Wander Around Camden Lock And You’ll Stumble On Armchairs Stacked Outside Shops. They’re Marked And Scarred But That’s Their Story
Why Retro Furniture Still Beats Flat-Pack in London Vintage sofas just feel more real than anything new. When I was a kid my nan had this battered armchair. The arms were shiny from years of elbows, but it told a story. In the days of smoky pubs and jazz clubs, people kept things for decades. Families saved for months to buy one piece. It’s in the weight of the wood. I once pulled a Chesterfield out of a warehouse in Hackney. Most people would have walked on, modern leather armchairs but the history spoke louder than the flaws.
That chair still sits in my flat. Every borough in London has its own taste. Mayfair goes glossy, with buttoned wingbacks. Shoreditch stays messy, with funky retro unusual accent chairs. It’s the mix that makes it all work. The catalogue stuff has no soul. Vintage finds age with dignity. Every creak is a memory. When it comes down to it, 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.
Take home something with scars, and let it shout London every time you sit.