Valerie Wade offers unique mid-20th Century French, Italian and U.S. furniture, lighting, mirrors and objets d’art, interspersed with eclectic, sometimes quirky items that have caught her eye on her frequent travels around the world.
Valerie, a former fashion editor of the Sunday Times Magazine, has a refined taste in beautiful one-off items for the home. Her shop, located on the corner of Fulham Road and Onslow Gardens, in the heart of the fashionable “Chelsea Cross” design destination, has attracted a brisk footfall for the past quarter-century and a loyal customer following.
Valerie Wade furniture typically includes mirrored contemporary dressing tables, handcrafted in England for her, Art Deco lighting by French designers, Syrian cabinets with mother-of-pearl inlay, and modern and contemporary French, Italian and U.S. art and photographs. “I only buy items for my shop that I would have in my own home. My focus is very much driven by fashion,” Valerie says.
“I can never say what the next trend will be, but something imperceptible in the ether affects what I buy.”. Valerie’s tastes appeal to a growing international cross-section of interior designers and clients, including celebrities.
Her windows are famous for their ever-changing displays of vintage, contemporary and bespoke furniture, lighting and objets d’art. Nothing is predictable: Hollywood glamour combines with classic, mid-century Modernism, Art Deco, and globally-sourced contemporary pieces.
Valerie’s selection of vintage and contemporary lighting ranges from breathtaking chandeliers, to Lotus lights that look great as individual pieces or massed together as an art installation. “Lighting is the make or break element for any interior,” she says. “It can kill or enhance any space — not to mention whoever occupies that space.”
Valerie’s enthusiasm for finding vintage mirrored furniture for the luxurious living room and bedroom (especially dressing tables) has been extended to producing custom-made pieces that can be adapted to clients’ specifications.