Most of the shops were closing and only a few people milled around the beautiful Georgian streets of Bath as I walked up from the Southgate car park to Northumberland place, a little street to the right as you go up the hill of the main high street. The new premises of Feather and Black are beautiful and is one of those rare shops that haven’t completely hidden all the original architectural features of the building. I’ll be honest though, when I walked into the opening party, I didn’t notice them at first because I was too busy looking at the lovely furniture and accessories….
Feather and Black is a shop entirely dedicated to bedrooms. I was particularly interested as we are part way through renovating our bedroom at home, and have also been disappointed in the (very expensive) mattress we bought a few years ago. As you walk into the shop, the section at the front is full of accessories you might need; cushions, throws, scented candles and reed diffusers (my favourite was Dark amber & mandarin); bedside lamps, baskets and mirrors.
There were plenty of staff on hand and Philippa showed me around the store. You walk through to the showroom area, which has various bedroom options displayed in such a way that you could, if you wanted, pick your favourite style and just transport the whole look to your own home. I thought it was very much a modern classic look generally. Although accessories here follow fashion, this isn’t the place to go if you want some bold on trend-for-a-year-or-two statement furniture; but it isn’t old-fashioned either. I loved the trunk-style bedside cabinets, and the lamps on display. I was also very tempted to purchase one of the wicker deer heads that were up on the wall by the children’s bedroom.
I was then taken downstairs to the bed and mattress showroom; or “sleep room.” It’s a more private space down there so you don’t feel uncomfortable with people looking through the window at you while you’re trying to subtly test how bouncy the mattresses are!
Have a look at the Feather and Black website for prices. It’s fair to say they are nearing the higher end of the scale and a place to shop in when I grow up. I think I heard it from Billy Connolly, who pointed out that you spend half your life on your back, and half on your feet; so invest in your bed and your shoes! (I would argue that most of my life is spent sat on my desk chair, but that’s by the by!) There’s no doubt you’re paying for the sort of quality you just don’t get in cheaper beds. All of the materials are grown on the same farm in Yorkshire where they even make the springs. I never thought I’d go back to a sprung bed, but that’s before I laid on these! Apparently it’s the quantity of all the tiny springs that make the feather and black mattresses so comfortable. I don’t own one, so I can’t vouch for its longevity, but Chris and I have been very disappointed in our latex foam mattress (that we thought was expensive at approximately a quarter of the price of the feather and black ones(!)) that quickly forms a ridge in the middle making it very uncomfortable to roll over and cuddle!
Although I didn’t lie on them all, the Richmond Pillow Top mattress was my favourite. You could buy ready-made for this one, or choose to have yours handmade with the option to have different tensions on each side – perfect if your partner has a different softness preference to you. Chris and I are definitely going to go back to Feather & Black to consider buying our next bed. I was very impressed with the sustainable aspects of the company as well as the quality.
Have you shopped at Feather & Black before? Where did you buy your bedroom furniture from? I’d be interested to know. Yes, I’m nosey! But I am also looking for inspiration for our house!
