Life in a student flat starts rough but gets colourful. The windows rattled in the wind, but we dragged in whatever we could find. No student can afford Mayfair prices, so we begged, borrowed and carried. Someone even nabbed a table from outside a pub. Nothing matched the walls, but that’s why it worked. Retro armchairs have weight, and we care more about story than gloss. I’ve balanced takeaway boxes on a mismatched chair, and luxury lounge seating the furniture was part of the night.

Markets spill chairs onto the streets, and dealers live for it. We wandered past Smithers one Saturday, and the sofas looked like they belonged in films. money was tight, but that chair still sits in the flat. Ask around and you’ll hear it. it’s how you build a home. Furniture with scars feels built for couch vintage style students. Catalogue gloss falls apart fast, but vintage carries weight. every dent becomes part of the flat. When you’re moving out, the cracked window gets forgotten, but the mismatched set still makes you laugh.

When you think furniture, don’t waste time on the soulless new. Pick up a vintage armchair, and see how it shapes your memories.