Are you sitting comfortably?

Black velour chesterfield chair.

When I was little (really little) my mother would listen to The Archers and I would accompany her, not listening to the series at all, but simply waiting for 'my programme' to begin. Listen with Mother was a highlight of my day. Despite our family being fortunate enough to have a telly set well before televisions were commonplace, I don't remember watching it much before I was 7 years old, but Listen with Mother was my (almost) daily friend. I remember my mum lifting me up so that I could sit on the kitchen worksurface to listen intently to the voice that filled our kitchen.

In our drawing room we had splendid 1960's 3 piece suite, grey nylon, course short hairy fabric and everso firm, it was filled I think with horsehair as I remember the prickly feeling of it on the back of my legs. I am sure my parents would have had something that was very a la mode, I have always admired their sense of style and their ability to put items together to create an up to the minute look or forward thinking style.

In the very early seventies, we spent quite a bit of time in Scandinavia and when my parents had an extension built onto their house in Gloucestershire, they asked the architect to create a Swedish style room. They created an open plan, high ceiling room with vast pine beams and windows set into the wall near the ceiling (about 12 feet up the wall). A huge window seat ran along the whole length of one wall with a big picture window to look out of. Two enormous sofas covered in William Morris's Golden Lily (in brown) graced the space and a chrome and glass coffee table sat between them. They used accessories that we had bought in an amazing furnishing store in Sweden, my friends were in awe at the newness, the unusual style and the chicness of these things. I guess in 1974 IKEA was unheard of in the UK!

Without realising it, Mum and Dad influenced my future business by subtly instilling in me an appreciation of my surroundings and sense of what goes together, what works and what doesn't. I realise more and more that nowadays I may not share someones love of a particular look or style, but I can really appreciate the concept behind it or the care with which things have been selected or placed together.

Red toile de Jouy cushion with feather inner.
This is one of the reasons why I stock such a variety of ranges of furniture, not because I can't make up my mind, but because I realise that one person's grey, itchy coarse hairy sofa is another persons dream piece of furniture.
Chat soon, Liz
All images and text copyright Pretty Practicals 2007 and 2008 except where stated.