Image: Design Soda

/

At this time of year it’s all too easy to get caught up in a whir of things that need to get done, places you have to be and things you should have done yesterday. But it’s also a time that I try to find little indulgences which help me to unwind so that I don’t burn out, and if you know me well then you will know that one of my favourite spaces in the house is the cocktail room. With its rich, dark walls which feel cocooning, comfy furniture, library of books and of course the cocktail trolley, the room is set as a grown up space for unwinding in. There are no plastic toys or craft packs half abandoned or half destroyed, everything is in its place and feels calm. I love being in here in the evening and if I have a cocktail in hand all the better!

/

Images: Design Soda

/

I’ve sourced barware for this room for years and have become quite particular about the glasses I put in it. They need to be weighty, clink nicely, refract light, and of course look stylish. Today I want to introduce you to one of my latest finds, and my guilty treat, I give you the very pretty Champagne coupe from Soho Home.

/

 

 

Images: Design Soda

/

 

Soho Home, for the uninitiated, is the interiors brand from Soho House, a cool private members club with venues in trendy places from Shoreditch and New York to Berlin, and a reputation for top notch interiors. I had a friend who was a member of Shoreditch House when he lived in London and made a particular point of meeting him there for catch ups just so that I could swoon at the decor and sample the Cowshed products in the bathrooms (Soho also owns Babbington House & Spa which produce the Cowshed range). After being asked by countless guests where to source their items the brand decided to launch their own interiors collection. As with many items in the rest of the collection, their Barwell crystal glassware is the actual glassware used in branches of the Soho House group.

/

 

 

Images: Design Soda

/

This means that we can all bring home some of the luxury afforded to those who frequent their exclusive clubs with accompanying show-stopping-ly stylish interiors. I love the attention to detail on this crystal glassware, it is expensive but if you read the story behind it this is because they are investment pieces. Soho Home state that they believe half of the enjoyment of a cocktail is obtained through the eye and I couldn’t agree more, their glassware is designed to add a sense of occasion to cocktail hour.

 

/

Images: Design Soda

/

The Barwell Crystal glassware range has the solidity you expect of good quality glassware, it is made of 24% crystal lead and the cut crystal design refracts beautifully in the light. It also has the satisfying clink of expensive glass as opposed to the dull thud of cheaper products. I absolutely love my champagne coupes which feel incredibly sophisticated to use. But I’d also love to gradually add to my collection, next on my list is the high ball and the brandy glass. But I’m also wondering about the long term pleasure of pouring my favourite spirit from a beautiful crystal Barware decanter, or even being a bit retro and investing in a punch bowl.

/

Image: Design Soda

/

Produced by glass artisans in Slovenia, the crystal lead glasses are blown and cut by hand using a traditional carborundum and are then highly polished until smooth and gleaming in the light. The design of the etchings themselves are based on a piece of vintage wallpaper unearthed by the Soho team and I love the stylish simplicity of their lines. What piece of barware would you choose from the range? Do you favour crystal cut glass to enhance the ritual of celebration at cocktail hour?

/

Clockwise from Top: Cut Glass Bowl £60-120, Brandy Glasses £70 (set of two), High Ball £56 (set of two), Decanter £130, Champagne Coupe, £64 (set of two) all John Lewis. 

This post is a collaboration with John Lewis and contains affiliate links to products, should you purchase through these links a small percentage of the sales will come to me.