I’ve spent a lifetime dealing in chairs and living room chair sofa sofas. Amongst the squares and crescents, people don’t buy just to sit. Designers with clients in tow, and www.vokipedia.de they’re looking for furniture that will outlast them. A battered old wingback, delivers precisely what they’re after. One battered club chair was claimed for a Notting Hill film set, and the sofa aged but never gave way. That’s the Mayfair way. They flick through glossy catalogues, but they find themselves in Mayfair again.

Modern things break, whereas real furniture stays. Furniture mirrors the postcode. Chelsea wants polish, with mahogany accent pieces. Shoreditch is playful, with retro mismatches. That’s the reality. I’ll tell you something else, a sofa becomes family. Glossy showrooms don’t sell that. I still sit to see how it feels, and the right piece never lies. Vintage has truth. So when you’re tempted by the new, step back. Take on a classic wingback, and watch it age gracefully.