Quick Peeks

Lisa Devaney

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London Fashion Week means that visiting fashion industry models, designers, photographers, buyers and other professionals are looking for the best places to stay as well as what parties and shows to attend, but finding the hidden gems is always best discovered by word-of-mouth.

Word is just now getting out among the fashionistas about newly opened 40 Winks, a boutique lodging in London’s East End that has long been a favourite location for photographic shoots. Proprietor David Carter, an interior designer, is opening his home to people from the creative industries and hoping that 40 Winks becomes a connection hub for its guests as well as a delightful place to stay.

The magic happens when you step through the door of the 1717 townhouse in Stepney Green and discover a sumptuous environment of cozy rooms and décor with personality. Enter the lush Green Room lounge and be greeted by carefully selected objects of art that are reminiscent of when Victorian travellers brought back items of curiosity for display as conversation pieces. Unwind with a drink from the small 40 Winks bar and hear about who has visited this special place over the years. The vibrant rooms have greeted Orlando Bloom, Helen Mirren, Billie Piper, Nigella Lawson and a long list of other celebrities who have done photo shoots on the premises. The townhouse has also been the photographic location of choice for Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Tattler, Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and other big names in advertising and media.

“The house is like when Alice walks through the looking glass and presents visitors with a theatrical moment that is juxtaposition between being on Mile End Road, crossing the threshold from the grey reality of London, to entering into a dreamy landscape,” said Carter.

He bought the place in 1996, when the building was a vacant derelict site with no roof, no flooring, no running water and had never been heated. Transforming the building, Carter was one of the early artists who fell in love with the East End, and he is now surrounded by many highbrow neighbours from the creative world.

“The house was a completely blank canvas and it was inspiring to be able to bring back an old building to life and now to open it as an antidote to sterile hotels and cliché boutique hotels,” he said.

With just two rooms available at affordable prices, bookings should be made in advance. Likely to become a top choice of visiting creative industry types, Carter is looking forward to seeing how the concept of 40 Winks appeals to people, and has ambition toward opening other cosmopolitan locations in the future.

I know where I’m suggesting London visitors to stay,

-Lisa