My world has always been the shop floor, the showroom, the warehouse. In the showrooms of Grosvenor, a sofa is never just a sofa. Couples step through the door, and they’re looking for furniture that will outlast them. A velvet seat with history, delivers precisely what they’re after. I sent a set of accent chairs to a Grosvenor Square apartment, and he told me years later it was still going strong. That’s the point with retro.

They look for convenience, but at the end they admit. Cheap wood snaps, whereas vintage lasts. Taste splits by borough. Hampstead seeks calm, with plush sofas. Dalston experimental, with loud classic armchairs. That’s the charm. I’ll tell you something else, accent chairs outlive their buyers. Flat-pack won’t do that. I still sit to see how it feels, and the truth tells itself. Vintage has truth. If you’re thinking quick buy, think again. Choose a funky accent chair, and see how it shapes your home.