New funeral parlour ‘Exit Here' introduces life to the business of death
Introducing Exit Here, London's next-generation funeral director breaking the taboos surrounding life and death

It’s been said that nothing is certain except death and taxes. While successive governments try their best to ‘refresh’ the latter, little has been done to update the traditions surrounding funerals since the Victorian period.
Often, personal experiences of funeral parlours consist of generous people dealing with the death of loved ones with sensitivity and warmth. However, there’s still a sense of the stuffy, of lace curtains and black trim.
Exit Here is the surprising brainchild of restaurateur Oliver Peyton and Transit Studio, and aims to open up funeral parlours; to make them accessible, contemporary, and, for want of a better word, less of a scary prospect. Having previously worked together refurbishing the RA Café, Peyton and Transit seem to have gone a little left-field with their next project. Ben Masterton-Smith, Director of Transit, admits as much: ‘It was such an extraordinary brief to rethink the future of the funeral parlour that we couldn’t say no.'
Through research and discussion, as well as understanding how the industry operates, we hope we have made what is inevitably a difficult time somewhat easier through our designs, with greater possibility for a more personalised experience.
Design is focussed on creating a more domestic environment. Inside, a large, curved corridor links two private meeting spaces — one set up as a living room and another a dining room — to the parlour’s ‘contemplation space'. A mix of modern and vintage furniture along with more cheerful colours and timber flooring add to the open, personal feel, while a folding timber screen for the windows has been designed by Giles Wilson-Copp to add privacy when requested.
There’s no more clutter on the outside: a simple, clean shopfront aided by a previously-existing art deco frontage and a hand-scripted neon sign is all that’s needed — and no mention of the service behind the door.
Inside Exit Here.
The old rules have also been updated when it comes to caskets. Human hips have actually become wider, meaning that the tapering found on most caskets is now an outdated template. The new, symmetrical design comes in a core range of colours, but can also be personalised, and for an extra touch, Exit Here’s Day of the Dead-inspired casket (pictured below) is hand-drawn and aims to emulate the festival’s celebration of life and death, rather than the melancholic approach we seem to thrive on traditionally.
The taboos surrounding death are passé, and like Peyton, Masterton-Smith is a firm believer in opening up the concept of death: ‘We hope that our work can help break down attitudes and taboos around talking about death, so that ultimately people can really choose how they would like to be remembered and celebrated.' Exit right
The Bitter Pill urns, in cobalt blue and glossy black
The interior sees a mix of modern and vintage furniture along with brightly coloured walls and oak flooring
Exit Here offers a range of specially commissioned caskets available in a selection of finishes and colours, as well as environmentally friendly and biodegradable options
The curved corridor links two private meeting spaces, one used as a living room and the other as a dining room.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
277-279 Chiswick High Road,
London W4 4PU
-
Beloved sushi restaurant Sōgo Roll Bar comes to Highland Park
The sushi hangout begins a new chapter in its second location, becoming the perfect spot for a quick grab-and-go or a relaxed tasting experience in east LA
-
Japanese designer Shinichiro Ogata's latest venture is a modern riff on the traditions of his home country
As he launches Saboe, a series of new tearooms and shops across Japan, we delve into Shinichiro Ogata's creative vision, mirrored throughout the spaces and objects, rituals and moments of his projects
-
These are Dover Street Market’s jewellery designers to watch, exhibiting at the London store all summer
In a special exhibition, Dover Street Market London is highlighting 36 emerging jewellery designers to know – shop our pick of their pieces
-
Shop the gloriously mad inner workings of Gary Card’s brain in London’s Soho
Set designer and artist Gary Card has taken over London's Plaster Store – expect chaos and some really good accessories
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of society
A new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
Leila Bartell’s cloudscapes are breezily distorted, a response to an evermore digital world
‘Memory Fields’ is the London-based artist’s solo exhibition at Tristan Hoare Gallery (until 25 July 2025)
-
A bespoke 40m mixed-media dragon is the centrepiece of Glastonbury’s new chill-out area
New for 2025 is Dragon's Tail – a space to offer some calm within Glastonbury’s late-night area with artwork by Edgar Phillips at its heart
-
Emerging artist Kasia Wozniak’s traditional photography techniques make for ethereal images
Wozniak’s photographs, taken with a 19th-century Gandolfi camera, are currently on show at Incubator, London
-
Vincent Van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer are in rich and intimate dialogue at the Royal Academy of Arts
German artist Anselm Kiefer has paid tribute to Van Gogh throughout his career. When their work is viewed together, a rich relationship is revealed
-
Alice Adams, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse delve into art’s ‘uckiness’ at The Courtauld
New exhibition ‘Abstract Erotic’ (until 14 September 2025) sees artists experiment with the grotesque
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintings
The artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London