...
    That lilac onesie.... Oh my!!! i cannot believe it!

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    1. I will miss the flat but then there is a sense of space that most flats dont have so it is all a compromise and balance. But I do feel sorry for those people to his right bc they cant look inside his flat. The onesie is so funny no?

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  11. I've discovered Shoreditch a few weeks ago and I must say it's very different from the places I know in London, but really nice!
    xoxo

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    1. It has a very new vibe and the people there are a new tribe indeed Gloria! xx

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  12. Thanks for the tour. The purple onesie?! And his friends don't give him crap for that?! How did you keep from horse laughing him?

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    1. But the great thing is that no one really cares and yet they pay so much attention to what they look like. Odd combo!

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  13. That really is what hipsters wear over there? In San Francisco, even in the Mission District, the epicenter of hip, you would not see that. Not even close!

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    1. To be fair he isn't typical Shoreditch - i think the styles would be similar in every new hip area but I think it is British eccentricity and Shoreditch influence at work!

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  14. I just cannot get over the lilac onesie with the fair isle print! I'm amazed! What could that fellow even be doing? I don't know London at all but I do find these tours very entertaining. The new flat is very modern and will be such a change for your brother!

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    1. He must have been an artiste or musician because even for Shoreditch he was ahead of his time. *cough cough* London and modern flats are an odd mix but the expanse in front and the views make up for the lack of features he has now. You must check it out next time you are in town!

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  15. Yes, I've heard a few pleasant things about Shoreditch recently. I've worked in the area as a silver service waitress when there were different events on - back in the day at uni. Sounds like it's a regeneration area in progress. That purple onesie; only in London lol.........I'm avin a giraffe.

    Cool flat, before I moved on to your next sentence I thought the lobby was his living room. I was going to say, what a huge window!! I like the bathroom, why ever would he consider changing it hee hee xx

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    1. I can see you being in your element there though because they have lots of indie brands and it is all hip and cool. Though I don't understand what they do in the middle of the day larking around like that. I think it is actually done - the prices have gone up due to its proximity to the city. I just think it is funny with new builds bc when the neighbours come round for a drink - it's like - yeah mate i know where your loos are and i have the same tiles! hehe xx

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  16. I do enjoy a good old nose about a building - I hope you'll take us back to see it once your brother has made it a home.
    Architects, **** , words fail me!

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    1. I enjoy a tour as well plus it was so new to me! Can you believe the architects actually made such an oversight??

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  17. Ha the apartment is looking good but this window in the kitchen thing is so stupid... sometimes it feels like we are surrounded by retards... seriously ! I mean... unbelievable !
    About the lobby I find it quite nice : I always told my sweetie we needed a doorman in NYC ;) (we didn't move there though... no doorman in Paris =P)
    http://www.melolimparfaite.com

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    1. I know - we are not even talking about the merits of aesthetics but just pure functionality!

      I miss NY doormen - one of the things I miss about NY...

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  18. Naomi, Your brother's apartment looks great and has a wonderful view. London is on my bucket list. We tried to go last year when we were in France but didn't have time to get there.. bummer. Your comments are great and I like the way you do as you please and not follow the lead of others. The photo bomb is a hoot;)

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    1. Oh Leslie - you just have to visit! Also being able to communicate in English is half the fun. Well if you get past the accents that is :) Don't go starting trends with the onesie where you are now!

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  19. Can he hear the Bells of Shoreditch? The type of complex he is moving to (with a mixture of public sector housing, courtyard and different styles) is what is being suggested for our inner city redevelopment, post earthquakes. I hope if it goes ahead that it doesn't spawn purple onesies!

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  20. You brother's new environs seem vibrant and nice.

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  21. b l i m e y.

    that did NOT look like when we lived (not far away) there.

    thanks for the Tour.

    got quite nostalgic ;-)

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  22. I love these little tours around London! I have never visited Shoreditch before, but as you say, it looks like it is becoming 'gentrified'. Too funny about the photo bomb - the purple jumpsuit makes quite the statement!

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  23. Naomi-what a fabulous little tour of this new area of London. It's looking cool....I love the discovery of Santa Maria Novella (I discovered that in Florence). Fun post and can't wait to see more!
    xx

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  24. Just catching up on your blog Naomi ~ no one, I mean no one should be seen in public in a purple onesie. Why would anyone wear a onesie outside of the house??

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Thank you for dropping by!