My world has always been the shop floor, the showroom, unusual armchairs the warehouse. Amongst the squares and crescents, folk are not merely choosing somewhere to park themselves. Designers with clients in tow, and they all ask for quality. A retro armchair, carries the room. I sent a set of accent chairs to a Grosvenor Square apartment, and ten years on it looked better than ever. This is why old beats new. They waste time with flat-pack, but sooner or later they return.

Gloss wears off, whereas real furniture stays. The capital’s rooms all look different. St John’s Wood desires quiet luxury, with buttoned wingbacks. Brixton is bold, with colourful sofas. That’s the reality. End of the day, an armchair becomes memory. Flat-pack won’t do that. I still knock on the wood for weight, and the truth tells itself. Old comfortable home furniture lives. Next time you flick through a catalogue, take a breath. Choose a funky accent chair, and watch it age gracefully.