3 must-visit design stores in Amsterdam

Sunday Times Home Weekly editor Robyn Alexander recently visited Amsterdam, one of her favourite cities. We asked her to share her three best places to shop for (or even just look at…!) the latest interior design there

sub_head_start 1. Droog sub_head_end

When I first visited the Droog showroom in 2004, it was a fairly small space that exhibited a number of the brand’s instantly iconic designs (cofounded by creative director Renny Ramakers, Droog collaborates with the world’s foremost designers to produce items that are useful, but that often also ask questions – or make jokes! – about the status accorded to particular objects).

Just over a decade later that small showroom has mushroomed into a much larger area that combines a showroom and store, a gorgeous floral studio and Fairy Tale Garden (a courtyard garden described by the brand as “a shelter for biodiversity, where natural and artificial elements intermingle”), the Roomservice café – in which you can sit by a first-floor window, enjoy a glass of wine and a light meal, and watch the world go by on the canal bridge below – and the Hôtel Droog, in which you can stay… it has just a single studio available, featuring a living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.

There’s inspiration at every turn here as well as lots of Droog and other design products to purchase in the store (snap up a roll of Do Frame Tape by Martí Guixé, even if you buy nothing else). In short, Droog is an absolute must-visit for design lovers.

Visit: Staalstraat 7b, +31-020-523-5059, droog.com

sub_head_start 2. The Frozen Fountain sub_head_end

Undoubtedly my favourite design store in the world, the Frozen Fountain combines a huge selection of the loveliest furniture and decor accessories with a totally unpretentious atmosphere. You can wander through its interconnected showrooms for ages with absolutely no one bothering you (or looking you over as if attempting to assess your bank balance!) and it’s definitely worth taking your time to do so.

story_article_right1

Inspiration is everywhere here: when we visited recently they were showcasing the latest designs fresh from the Milan Furniture Fair, and the store constantly changes its room installations and updates its stock. You’ll find everything from classic designs – such as Piet Hein Eek’s brilliant “scrapwood” wooden furniture – to the newest decor items, including the fab Seletti neon letters that caught my eye this time (happily, these are also available locally at Generation in Hyde Park facebook.com/GenerationStoreSA). And don’t forget to shoot a selfie on the ultracool bench that’s parked outside the store…

Visit: Prinsengracht 645, +31-020-622-9375, frozenfountain.nl

sub_head_start 3. Store Without A Home sub_head_end

Sheltering behind a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it storefront on one of Amsterdam’s best shopping streets, this slip of a store definitely punches above its weight in terms of showcasing new and very desirable designs. The goods on offer might at first sight appear to fall into the ever-expanding category of what I like to call “hipster tat” but the selection here has been much more carefully edited than is usual.

This is a great spot for reasonably priced yet special (and packable!) gifts for the design lovers in your life: from perfectly pared-down candleholders to irresistible ceramic containers made in bunny and bird shapes – and glazed in gleaming metallic shades – there is lots to covet and plenty to actually buy.

Visit: Haarlemmerdijk 26, info@storewithoutahome.com, storewithoutahome.nl/en/