Scholten & Baijings Time for Tea installation at Fortnum & Mason

The first day of October is surely a sign that we have passed the seasonal shift and crept firmly into the autumn/winter territory with their attendant chills and festivities. The autumn equinox was ten days ago and I, for one, would quite like to spend the season tucked up here on this installation at Fortnum & Mason. If you saw my piece from a few weeks ago, you will know that I love the tradition of afternoon tea. If you also read my blog regularly (thank you!) then you will know that I’m quite partial to Scandinavian design. So for these two reasons alone, this dreamscape afternoon tea installation by Scandinavian Design duo Scholten & Baijings at Fortnum & Mason was something I had to see. A sophisticated pastel afternoon tea with marble tiled floor in Fortnums, one of England’s oldest stores and best known preservers of old world charm and sensibility, is literally what my dreams are made of! Even though I knew that it would be likely that I’d be trying to push my way through 10,000 tourists in a bun fight on a Saturday afternoon on Piccadilly to get there I just couldn’t miss it.

I’m so glad I did brave the crowds, which were actually nowhere near as thronging as I anticipated, as this installation at Fortnum & Mason’s was not to be missed. The space, on the first floor of Fortnums inimitable beautiful Regency store, was taken over and curated by Amsterdam-based design duo Scholten & Baijings. Inspired by the ubiquitous eau de nil of the store it inhabited (incidentally one of my very favourite shades) this tea setting is almost edibly good with its ice-cream candy floss hues weighted by the use of timeless materials and that marble floor which is just everything!

Scholten & Baijings often have the magic touch with exhibition spaces and have worked across many design disciplines from glass and ceramics to textiles, pattern and tableware. They have also produced ranges for Ikea, and long time collaborators HAY. The set in Fortnums is the result of their many collaborative efforts with high-end and cutting edge design firms, including Luce Di Carrara for the flooring, Japanese porcelain produced with Arita, Hay for hard surfaced chairs (I love the hole punch ones), Herman Mailer for the boxier armchair, and my favourite piece the fabulously playful armchair in waffled fabrics with a colour popping punch of neon yellow to the leg frame which was produced by Scholten & Baijings for Moroso.

All of the pieces shown on set were produced during various collaborations over the last five years and are a brilliant showcase of the duo’s design prowess. Each piece works with similar design aesthetics, but whilst each design is unique the collection sits together as a beautiful tapestry of modern design. I absolutely loved this installation and was pretty tempted to start my own design lovers sit-in! What’s your favourite part of the set and why? I’d love to hear in the comments below.