Shopping··3 min read
Aram Store: Covent Garden's Home of Modern Design
Founded by Zeev Aram, the Aram store has championed modern furniture in London for decades. We pay a visit to its Covent Garden home.
Some shops sell furniture. The Aram store feels more like a gallery that happens to let you take things home. Tucked away on Drury Lane in Covent Garden, it has been one of London's great champions of modern design for decades, and a visit is a reminder of how good furniture can look when it is given room to breathe.
We popped in on a grey January afternoon and came out with a long wish list and a renewed respect for the classics. Here is our guide to Aram, its story and how to get the most from a visit.
The story of Aram
Aram was founded by Zeev Aram, who opened his first showroom on the King's Road in Chelsea in 1964. At a time when modern European furniture was hard to find in Britain, he brought in designs that are now considered icons, and introduced many Londoners to names that went on to define twentieth-century design.
The business moved to Covent Garden in the 1970s and later settled into its current home on Drury Lane, spread across several floors. It remained a family business, with Zeev's children involved in running it, and it has kept its reputation as a place where serious design lovers and curious newcomers both feel welcome.
Inside the Aram store
The first thing that strikes you is the space. Pieces are displayed with plenty of air around them, so you can walk around a chair and appreciate it from every angle. Sculptural seating, elegant tables, arc floor lamps and shelving systems are arranged in loose room settings, but the mood is closer to a museum than a showroom.
- Classic modern furniture: designs by some of the most celebrated names of the last century.
- Contemporary pieces: newer work sitting comfortably alongside the classics.
- Lighting and accessories: from statement floor lamps to smaller objects.
- Exhibitions: the store has a gallery space that hosts design shows, often featuring emerging talent.
Walking around Aram is a lesson in restraint. Each piece is given space, and you begin to see why the best designs never date.
Why aramstore matters to London design
Online, you will find the shop as aramstore and on aram.co.uk, but the real thing is worth seeing in person. Aram has always done more than sell. It has supported young designers through exhibitions, championed good design during decades when it was unfashionable, and helped shape the taste of a city.
For anyone interested in the story of modern furniture, it is a bit like a living library. You can sit in a chair you have only seen in books, compare finishes and talk to staff who know the history of each piece. We find that kind of hands-on knowledge invaluable, especially before a significant purchase.
There is also something reassuring about buying from a shop with such a long memory. Classic designs are often copied, and seeing the real thing up close helps you understand what you are paying for: the quality of the joints, the weight of a frame, the way leather or fabric has been fitted. Even if you leave empty-handed, you will look at furniture differently afterwards, and that is worth the trip on its own. We certainly left with a sharper eye for proportion and detail.
Tips for visiting Aram
- Take your time. There are several floors, and the exhibition space is easy to miss.
- Go with measurements. Some classic pieces are larger than you expect, so know your room.
- Sit, touch and ask. Upholstery, leather and wood finishes look very different in person.
- Combine it with a stroll. Covent Garden is full of good shops and places to eat, so make an afternoon of it.
If you enjoy shops with a curator's eye, you might also like our visit to A.P.C. in the house, published the day before this piece. For a more home-grown take on design, see our post introducing Made by Jason, a maker whose work would sit happily alongside the classics.
Looking back: Zeev Aram died in 2021, but the store he founded continues as a family-run business and remains one of the essential design destinations in central London.
Questions readers ask
Where is the Aram store?
Aram is on Drury Lane in Covent Garden, central London, and is also found online at aram.co.uk.
Who founded Aram?
Zeev Aram founded the business, opening his first showroom on the King's Road in Chelsea in 1964 before moving to Covent Garden.
What does Aram sell?
Aram sells modern furniture, lighting and accessories, from classic twentieth-century designs to contemporary pieces, and hosts design exhibitions.
