Make your home sparkle with silver

Nothing quite beats the seductive sparkle of silver - but chrome and stainless steel also have polish.
24 February 2016
From top left, clockwise: pair of Sheffield Plate tea caddies circa 1800/1810, £400; Diamond Pendant Light, £290 - £320, Heal's; Domus cafetiere, £85, Aram Store; 'Mediterraneo' fruit holder in stainless steel by Emma Silvestris for Alessi, £105

The Silver Vaults celebrate
One of the most enjoyable ways to buy a decorative silver object is to visit the London Silver Vaults at 53-64 Chancery Lane, WC2 (020 7242 3844; silvervaults.com). This underground warren of strongrooms, home to 25 silver dealers, is celebrating its 60th birthday. Prices start at under £100. There are cute 1939 red bean coffee spoons by William Suckling of Birmingham, £120 for six, and "wobble-weighted" antique silver salt and pepper shakers that look modern but date from 1884, at £350. Elegant silver and glass 1890s claret jugs are £175, while designer/maker V-shaped sterling silver and silver-gilt flutes by Stuart Devlin, from 1960, are £3,250 for six but available singly.

Award-winning CAA
For modern silver, often matt-finish rather than highly polished, head to Contemporary Applied Arts at 89 Southwark Street, SE1 (020 7436 2344; caa.org.uk). CAA stocks pieces by contemporary makers such as award-winning Simone ten Hompel, whose spoons start at £280, or new star Adi Toch, whose lidded oil drizzlers with gold spouts are £1,300. Large driftwood and silver spoons by Grant McCaig are £675 each, and his "pleated" fine silver beakers are £750 each. Lucian Taylor's hydroformed TIG welded stainless steel spoons are £190 a pair.

Doll’s House furniture in solid silver: from a set of table and three chairs, 1985, £425, available from D. Shure, Vault 2 at the London Silver Vaults

Silversmiths at Goldsmiths'
For smaller-scale pieces of silver try The Goldsmiths' Centre at 42 Britton Street, EC1 (020 7566 7667; goldsmiths-centre.org) which is exhibiting work by the Association of Contemporary British Silversmiths, available through their website (contemporarybritishsilversmiths. org), from December 1 to 24. Pieces range from Rachel Elizabeth Wood's horse napkin rings, £170, to Richard Fox's candleholders, £140, and Clive Burr's silver yo-yo, £120.

Fake it with chrome
Gleaming chrome and polished aluminium pieces range from Alessi's Portaombrelli umbrella stand in chrome-plated steel, £132, or its snake paper knife £19, to a wide variety of bowls and fruit dishes, from £36 (22 Brook Street, W1; 020 7518 9090; alessi.com). Glittery goodies at Heal's include Michael Aram's Forest Leaf Collection, with intricate foliage patterns on the ice bucket, £197, tongs, £43, and vase, £166 (Tottenham Court Road, W1; 020 7636 1666; heals.co.uk).

Aram Store (10 Drury Lane, WC2; 020 7557 7557; aram.co.uk) has silvercoloured chairs and tables, including the DKR chromed metal chair by Charles Eames for Vitra, at £331. The still-edgy Asymmetric Chaise by Harry Bertoia for Knoll is £6,108, and the Leaf Chair by Lievore Altherr Molina for Arper in chromed metal is £270. The wiry dining table by Warren Platner for Knoll, £2,520, makes a strong statement, while a side table in the same series is £636 and the classic E1027 adjustable chromed metal and glass-topped side table by Eileen Gray is £599.

'Kastor' pencil sharpener in chrome plated zamak by Rodrigo Torres for Alessi, £37

The swish of silver
Try a swish of silver textile with Dedar's new metallic sheer Lux, £170.50 a metre (Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, SW10; 020 7357 9939; dedar.com). Fameed Khalique's beaded hand-embroidered textiles for interiors are from £490 a metre (Unit 101, 190 St John Street, EC1; 020 7490 5524; fameedkhalique.com). For wallpaper, try Galerie Wall Coverings (01892 700 730; galeriewallcoverings.com). Idylia is a silver-grey forest glade and Trianon is a metallic silver classical design on matt silvery-grey.

Silver light
Joss Barton's Diamond laser-cut stainless steel pendant lights are stunning — from £290 at Heal's (as before). At Aram Store (as before) the Fun 2TA sequin table light is £549, and the bell-shaped Pantop table lamp is £308, both for Verpan by Verner Panton. Battery-operated Otenzia is a stainless steel silver shimmer ball light, from £220 at MPD London (Studio 8, Fairbanks Studio, 75-81 Burnaby Street, SW10; 020 7352 3887; mpdshop.co.uk).

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