Bygone beauties
I have always been obsessed with old things, and love nothing more than breathing new life into past treasures. Most of my furniture is vintage, as are a lot of my clothes – I used to run a luxury vintage e-commerce business, and collected some great items. My husband restores and collects vintage motorcycles, and is obsessed with vintage jackets and jeans, and we even have a 1972 VW camper van.
Buying pre-owned items is firmly embedded in the culture here, and is considered cool – which isn’t necessarily the case in other countries. If you’re visiting, stroll down Portobello Road and check out the vintage shops for clothes, Alfie’s Antique Market on Church Street for interior treasures, or head to Lassco for salvaged finds. From Rehaus, I found a beautiful mustard velvet sofa by B&B Italia that we re-covered, and a pair of 1930s black Art Deco Josef Hoffmann chairs that I use ask desk chairs. They make me so happy every time I walk past my office. Good design can do that to one’s mood.