The Silence Room at Selfridges of London

buy modafinil japan By danderma | June 12, 2013

one reason why I consider Selfridges to be my favourite department store ever is the fact that you never know what to find the next time you pass by! The last time I’ve been in Selfridges I was in the lower ground lever floor I heading towards the little yellow cafe when I saw the sign for “The Silence Room”!

Intrigued, I could tell the idea of the room from the name but I had to ask how exactly does it work. There was a sign at the door with leaflets and a very helpful and sweet Selfridges employee was at the door, explaining the concept of The Silence Room once you get inside.

Shoe cabinets, you don’t have to let go of your shoes though.

You are handed a pair of ear plugs to ensure total silence.

And going in…

Dark, broody, modern corridors, dark plush carpets so your feet won’t make any noise while walking, faint lights at the bottom of walls so you’d know the way.

The lockers to put your shopping bag and your phone or whatever that might make distracting noise, you don’t need to though.

Then at the end of a maze-like corridor, you will find the opening to the room.

Big, white, vast, dimly lit, and with cushioned benches going all around the room for people to sit on. I saw a couple of people fast asleep next to their shopping bags, a woman was reading a book in peace, another was just there, sitting calmly. Not one person lifted their eyes to gaze at me, each in their own little calm and quite bubble of a world.

The room wasn’t completely sound proof though, I could faintly hear the rest of the Selfridges’s hubbub around me, but if I used the ear plugs I’d be in a world of my own insulated from all sounds. I loved The Silence Room, it was a nice quiet place for people to take a well deserved rest especially after walking around the city of London. I wish the Silence Room was a permanent fixture in Selfridges but sadly I was told it would be removed by the end of May 2013.

I wish more silence rooms are introduced around department stores and shopping malls around the world. It would be an ideal destination for peace seekers and would definitely rub some of the stress off people’s shoulders. Well done Selfridges, maybe one day you will bring The Silence Room back to stay.