Why Retro Furniture Still Beats Flat-Pack in London There’s something about vintage pieces that grabs me. Growing up, there was a sofa in our house that had seen it all. It sagged in the middle and accent chair funky smelled faintly of tea, but it felt alive. In the days of smoky pubs and jazz clubs, www.sofasdirect.com furniture meant something. You’d keep the same chair your whole life. You can feel it when you sit down. I dragged a velvet armchair home from Camden. Some would’ve laughed at the state of it, but you can’t fake that kind of comfort.

It’s outlasted three flats and two relationships. London’s furniture scene splits by neighbourhood. Kensington loves velvet, with plush seating. Shoreditch stays messy, with upcycled seats. Every corner tells a different story. The catalogue stuff has no soul. Vintage finds grow with you. Every creak is a memory. If you ask me straight, armchair funky a battered sofa tells more truth than any showroom. An armchair should hug you back. When you walk past a glossy showroom, stop and think of the markets.

Grab a vintage sofa, and let it shout London every time you sit.