Mad Dogs and Englishmen

   On a beautiful rare day off from my extraneous, mental exertion that is work, I ventured down to the Essex coast to visit my parents and spend some time looking around the delightful seaside village in which I grew up, that is Leigh-on-sea. My mum and I wanted to visit a shop I had always heard rumours of, due to its exciting homewards and interiors. Forever dreaming of my quaint country cottage, we headed to Mad Dogs and Englishman, with a name this extravagant I was not sure what to expect. 


 I was elated to arrive and hear music from the Andrews sisters echoing around the cosy hollows of the shop and much to my surprise and delight there was a Vintage tea rooms behind all the incredible retro and new shabby chic woodland creations. With example interiors from kitchens to bathrooms, bedrooms to lounges, this shop is an interior wonderland.  



We wandered through the mirror adorned walls, danced away to the 1940's beats and admired the intricate design of the rooms, which could have been Hitchcock movie sets. This shop has everything from Rococo furnishings to delicately netted millinery. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING. They had some gorgeous mirrors, ranging from £25 up to £500 depending on size and extravagance and also some quite reasonable units and side tables. If you are looking for expensive, bespoke furniture and have the income for all things delectable, then this shop is an incredible find. But it also caters for the lower budget shopper. Many beautiful items for the home for under £50. Including vintage wall clocks, signage, table decor, everything you could imagine, including some enchanting jewellery such as initial necklaces, bracelets and rings, handmade and designed by a lady called Jazz. 

 My mum and i made a beeline for the tea room, with lace table clothes, chandeliers, doilies and budding flowers, I felt like we had walked back into the 1930's, the shop has really succeeded in creating a little piece of vintage honkey tonk glamour in the midst of this interior designers dream. After ordering tea for two, which arrived in a beautiful vintage bone china tea pot and milk jug, My mum decided on the scone, which was HUGE, with lashings of clotted cream and jam, and I, the lemon cake, one of my favourite things, a lovely light sponge with lemon buttercream icing, perfect for a late afternoon snack. Our total bill came to under £10 which was well worth the beautiful food and service we had received. The staff were incredibly polite and helpful, offering advice, help and news on their up coming events. Including a piano night and live Jazz evening, being trained in jazz myself this was something I was so excited to hear about. We had a beautiful time and cannot wait to return for more vintage glamour amongst the shops of Leigh-on-Sea. Defiantly worth a visit if you are ever planning on heading down to the glamorous Essex coast anytime soon. 

www.maddogsandenglishmennteriors.co.uk
1349 London Road 
Leigh-on-Sea 
Essex
SS9 2AB
01702 714 766

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