Design House at 14 Cavendish
Set within a stripped-back Georgian townhouse, Design House at 14 Cavendish brought together leading designers and makers for a bold and textural exploration of contemporary craft and creativity during the London Design Festival.
During this year’s London Design Festival, the elegant Georgian townhouse at 14 Cavendish Square was transformed into a dynamic design destination, hosting Design House—a multi-room, multi-floor showcase that celebrated the breadth and diversity of contemporary design. Curated to encourage exploration and discovery, the pop-up exhibition brought together a broad spectrum of designers and makers, spanning disciplines from furniture and ceramics to neon lighting and graphic art, all under one beautifully worn Palladian roof.
Across three thoughtfully curated floors, the historic interiors, intentionally left raw and atmospheric, provided a characterful backdrop for each installation. The stripped plaster walls and exposed timber detailing gave the space an unfinished charm that highlighted the textural and material quality of the works on display. This contrast between old and new became a central narrative, enriching the visitor experience and adding depth to every room.
On the ground floor, designer Sebastian Cox presented a series of handcrafted furniture pieces, ranging from beds to benches, celebrating the versatility of natural timber. The works drew attention to the quiet elegance of traditional woodworking techniques while showcasing a refreshing take on form and function. Nearby, 1882 Ltd commemorated over a decade of collaboration with designer Max Lamb, exhibiting his cult-favourite Crockery series atop a vibrant orange plinth—nicknamed “The Tangerine Test”—to illustrate how colour influences the perception of material and silhouette.
Other standout presentations included Tiipoi, whose updated Siment vessels took inspiration from the industrial water towers of Bangalore, blurring the lines between utility and sculpture. Ruup & Form added a more immersive, interactive layer to the show, with a collaboration that centred on sculptural dining and storytelling through object design.
Upstairs, the first floor continued this multidisciplinary journey. Isokon+ collaborated with Jasper Morrison to debut the Iso-Lounge, a minimalist, cantilevered lounge chair that offered a contemporary reimagining of classic plywood furniture. This new design not only paid homage to the modernist legacy of Isokon but pushed the material’s potential into new, structurally daring territory. On the walls, graphic designer Angus Hyland explored sacred geometry through a series of bold, colourful compositions, complemented by the more tactile, painterly works of Marion Deuchars, including rock paintings and hand-painted vessels.
The top floor took a more playful and expressive turn with a curated selection of works from The Wrong Shop, the creative platform founded by Sebastian Wrong. At the centre of this space were cabinets reimagined by Dutch artists FreelingWaters—Gijs Frieling and Job Wouters—who covered their surfaces in vivid illustrations, blurring the boundaries between fine art, craft and design. Neon artist Jochen Holz contributed a glowing series of borosilicate glass light sculptures that snaked organically across walls and ceilings, bringing a sense of kinetic energy and colour to the more intimate rooms. Holz also collaborated with Attua Aparicio on a collection of ceramic lamps, extending his exploration of materiality into new territory.
What made Design House so compelling was its seamless fusion of tradition and experimentation. Whether through furniture, lighting, vessels, or wall-based works, each piece contributed to a larger narrative about material exploration, slow design, and creative cross-pollination. It was an exhibition that didn’t just showcase design—it told stories through it.
As part of the London Design Festival, Design House at 14 Cavendish proved to be one of the most memorable destinations of the week, offering a thoughtfully curated, richly textured snapshot of design today, rooted in craft yet refreshingly forward-thinking.
