Shop snoop around Jonathan Adler Sloane Avenue, Kensington. Inside the store, you will find his collectable pottery pieces, furniture and a stunning selection of seating. This includes Jonathan’s contemporary take on Chippendale chairs, Louis-style armchairs, chesterfields and mid-century modern sofa shapes. His homage to Hollywood can be seen with the superbly shiny high gloss sideboards and decadent decorative objects. It’s certainly a place for inspiration and an injection of modern American glamour. Join me on a tour around the Jonathan Adler Sloane Avenue store.
Sloane Avenue Shop Lower Ground Floor
My Favourite Five Jonathan Adler Pieces
To give you an idea of the fabulous furniture and adorable home accessories you’ll find in-store, I’ve selected five pieces to showcase. I’ll start with the Utopia Pottery Collection, which is a playfully chic universe of vases, vessels and objects. The Adler Empire is all down to Jonathan’s passion for his pottery wheel! You can read his story online, but to give you a snapshot, he was introduced to pottery at summer camp back in 1978. After trying out ‘proper jobs’, his yearning for the potter’s wheel was just too much, so he decided to follow his heart and give it a go. Barneys Store in New York loved his pots, bought a bunch and the rest is history. The pottery collection continues to be a firm favourite with customers, and this Utopia range indeed showcases Johnathan’s sense of humour. You can buy mugs, teapots, sugar bowls, cookie jars, vases and more. These are produced in Peru using brown stoneware, which shows through the sheer glaze.
Utopia Pottery
Once Jonathan had secured a relationship with artisan makers in Peru to produce his pottery pieces, he was free to unleash his creative talent on the world of interiors. Today, his product lines extend to sofas, armchairs, consoles, cabinets, coffee tables, cushions, rugs, wallpaper, bed linen, lighting, decorative objects, and so on. His seating selection is particularly stunning, where he reinvigorates classic styles but adds his very own modern twist. The Mrs Godfrey Armchairs feature tailored mid-century lines, but the upholstery fabric is unexpectedly bright and bold. The Marrakesh Sea Ikat linen brings this piece up to date.
Mrs Godfrey Armchairs
The Baxter Sofa is another example of how Jonathan plays with well-loved classic seating shapes. Here he has given the Chesterfield sofa a tantalising T-Arm silhouette. The upholstery is in velvet for a tactile finish, and that fantastic colour is Venice Sea.
Baxter Sofa
Hollywood opulence also reigns supreme with dramatic, ornate and oversised pieces. I loved the Crawford Cabinet, which is lavished with black crackled lacquer. With Lucite and brass hardware teamed with gold-toned legs, it’s certainly a show-stopper.
Crawford Cabinet
The Channing Collection is also reminiscent of Hollywood, with shiny white lacquer featuring polished nickel fittings. The selection includes dressers, consoles and end tables. Jonathan is big on cinematic style, shimmering surfaces and opulent details.
Channing Buffet
Jonathan Adler Shop and Stock
Jonathan has a string of stores scattered throughout America. The Sloane Avenue shop is ample space so you’ll get to see an impressive selection of Jonathan’s products on view. The merchandising gives you a glimpse into the bright, breezy and carefree Palm Beach lifestyle that Jonathan is championing this season with Ikat fabric patterns and bamboo accents. As you walk through the store, you’ll also notice his summer colour palette is coral, turquoise and lemon yellow.
Interiors Upstairs
Make sure you venture to the lower ground for another helping of furniture along with throws, bags and decorative delights. You’ll also notice a selection of pottery pieces showcased on the wall as you make your way down the stairs.
Pottery Display
Aside from the five favourite items I mentioned earlier, you should also keep your eyes peeled for the giant surreal sculptures of a giraffe’s head, a human hand and a foot. These are cast in solid Lucite and are quite something. The foot is huge, so it can be used as an occasional table or a stool. Jonathan is also very much into crafted items so look out for his needlepoint cushion selection featuring pointing fingers, anchors and jet-set locations such as Palm Beach and New York.
Colourful Corner
You’ll also find plenty of gift ideas for birthdays and weddings and, hopefully, a well-deserved treat for your own home. It’s a great place to browse for interior inspiration and styling ideas. Some of the décor themes I took home with me after visiting the shop were …
Bring summer inside with fresh Ikat textile prints, bamboo furniture accents and beautiful blue hues
For a Palm Beach vibe, sit turquoise blues next to glossy whites and inject additional colours like lemon yellow for a zesty freshness or coral for warmth
Don’t be afraid of bold colours or patterns. As long as you start with tailored lines, like classically shaped furniture, you can go wild with you
If you have space, buy oversised furniture for the ultimate statement
Have fun, and don’t take yourself or your home too seriously!
Jonathan Adler Shop Information
Shop Exterior
The Kensington store is located at 60 Sloane Avenue, London SW3 3DD. The nearest stations are South Kensington and Sloane Square. The Notting Hill branch is 287-289 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2QA. The closest stations are Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill Gate and Holland Park. Opening hours for both are Monday to Saturday, 10 am until 7 pm and Sunday from 12 noon until 6 pm. You can also shop online at Jonathan Adler.
Author: Homegirl London. Photographs: Homegirl London (shop interiors) and Jonathan Adler (products and shop exterior). Thanks: Sophia Cottier.
