Museum of the Home

The museum started out as a museum about furniture (the Hoxton and Shoreditch areas were once a centre for furniture manufacturing) but gradually morphed into a museum about domestic life. It reopened in mid-2021 after an extensive £18 million renovation, which not only bought about a name change but also increased the exhibition space by 80%.

What to see at the Museum of the Home

The museum is housed in a Grade I listed 18th-century almshouse, which is one of the world’s earliest examples of public housing. Its exhibition space is divided between its unique Rooms (and Gardens) Through Time displays and more conventional exhibits.

Rooms Through Time

The museum is unique in that a large portion of its exhibition space is given to a series of different rooms, each representing a different style of interior decor from a different time in history spanning from the 17th to the 20th century.

Examples of the museum’s rooms include:

• a hall in 1630,
• a parlour in 1695,
• a parlour in 1745,
• a parlour in 1790 and
• a drawing room in 1830.

There are also another seven new rooms that are expected to open in late summer 2024. These include an 1878 townhouse, a 1913 tenement flat, a 1956 upstairs room, a terraced house in 1978, a high-rise flat in 2005, a terraced house in 2024 and a converted flat in 2049.

Not only is it fun to look at other peoples’ homes but the museum also provides a fascinating insight into how domestic life of the English middle class has changed over the years. Not only does it show how tastes have changed over the years, but it also shows how technology and home appliances have evolved over 400 years.

Gardens Through Time

The museum is also noted for its extensive gardens, which also reflect how domestic city gardens have evolved over time. These gardens range from a Tudor knot garden to a modern green roof garden and also include a herb garden and a cottage-style garden.

Home galleries

The Home galleries represent the museum’s more traditional exhibition spaces, which include displays about specific aspects of domestic life in London. These displays tell the human stories of domestic life and also show how our changing ideas about comfort and taste have shaped the aspects of home life over the past 400 years.

Temporary exhibitions at the Museum of the Home

In addition to the themed rooms, the Museum of the Home also hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions and installations. Current and upcoming exhibitions include:

EastEnders at 40: Icons of Home and Drama
The Museum of the Home marks EastEnders’ 40th anniversary with an exhibition (until 22 June 2025) exploring its portrayal of East London life. Costumes and props will be rotated monthly, highlighting key moments from the soap’s history. First broadcast in 1985, EastEnders quickly became a major part of British television, attracting 17 million viewers for its debut episode.

Uzo Egonu: New Acquisitions Display
This display (until December 2025) features nine newly acquired prints by Uzo Egonu, one of the largest exhibitions of his work in two decades. Born in Nigeria, Egonu moved to London at fourteen and studied at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts. His prints combine abstraction and figuration, exploring themes of addiction, urban life and Igbo folklore. Visitors can also read about his life and listen to folk tales that influenced his work.

World Food Photography Awards
The World Food Photography Awards highlight food’s role in daily life, from growing and harvesting to eating and celebrating. The exhibition (3 June–7 September 2025) explores connections between food and home, featuring images of families, political issues, and everyday meals.

Visiting the ​​Museum of the Home

The Museum of the Home is located right next to Hoxton Overground station in East London’s rapidly gentrifying Hoxton neighbourhood.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Mondays) and admission to the museum is free of charge. The museum can get busy on weekends so you may want to plan your visit for a weekday if you prefer to visit the museum when it is less crowded.

The museum is fully wheelchair accessible.

Molly’s Cafe is one of the nicest museum cafes around and it serves a high standard of food and drink in a relaxing environment. The Hoxton location means that there are also plenty of other places to eat and drink nearby.

There is also an excellent gift shop that is a great place for souvenirs and gifts for people back home.

Free Wi-Fi wireless internet access is available at the museum.

Allow 1–2 hours for your visit to the Museum of the Home.