I arrived in London back in the late 1940s, a Caribbean boy with a small bag, a clean shirt, and a head full of dreams. Shoreditch was never the Shoreditch you know today. Forget the bars and neon lights—at that time it was brick dust, factory yards, and a patchwork of voices from every corner of the Commonwealth. We made our homes in the old terraces, sometimes a whole family of us to a room, with hardly anything and a battered sofa to share.
Furniture mattered, you see. A good sofa and armchair wasn’t just somewhere to sit. It was pride. It was roots in a new land.
I remember my first old armchair—though in those years it wasn’t called retro, it was a market piece. A big, boxy thing with worn-out fabric, found in a market off Brick Lane. I rested there every evening after my shifts on the buses, lighting up, listening to ska records I’d smuggled over. That chair wasn’t perfect, but it was mine, and it made Shoreditch feel a little more like home.
Now look at Shoreditch today. The same streets where I worked are filled with bars, rooftop bars, and boutiques selling what they call funky chairs—pieces with colour, curves, and confidence.
People talk about minimalism, about staying basic. Not me. I say life is messy and rich, so your furniture should be too. A quirky chair in the corner—something with a daring shape—can change a whole room. It’s like music: you don’t need a full orchestra to set the mood. Sometimes one instrument, played right, does the job. Same with chairs.
But let’s not forget the backbone of any home: the sofa and armchair. That’s where the family sits together, where you put your feet up, where you fall asleep watching the late-night shows. In the West Indian households of my time, the sofa was sacred. Kids couldn’t dare to jump on it. Aunties put lace doilies on the arms. And when guests came round, you made sure the best sofa set were polished and presentable.
These days, when I see the new designs in London showrooms, I get a laugh. They call them unique sofas, with bold fabrics, reclaimed wood, and designs that turn heads. But that spirit isn’t new—it’s the same spirit we had when we patched up our old furniture with whatever we could find. It’s the art of making something your own. A sofa that nobody else has. A story you can sit on.
When friends come round my Shoreditch flat today, they see my living room as a time capsule. I’ve got a bright retro armchair, picked up in a vintage shop down Hackney Road. Next to it, a velvet funky chair that looks like it fell out of a 1970s nightclub. And in the centre, a big Chesterfield-style sofa set, with classic tufting that smells of history.
Do they all match? Not in the slightest. But that’s the point. London isn’t about matching. It’s about mixing. You walk down Brick Lane on a Sunday market and you’ll see it: wingback armchair cultures, colours, cuisines, all thrown together in a way that shouldn’t work but does. Furniture should feel the same.
My advice to anyone building a home in this city: don’t be afraid to choose pieces that speak to you. Maybe it’s a retro armchair, maybe it’s a quirky armchair, maybe it’s a unique sofa. Forget what the magazines tell you about trends. Buy what feels like you.
Because furniture is more than wood and fabric. It’s memory. It’s belonging. It’s a little bit of home—even when you’re thousands of miles from where you started.
When I sit back in my chair today, the city outside has changed beyond recognition. Shoreditch is galleries, tech offices, rooftop bars. But me? I’m still here, still in the same streets, still listening to ska records. And when I sink into that old retro armchairs armchair, I remember the boy who stepped off the boat in 1948, carrying a suitcase and a dream.
And I smile, because in a world that keeps moving, a good chair will always keep you grounded.(Image: https://ashford-blake.com/)