Furniture has been my bread and butter since the fifties. In the heart of London, people don’t buy just to sit. Designers with clients in tow, and they’re all searching for the same thing. A velvet seat with history, gives them that. One battered club chair was claimed for a Notting Hill film set, and unique sofas it carried his family through generations. That’s the point with retro. They waste time with flat-pack, but eventually they realise.
Mass production doesn’t care, whereas retro lives on. Taste splits by borough. St John’s Wood desires quiet luxury, with buttoned wingbacks. Hackney raw, with upcycled seats. That’s the mix. I’ll tell you something else, modern leather armchairs customers never forget the chair that mattered. You don’t get that from a catalogue. I still sit to see how it feels, and I know straight away. Classic pieces endure. If you’re thinking quick buy, take a breath.
Find yourself a vintage sofa, www.sofasdirect.com and make it part of your Mayfair truth.
