What?: The stylish Chelsea stalwart has a predictably tasteful kids’ department, stocking a well-chosen mix of design classics and unusual products from up-and-coming designers from all over the globe. While you might think twice about letting little monsters loose on this visually stunning space with its neon-orange walls, covetable product and inviting layout, play is actually encouraged, with a tiny table for them to sit at while they stack cargo onto a beautiful wooden container ship, colourful cat-shaped seating to clamber on and a cool magnetic chalkboard to mess with while the big people browse.
Where?: The Conran Shop has two London stores – one in Chelsea and one in Marylebone – as well as a Selfridge’s concession, a store in Paris and six in Japan. We visited the flagship store on Fulham Road in Chelsea, which is a five-minute walk from South Kensington Tube (Piccadilly, Circle, District).
Price Range: You could very easily spend an absolute fortune in here, although thankfully there are enough brilliant pocket-money toys to keep them quiet if you’d rather not. Toys start at £6 for a robot-hand thing and peak at £3,000 for a luxury football table, while clothing costs from £22 for a pair of Breton shorts up to £125 for a cosy Belgian-designed, Scottish-made sweater by Howlin’. Furniture is beautiful but extortionate, ranging from £85 for a wicker storage basket up to an eye-watering £1,549 for a limewood treehouse bed by French designer François Lamazerolles – but come on now, it’s a fricking TREEHOUSE BED.
Best Bits: I don’t know about you but it’s very rare that I feel ok about liberating my small ogre in a shop, and even less so in a really nice one, but it’s totally fine here.
Worst Bits: I’m far too poor to shop here but it’s nice to have aspirations.
Did We Buy?: We bought another pack of Meri Meri hair clips – this time shaped like cats’ ears. Absolutely no idea why I bother since Bab rips them and whole chunks of hair out within seconds of me attaching them to her. The record for her keeping one in currently stands at about half an hour, and that’s only because she was distracted by food.
Would We Come Back?: This shop is goals. House goals. Money goals. Goals. And probably the most inspiring children’s department you’ll ever see.
Bab totally spells her name all by herself with absolutely no help whatsoever from Mummy and Daddy at The Conran Shop, Chelsea
bablands.com 