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THE DIGEST
Living with Changing Tastes, Vintage Homeware and Rented Homes
Design journalist Eleanor Cording-Booth reflects on 20 years of evolving taste, buying vintage, and learning when to buy - and what you'll always regret letting go.
“I’ve bought, sold, kept, accidentally broken, given away, and missed out on dozens - maybe hundreds - of pieces of vintage homeware over the past 20 years. Nine rented homes over two decades, and all of them were furnished from scratch. My former addresses have included two converted warehouses, a Victorian mansion block, and three different flats in London’s iconic Barbican Estate. The varying sizes and architecture each called for different furniture styles, and with every move, my vision for the next space would change.
I’m always editing what I own and considering whether it still works for me, but a love of vintage and antique furniture has remained constant. When you rent a small flat, you can’t just replace a hideous carpet or rip the kitchen out, so it forces you to be thoughtful and intentional with the pieces you choose to live with.
I’m *very* particular, and I know what I like, so a home full of badly made, immediately recognisable, and trend-driven pieces makes me shudder. I gravitate towards secondhand furniture that other people won’t have, and I look for accessories with age and character. Antiques do a lot of heavy lifting when you want to express your personal style without sacrificing your deposit!
The first vintage pieces I ever bought captured a tender moment in time when I briefly loved kitsch, retro interiors, blousy floral prints and old film posters. A book called Flea Market Style was my north star. I can still visualise the rooms I was emulating when I bought a vintage printing press tray to fill with tiny trinkets, salvaged letter Es from old shop signage, and an old red tea trolley that I used as a bedside table. I wouldn’t choose any of those things now, but I’m glad I could experiment freely without feeling the pressure to share any of it online.
A couple of years later, I wanted industrial steel shelving, an Eames wire chair, faded Persian rugs and a vintage wooden farmhouse table. By then, I’d started to collect books about early 2000s New York loft apartments and a few Terence Conran titles, so my head had been turned by a less feminine look. This is where my decorative sweet spot is, as it’s an aesthetic I always return to, even now. In those blissful, pre-Instagram days, it was always design books (and old Habitat catalogues) that inspired my home styling.
“Now, if I can afford something that I’ve wanted for years, I buy it and find somewhere to store it, rather than risk paying more later or never finding it again.”
There was a period after that (in my mid-twenties) when I bought several vintage glass vases because I was into huge displays of lilies and hydrangeas. Around the same time, I bought my first mid-century teak piece – a neat Danish chest of drawers. I smashed my favourite vase by accidentally hitting it on the edge of a worktop, sending what felt like a lake of water spilling down over my feet. The teak drawers I sold after about 10 years because I wanted a large oak chest on bun feet, which I did buy, but eventually gave away when the hefty size became impractical for yet another move.
I have my regrets. Five years ago, I didn’t buy a rare set of six green-striped Grange rattan chairs, and I’ve never seen them since. I also sold a perfect set of eight Conran Manila chairs when I should have kept four. I passed on so many classic pieces in years gone by (Heal’s furniture, huge Moroccan rugs) when they were much cheaper, assuming I’d be able to track them down again. Often, I can, but for much more money. Desirable vintage will rise and rise in price, especially as it becomes rarer. Lesson learned!
Now, if I can afford something that I’ve wanted for years, I buy it and find somewhere to store it, rather than risk paying more later or never finding it again. And this approach is why I had a vintage Eames soft pad leather desk chair at my dining table for four years, which wasn’t ideal, but I was waiting until I finally owned a desk. It’s also why my patient dad is currently storing a sizeable Arts & Crafts dining table of mine in his wardrobe. You have to buy these things when you see them!”
