Quick trip to Chelsea

Working in quiet rural Herefordshire is great, but it doesn't half make you appreciate the fun and excitement of London when you get to visit. Last week I was lucky to go with two old friends to the 606 Club in Lots Road, Chelsea.

Part of the 606 enjoyment is that it's so hidden. There's little outside to indicate it's even there, so you nervously ring the bell and some guy unlocks the metal gate to let you in. However downstairs, it's heaving with friendly people eating, drinking and listening to jazz, and a great Cuban Salsa band was playing their heart out

 

Chelsea is changing fast by the Thames, as new apartments are going up so the next day I had a good walk round the area. This is the old power station that's on the opposite side of the road to the 606, taken from the river side

I was interested in visiting the Roca Gallery which was designed by Zaha Hadid

I loved the swoopy organic shelves and long low tables made from Corian. At New House we've never used Corian, and Roca made me think I must investigate how best to use it.

The gallery is London home of the Swiss bathroom manufacturer Roca and Laufen. It must be pretty difficult to come up with new forms or shapes for the bathroom, but theirs were stunning and I liked this bath that had thicker and a thinner sides 

I couldn't resist taking a walk through Chelsea Harbour Design Centre, even though it was a Saturday and all the inspiring showrooms were closed. A show - the Celebration of Archive was on, and I was pleased to see that Edward Bulmer (who's also from Herefordshire) had a stand