I’ve been in the trade man and boy for decades. Amongst the squares and unusual armchairs crescents, buying is about more than comfort. Young men with new flats, and they’re all searching for the same thing. A battered old wingback, carries the room. A wingback ended up in a Belgravia study, and ten years on it looked better than ever. That’s what vintage means. They look for convenience, but they always come back.
Cheap wood snaps, whereas old chairs carry life. Taste splits by borough. Belgravia looks for tradition, with deep seats. Dalston experimental, with retro mismatches. That’s the reality. Let me put it plainly, customers never forget the chair that mattered. You don’t get that from a catalogue. I still knock on the wood for weight, and the truth tells itself. Old furniture lives. Before you make a mistake, take a breath. Pick up a retro armchair, and watch it age gracefully.
