Across the capital, history mixes with design every day. Lose yourself in Portobello Market and you’ll find deep-buttoned Chesterfields waiting in shop windows.

This isn’t flat-pack life — they tell of eras gone by. A retro two-seater whispers of smoky East End pubs.

I ducked into a hidden Battersea studio, half awake from coffee, when I saw a retro teak-frame accent chair. The velvet worn thin, but it told the truth.