The clocks might have gone back, but hibernating can wait until January; the capital has a wealth of exciting new exhibitions and festive workshops to draw you out after dark.
There’s also a lot to tempt you to open your wallet, from bougie napkin rings to mid-century masterpieces.
Adopting a policy of “one for me, one for them” in the run-up to December will help you nail your Christmas shopping before November is out — while transforming your own surroundings into the ultimate cosy retreat.
Woolwich Contemporary
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Didn’t make it to Frieze? Then hot-foot it to the 10th edition of the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair at Royal Arsenal (November 13 to 16, tickets from £20).
Discover offerings from South London Gallery, Chisenhale Gallery, Proyectos Ultravioleta and pieces by some of the best contemporary artists working in this often overlooked medium.
Eliminate spending guilt with the knowledge your cash is going to a good cause by bidding online in the Drawing a Line Under Torture art auction, in aid of Freedom From Torture.
Pick up pieces by Patrick Heron, Helen Beard, Brian Eno or Paula Rego at lineundertorture.org — the auction closes on November 10.
A work by Patrick Heron being auctioned on November 10
Sam Roberts Photography
County Hall Pottery, which opened last year, still feels like the new kid on the block. Meet a friend at its upcoming exhibition, HOUSE (November 18 to January 21) for which the gallery will be transformed into a fully styled home.
Each “room” will be filled with work by ceramic artists from around the world — think handcrafted BBQs and sculptural lamps.
Over at Sir John Soane’s Museum, Egypt: Influencing British Design 1775-2025 (Until January 18) explores the profound influence of Ancient Egypt on British architecture and design over the past 250 years.
It features two tapestries by Egyptian lifestyle brand Anūt Cairo, which honour the origins and history of the sarcophagus of Pharaoh Seti I, a centrepiece of Soane’s collection.
Festive craft workshops in London
Blow your own bauble at Gather in Woolwich
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‘Tis the season (almost). To create a festive keepsake for your tree, book into a bauble-making class at Gather in Woolwich (£60, weekends from November 1 through to December 14).
Marvel at the formidable furnace at the capital’s last female-led, hot glassblowing studio as you compose colours and blow your own decoration.
Petersham Nurseries is also worth a look: many of its wreath-making workshops are already sold out, but there’s still time to book festive container planting (£65, November 26) and a hands-on masterclass in stylish and sustainable table crackers (£105, November 27).
And at the aforementioned County Hall Pottery, a festive pottery painting workshop (£50, November 29) is an opportunity to personalise ceramics from the in-house Lotus Collection under the expert guidance of artist-in-residence Yasemine Gava.
Hot new interiors collabs
Luke Edward Hall’s cushion at National Portrait Gallery, designed to accompany the Cecil Beaton exhibition
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Museum gift shops often produce a wealth of unique goodies — and sometimes at surprisingly good prices.
We have Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World at the National Portrait Gallery to thank for cushions (£35) and tea towels (£15) printed with painterly faces by Luke Edward Hall.
Elsewhere, and demanding slightly more investment (but sure to get dinner party craic started) are Solange Azagury-Partridge’s iconic Hotlips design fashioned into napkin rings for Summerill & Bishop (£235). Choose from red or gold — or pick one of each.
At concept store Koibird on Marylebone Lane, textile artist Kate Jenkins is leading a Merry Fishmass from mid-November.
A limited-edition run of her joyful, hand-beaded and knitted creations — such as fish, lobsters and octopi — will feature on festive jumpers and tree decorations which double up as keyrings.
The best interiors sales and markets around London
Sharpen those elbows: Toogood, the north London design studio and mastermind of the Roly-Poly chair, is hosting its first archive sale of furniture (October 30 to November 1).
Expect 70 per cent off showroom samples, one-off archive pieces, ceramics and limited editions; tickets are free but entry must be pre-booked.
Elsewhere, a hardy coat and crossbody bag are needed for an end-of-year rummage around the antiques fairs. The Big London Flea (EartH, Dalston, N16, November 2), the Greenwich Vintage Furniture & Flea Market (Borough Hall, SE10, November 15) and the Big South London Flea (Copeland Park, SE15, November 29) are single-day events promising pre-loved treasures.
Christmas shopping? The Hackney Flea Market (Stoke Newington Church Street, N16, November 22 to 23) might throw up some gems.
If you’re in the market for a true design classic, then Midcentury Modern (Dulwich College, SE21, November 16) boasts 85 top furniture dealers.
If you’re having to drag the kids along, appease them with a stop at the new Art Play Pavilion at Dulwich Picture Gallery, which is just down the road.
Interiors books being published in November
If you’ve finished The House of Guinness on Netflix then it’s the perfect time to dive into The Houses of Guinness (out November 6, Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd, £30).
Author Adrian Tinniswood explores the life of the Guinness family through their mansions and townhouses, including Kenwood House on Hampstead Heath, which was saved from developers by Edward Cecil Guinness and donated to the nation almost a century ago.
Gardening might not be high on the agenda right now, but dreaming about what could be achieved— whether it’s through the lens of Jasper Conran’s Dorset manor or Nigel Dunnett’s work at the Barbican — is exactly what Pastoral Gardens (out November 5, Montgomery Press, £55) aims to do.
Written by House & Garden’s Clare Foster, this treasure of a book explores 20 beautiful gardens and features essays by experts Jinny Blom and Kim Wilkie.
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