House Sweet House

John Lewis may have a reputation as a solid dependable high street store but for the last couple of years it has been quietly edging up (literally) its design credentials. Its own brand pieces, always well-designed, gradually became more minimal and, for those in the know were clearly influenced by the clean, modern lines of Scandinavian furniture, while for those who didn’t know, it just looked like a collection of jolly nice pieces that would go with the curtains and sofa they bought a couple of years ago.

This month the company goes one step further with the launch of HOUSE; a collection of 600 uncluttered and well-thought out pieces that will fit well with your existing furniture and which, in the best tradition of the store, are modern without being too edgy and have a nod to fashion without being a victim of it.

Louise Stuart, the head of buying for cooking and dining, said the collection had been designed for their increasingly design literate customers. And in recognising that, John Lewis have also recognised the gradual shift in their client base and about time too.

These days we’re all watching the Skandi dramas and, if Twitter is a yardstick, we’re watching just as much for the interiors as the action. We know our Jacobsen from our Poulsen and we want a bit of it. There’s still nothing that will frighten the horses, or the neighbours to be more precise, but there are plenty of pieces that will look great in the most modern and design conscious of homes.

Theo Williams, the store’s design manager said: “HOUSE is the latest step in a journey we’re taking to make John Lewis the destination for great design. We develop contemporary collections that reflect the latest seasonal interiors trends and the range is simple and accessible”

In fact the only slight problem for those of us who have been quietly cultivating this look for a while with assorted vintage pieces mixed with modern design classics, is that everyone will now assume we bought it all from John Lewis.