Moving into a student flat ain’t glamorous. The carpet smelled like beer, but we made it ours. Forget glossy showrooms, so we begged, borrowed and carried. I spotted a funky armchair on Brick Lane. It felt like Shoreditch, but that’s what made it ours. Old accent chairs carry memory, and students get that instinctively. I’ve hosted ten people on one sagging retro sofa, retro sofagruppe and the chairs became mates. Every warehouse flat tells the same story, and shops in the area thrive on it.
I stopped by Smithers looking for nothing, and the vintage armchairs carried scars I loved. We couldn’t afford much, but everyone fights to sit in it. We’ve all begged friends for lifts. it’s where life happens. Furniture with scars feels built for modern leather armchairs students. Brand-new looks boring, see sofasdirect.com but old sofas age into character. every wobble tells the truth. By the end of the year, the cracked window gets forgotten, but the vintage pieces carry the whole story.
If you find yourself in a Shoreditch flat, skip the flat-pack rubbish. Take home something with scars, and let it carry your student nights.
