BE UNIQUE

I think the enjoyment I get from buying vintage pieces is it makes your space unique. We get many comments from visitors that they’re not sure what our shop is!  With Home Store written above the door and things for sale outside, I thought it would be obvious, but when they wander in, they’re still not sure as we serve coffee, yet we’re not a cafe.  Having something individual is important to me, in the shop and at home. If someone copies what we do, I should take it as a compliment, but I just don’t want to do it anymore. The same at home. 

I've said it many times before, buying vintage, doesn’t mean you have to have a dated home, far from it. Mixing it up with modern pieces is important. Kelly Werstler, an Interior Designer from California, who’s recently collaborated with Farrow & Ball, wrote in Homes & Gardens ...

“I am a firm believer that in every era there is incredible design, although sticking to one era can be a bit one note.  If you buy all your furniture new, it’s going to start to look dated quickly.  If you take time to curate and shop in a variety of places, you end up with a much more timeless room.  Always look for a balance between vintage and contemporary.  If you buy a new sofa, maybe look for a vintage coffee table so they offset one another.”

We’re having very modern touches in our new extension, such as concrete flooring, white quartz and brushed brass handles, but I’ll be mixing it up with a slightly distressed velvet Chesterfield Green sofa, a French Club Chair and original paintings collected over many years. My husband is slightly apprehensive about my plan to put some lovely old rusty scales in the middle of our white quartz island unit. 

I love hearing about where our customers will be putting the pieces they buy from our shop.  A lady today bought three Galvanised Lin Bins to store pasta in and she loved that each one was slightly different and something, I’m sure, that not many others will have in their kitchen.

We are adding vintage items to our website each day, so keep a look out for that unusual piece you might be able to add to your own home.