Furniture has been my bread and butter since the fifties. In the showrooms of Grosvenor, people don’t buy just to sit. Couples step through the door, and they all want character. A vintage sofa, delivers precisely what they’re after. There was a velvet sofa that went to a townhouse in Chelsea, and ten years on it looked better than ever. That’s the Mayfair way. They flick through glossy catalogues, but they find themselves in Mayfair again. Fabric frays fast, whereas vintage lasts.

Every part of London tells a different story. Kensington demands velvet, with plush sofas. Brixton is bold, with colourful sofas. That’s London. I’ll tell you something else, accent chairs outlive their buyers. You don’t get that from a catalogue. I still check the stitching for 70s armchair strength, and the right piece never lies. Classic pieces endure. So when you’re tempted by the new, step back. Find yourself a vintage sofa, and make it part of your Mayfair truth.