It feels terrific to be home! Tom and I just returned from a productive buying trip. We visited England, Belgium, Holland and France. Stayed in 6 hotels in 10 days! Just another whirlwind trip. But, hey, it was daily shopping, some sightseeing and the occasional splurge on fabulous food. So no complaints here. Actually it did involve a lot of driving and work: planning, researching and coordinating before, during and even after the trip. Too boring so I’ll only share the highlights…starting in London.
After landing at Heathrow, we picked up our car and dashed off to Robert Kime’s shop in Bloomsbury. Each time I am in London, I try to visit one of Kime’s shops for worldly inspiration and a tiny bit of shopping. Kime is decorator by Royal Appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales, designer, collector and dealer in antiques and textiles.
This was my first visit to the Bloomsbury location. Housed in two early Georgian townhomes, the shop has an eclectic collection of antique and new (designed by Kime) textiles and pillows. And period antiques as well as new furniture, lighting and accessories. It’s like visiting an old-money English home with treasures plucked from the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul.
I want to thank Christopher Payne at the shop for his gracious and warm hospitality. Enjoy my photos from last week.
Eclectic English style at its best. Welcome to the world of Robert Kime!
Good taste never goes out of style. The shop is warm, cozy and beautifully layered.
I am still coveting this English linen press with its original apple-green painted surface.
Tom sat on this sofa and enjoyed a cup of coffee, while I was busy photographing everything.
This carved stone mantel originally framed a doorway. The to-die-for antique Venetian mirror is from the 18th century.
Antique blue-and-white Delft tiles surround many of the fireplaces.
I’m not sure, but think the antique doors are from Morocco. So clever!
Pillows! Pillows!! Pillows!!!
More pillows! Kime is known for his signature Ikat and Ottoman inspired pillows – printed, woven, embroidered, etc.
In addition, there is a marvelous selection of early 20th century artwork from British artists.
Above: I came home with this antique brown-and-blue woven pillow. (There is another one available at Robert Kime, btw.) Doesn’t it look divine on this blue painted Swedish settee from our shop?
This embroidered pillow was from a prior trip 🙂 Yes, I’m a devotee!
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i read this whole post, but i am still coveting the apple green linen press as well…. my mind is stuck on that photo. beautiful shop and photos- thank you for sharing! welcome home!
Eeek, his shop is full of so many beautiful things! Thank you for taking the pictures, Loi so we can see it. I LOVE your two pillows. I have read with fascination about Robert Kime and am so happy to be able to see his shop through your eyes!
Whenever I am there, I just want to move in and stay forever. My favorites though, are his pattered fabric covered lampshades. No one else does them quite the same way.
I totally agree!! Love them, too!!
Welcome home Loi! So nice to hear your voice again:) You and Tom were BUSY, glad to hear you took time out for beautiful dining! Looking forward to the rest of your trip. xob
I truly love Robert Kime! Every time I go to John Rosselli's I am immediately drawn to his fabrics and practically drool over them! This is a fabulous post as usual!!
WHat a shop, love it!
Best,
Karolyn
Love, love, love everything I saw! I have a lady that makes pillows quite similar to this…I bet her inspiration comes from Kime himself! Truly gorgeous! I'm so jealous that Tom sat on that sofa enjoying coffee in that beautiful setting! You should have taken his picture as well! You two work very hard at giving us such wonderful things to admire…and one of these days I plan on seeing for myself your gorgeous shop! I love the way you said Kime's shop is layered! I finally found a word that describes mine! So often I think I have way too many things going on simply because there is just so much in the way of design and antiques that I love…now I know that it is indeed, layered. Glad you had such a marvelous trip! And glad you made it back safely!
What beautiful prints and patterns. They look great with your Swedish settee.
Jennifer
Hi Loi,
What a feast for the senses. The Robert Kime shop is so sumptuous, I think I want to move in. Gradually as I get older, I feel myself becoming something of an Anglophile for the comfort, and as you say– the wordly mix. Tom must have never wanted to get off that sofa! I love the pillows (past and present) that you brought home.
My congratulations to the winner of the lovely painting. It was so nice of you to host the giveaway. She will be delighted.
love,
Keri
Welcome back Loi. This is a beautiful store. Very English in style and interior design. The pillows are fab and English sofas are my favourite. The pillows you brought home are gorgeous too. I like the colour combinations very much. Seems like you had a fun and whirlwind trip. Can't wait to read more about them.
Congratulations to the winner of your giveaway.
Oh my goodness, Loi too much eye candy! The textiles at Kime's shop have me swooning!
