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London Fashion Week means that visiting fashion industry models, designers, photographers, buyers and other professionals are looking for the best places to stay as well as what parties and shows to attend, but finding the hidden gems is always best discovered by word-of-mouth.

Word is just now getting out among the fashionistas
about newly opened 40 Winks, a boutique lodging in London’s East End that has
long been a favourite location for photographic shoots. Proprietor David Carter,
an interior designer, is opening his home to people from the creative
industries and hoping that 40 Winks becomes a connection hub for its guests as
well as a delightful place to stay.

The magic happens when you step through the door of the 1717
townhouse in Stepney Green and discover a sumptuous environment of cozy rooms
and décor with personality. Enter the lush Green Room lounge and be greeted by
carefully selected objects of art that are reminiscent of when Victorian
travellers brought back items of curiosity for display as conversation pieces.
Unwind with a drink from the small 40 Winks bar and hear about who has visited
this special place over the years. The vibrant rooms have greeted Orlando Bloom, Helen
Mirren, Billie Piper, Nigella Lawson and a long list of other celebrities who have done photo
shoots on the premises. The townhouse has also been the photographic location of choice
for Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Tattler, Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and other
big names in advertising and media.

“The house is like when Alice walks through the looking
glass and presents visitors with a theatrical moment that is juxtaposition
between being on Mile End Road, crossing the threshold from the grey reality of
London, to entering into a dreamy landscape,” said Carter.

He bought the place in 1996, when the building was a vacant derelict
site with no roof, no flooring, no running water and had never been heated.
Transforming the building, Carter was one of the early artists who fell in love
with the East End, and he is now surrounded by many highbrow neighbours from
the creative world.

“The house was a completely blank canvas and it was
inspiring to be able to bring back an old building to life and now to open it
as an antidote to sterile hotels and cliché boutique hotels,” he said.

With just two rooms available at affordable prices, bookings
should be made in advance. Likely to become a top choice of visiting creative
industry types, Carter is looking forward to seeing how the concept of 40 Winks
appeals to people, and has ambition toward opening other cosmopolitan locations
in the future.

I know where I’m suggesting London visitors to stay,

-Lisa