Hello Loi,
So pleased you had a successful trip! What a beautiful shop, I want the sofa Tom was sitting on!! The pillows are also rather special also, we are in London in May, so I may just strangely find myself outside this shop…
Ivan
Good morning dear Loi!
It is so good to have you back "home" with us! What a fantastic but I am sure, hard job you have to literally travel the world for your goods. London is one place I have not been to, but this shop along with many other have to be the highlight of London. And that Kime pillow looks fantastic on your signature Swedish tone-on-tone settee! Oh how I dream of having one of your settees.
What a lucky winner Maurie is. The cool colors of that antique painting would go perfectly in any home with the white/gray theme.
Thank you for coming to visit yesterday; my first attempt to write a poem was fun. Bring on SPRING!
Happy day, Anita
Loi! You went to Holland after all! Can't wait for pictures! I'm still waiting….
Drooling over this post!! I NEED that lantern, gorgeous!! I hope you got it! And the green linen press, pillows and settee are all fabulous. What an amazing shop, looks like a wonderful buying trip..thanks for sharing the beautiful hightlights:)
Welcome home dear one! What a beautiful shop and I adore your pillows you have from there. Im so jealous of your trips, they sound so wonderful.
Can't wait to see more. Let me know when your shipment comes in! I'll come visit.
xo Nancy
Powellbrowerhome.com
So happy you had a successful trip dear Loi! What a beautiful shop, and pillows!! Thanks for sharing!!
Blessings,
Vesna
Hello Loi, A very attractive shop. My favorite item was the carved mantel. This post made me notice that I usually focus in on individual historic objects, rather than decorative schemes in general.
Hi Loi!
It looks like you had an amazing time in this fabulous store! Those squishy sofas look heavenly with their down stuffing!
I love the pillows~ a perfect pop of color and pattern!
So glad you had a marvelous time and after doing some catch up reading…I am thrilled that Mocha is better as well!
Take care my friend!
Donna
Welcome home! Glad you had a safe trip. Beautiful pillows!
Berta
Those pillows on your settee are so beautiful and simple and serene.
Wonderful pictures and thanks for sharing so many gorgeous things!
What a beautiful shoppe! I'll have to put it on my places to visit list when I go to London one day. I particularly love the bunting in the window. I think I need some bunting. Great pillows too.
Thank you for sharing your secret spots!
Hello and welcome home, Loi!
Thanks for this beautiful post– like a bowl of aesthetic candy…. Wonderful!
Warm regards,
Erika
Glad you had a good trip Loi and are safely back home – Robert Kime always has lost of enticing and eye catching things in his shop – a large fat purse is required when visiting.
What a lovely treat to get to peruse this shop through your beautiful photographs, Loi! I'd love everything in there, buy oh my goodness — that Venetian mirror — PERFECTION!
Welcome home Loi, thanks for sharing all your lovely inspiration from London. The pillow you picked up for your little settee is perfect…made for each other, I say.
Sounds like you had quite the whirlwind trip…no wonder you were glad to get home. But it sounds like fun and I'm only just a LITTLE BIT JEALOUS!!!!
xo
Terri
Oh, Loi,
I love England and the masterful way they can make a room look fabulous and yet so comfortable and inviting. I'd like the lantern, the pair of silver lion spill vases on the mantle and the rug on the floor, please. Was it very cold there? I have a friend that lives in Plymouth and they had snow yesterday.
Karen
Hi, Karen – We had glorious weather the entire trip. So lucky. Only a half day of light rain in Paris. Loi
I need a linen press to store my fabric stash in! Business expense right?!!
So many beautiful things! I especially love the faded, soft, tea-stained fabrics. Virginia Woolf and company would feel very much at home.
Hugs,
Liliana
Hi Loi,
This is lovely, and I was also happy to see Tone on Tone mentioned in Cote de Texas today. When I saw the post, I thought, "That looks like Tone on Tone." And it was!
-Revi
What a great trip you had! Gorgeous fabric and I love the pillow you brought back. It's perfect! The pale green linen press is stunning. Sounds like a whirl wind trip indeed. Glad you are back!!
xxleslie
Just died and went to heaven:-) Love the pillow and the STORE!! I bet your doggy missed you:) xo, K
"Eye pops!" franki
Loi,
I am over the moon at winning the painting! It is so nice that it is coming home to Pennsylvania. As to this post, I love the apple-green linen press, the very British wallpapers, and the pillow you brought home on your last trip. I would be a devotee, as well! Many thanks again for the painting; it will be displayed with pride and remind me of the happy times Anna and I have had browsing your lovely shop. I hope you take me up on my offer to come to Lancaster for a home-cooked meal!
With gratitude,
Maurie
Dear Loi, welcome home! The photos of Robert Kime's shop took my breath away! Yes, I would still be thinking of the green painted linen press too!
I am drawn to English and country French, so unpretentious and cozy…if ever in London I would pay a visit…thank you for this….sounds like you had a wonderful and productive buying trip….keep us posted! N.xo
You are home safe! And Swoon… love your brush with royalty! You brought back such warm & cozy pictures of Mr. Kime's very special shop! What a trip. Can't wait for you to unveil the rest of it! xxo Monica
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip Loi. I must visit this shop, the style is timeless.
Love it.
Glad you are home safe!
Di
xxxx
Welcome back home! I know those buying trips are fun + demanding( I always felt like I needed a vacation when I got back from one). Next time I am in UK certainly will go to
RK shops.Your pictures are yummy! I sent this on to a good client. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
Thank you, Peggy! If your client has any questions, just let me know. I'm happy to forward to RK.
Hi Loi, Sounds like it was a great trip. What a great shop – thanks for a little vicarious pleasure on a grey day! xo, Phyllis
London was grand! Thanks for bringing us along!
The pillows! Amazing.
I love them and have many. My guests decide that they get in their way and toss them on the floor. How to educate them?
Congratulations Maurie! Maybe next time?
Have a restful week getting back to a normal schedule.
Patty
Hi, Loi,
I've never been to London, and seeing postings like this one always gives me a feeling of wanderlust. That's a great shop, and I particularly like the grillwork that I see in several of the photos. When I first saw the pillow in your header shot, I thought that you had perhaps bought some Native American beadwork. It's an amazing pattern!
What a lovely store. Thank you for sharing your trip details! I look forward to following along as you share each stop with us. I was hoping to visit your shop during a recent visit to McLean, but it snowed!
what a lovely shop Loi. I can see why you love those pillows. They are gorgeous. Can't wait to see more photos!
Sarah
Glad your home safe after an amazing trip. The shop is gorgeous. So many beautiful things to see.
Hi Loi,
What a lovely post and it sounds like a whirlwind trip. I would love to see all your finds in person!
I loved the tour of Kime's shop. I read an article on him a while back, I am sure of it, but I cannot recall where. I immediately recognized the Bloomsbury shop and the style. I just love those pillows! I love the very long embroidered pillow you said you got last time. Wow! It amazes me how really wonderful English decorators create this layered, weathered look that would look like so much clutter in my house. But here it looks so cozy and snug and I wish I could sit on that cushy sofa and have a coffee with Tom. But no, I'd be taking pictures and doing round after round taking in the whole shop.
So lovely for the winner of the painting – I know they will love it.
Talk soon,xo Terri
Gorgeous, love seeing shops through your discerning eyes!! So glad it was a great trip!! Can't wait to see more,
xo Kathysue
OOoooooops! I just turned a little bit green (envy does that to me). Glad you are home safe and sound. Those pillows are divine.
Mary
Love love her pillows…what a charming store.
I am familiar with Kime's work through the redecoration of Clarence House after the Prince of Wales took it over as his London residence, so it is nice to see the store. It's an "updated" variation on the English Country House style, and is rather lovely.
Oooh, now I’m interested to know where else you went shopping in London. I didn’t know about this shop, although it looks a little twee for me. Did you go to “It’s all Greek” on the same street or is that too kitsch? http://www.itsallgreek.co.uk/
I did not visit It's all Greek…..didn't know about it. Will check it out next time 🙂 Thanks!!
So far it looks like you and Tom had a very successful trip. I love the embroidered pillows on your Swedish settee, love mixing up styles. Could you please go back and pick up that stone fireplace mantel….wow!
XXX
Debra~
What an amazing shop – would love to be on a shopping spree with you and Tom – what fun!! Your pillows are gorgeous, and I am coveting the apple green linen press…fabulous!!
This is pure "pillow heaven – cushion paradise"!
Welcome back in the blogworld, dear Loi.
I'm sure that you're happy to be back home after such a short trip, crossing several countries in northern Europe. And looking very much forward to see your "finds" which must be beautiful like that pillow….
Warmest greetings, k
Hi Loi,
I want to go on a shopping trip with you! What beautiful photos you took of an amazing shop. Lots of yummy textures and colors, that fireplace is devine!
Welcome home Loi,
What a wonderful trip to go shopping (virtually) with you.
I love how your eye goes right to the things that make you – well you!~
Incredible.
pve
That's just the way Brian and I travel…we cram everything we possibly can and say "we can sleep when we're 90"
omg that second settee of yours just takes the cake and stops the presses with its gorgeousness. glad you made it back safe and sound!
swedish smiles (what the heck!).
michele
Fabulous! Loi what a treat it is to visit the store with you. I love the layered looks of Robert Kime, actually I had a post on Robert Kime 🙂 in my database for last few months, but never had a chance to post it. I don't have to now. 🙂 I will spend a good time enjoying your pictures though.
Best wishes
Oh, it's all so beautiful. I would have tried to hide some place inconspicious until the shop closed just to play around inside overnight.
Reminds me of the perfect English cottage! A dream of mine someday! Thanks for the beautiful post, I can't get over how perfect the pillow goes with your settee… dreamy!
Sending smiles your way Loi
Desiree
You spoil us by sharing your beautiful photographs from your trip. It looks like a wonderful shop. I love both pillows that you chose. As usual, your eye and talent are an inspiration Loi. Thank you so much for your wonderful blog. It's such an inspiration. I get so many wonderful ideas.
Susan
Welcome back ! You must be satisfied of your last experience in Europe. You've got great find, I suppose .
Warm regards. Olympia
Welcome home Loi, so glad you had a good trip!! This shop looks fantastic, love visiting through your pictures, thanks for the treat. Your pillow gorgeous! Congrats to Maurie, very lucky! Have a great weekend, xo Robin
Loi
I adore the Robert Kime fabrics. I am really loving anything with an ethnic flair lately. That linen press in the green paint is fabulous! Sounds like you had a whirlwind trip!
Welcome home transatlantic traveller. I am very familiar with Roberts Shop in Kensington as one of my favourite bakeries is just opposite his shop. On many an occasion I can be seen rather unglamorously stuffing my face with a morning croissant whilst gazing at the goodies inside his shop. I love your the pairing of the embroidered pillow on the second settee, very pretty Mr L.O.I.
So warm and cozy, Loi. The British do it so well. Love the sofa Tom sat upon patiently – faded chintz is still wonderful.
Can't wait to see further pics from your whirlwind tour.
Happy week-end.
b
I am so glad you had a great trip. I loved your pics on Instagram! Cannot wait to see the mirror in your home! This shop sounds amazing, I will have to check it out on my next trip over.
Best,
Christina
Loi, that sofa that Tom sat on and had coffee, it looks so comfortable. Is it all down filled? The apple green linen press would be in my container home. I don't know how you go on these trips and not buy everything. It is so inspiring.
gorgeous!!!
Freaky Friday
Freaky Friday Facebook Fan Page
Oh, I love his shop! What treasures! It is always a pleasure being included in your adventures…
Hi! I like so much the photos! And i love el sillón antiguo que fotografiaste en la ante última imagen, quiero uno así jaja. Te esperamos en nuestro espacio, si? Abrazos 🙂
The mantel grabbed my heart Loi! Dreams of a time gone by….cozied up with a warm drink and a room full of friends….in a stately manor or rambling country estate of course…..
So glad you are back, dear Loi!!
What a gorgeous shop…I love those pillows….and so many other treasures I see!
The ones you chose are perfect…your taste is impeccable, dear friend! 🙂
And Congratulations to the winner of the painting! It is so beautiful…
On to catch up with your newest post…
xoxo
Loi,
Glad your trip was successful! Thanks for sharing with us love all the pillows too. Your photos are so wonderful and give great details which is important to all lovers of art, fabric, furniture, travel and pillows…lol! Robert Kime's shop is so special glad you shared that with us here.
Cheers
Bette
Dear Loi
I loved reading this post and the one before. You travelled my old stomping ground. I adore Robert Kime's shop and would pop in whenever I could. They had a desk…that I loved. I tossed and turned on that one..and now wish I had bought it. Isn't it the way!
DId you visit the London Book Review Bookshop, around the corner from The British Museum. A wonderful bookstore if you do not know it. http://www.lrbshop.co.uk
I loved the monthly newspaper…if you do not already subscribe to it…it is worth it. The classified section in the back is fab…great places to rent and explore around Europe.
Thanks so much for your comment today Loi…lovely to meet you via Instagram. 🙂
Jeanne
wow just scrolling thru this was magical. i love the visuals and colors. i wanna go!
i love those sofas! =)
and pictures makes the decorating fever rising 😀 great details.
u got nice blog!
Loi! It's Rebecca, your neice from California! So glad I came across your blog, you are so fabulous and an inspiration to us all. Keep up the great work and here's to many more future successes!
I definitely want to come and visit soon!
Miss you,
Rebecca
Dang it…..those pillows….you know that is my weakness:). You picked out a purdy one. Better than just bringing home a T Shirt right? I would have to touch everything in that shop.
Loi, Thank you for telling me about your post on Robert Kime, it's wonderful! I love his fabrics and his charming shop! What a wonderful trip, even if it was a whirl wind trip! Your blog and your designs are always inspirational! All the best, Rié