We asked Martin Cornish of Ramsay Cornish auctioneers to demonstrate for us something in his showroom which would come up in a sale and which might make a good buy.
Without too much searching, he found us a leather chair. It is a fairly modern leather chair from John Lewis that might have cost almost £1000. At that level it would be out of the range of most new home owners, but if you go along to the sale room you might pick something like this up for a fraction of the original price.
Here’s what he said : “My example is a John Lewis club easy chair. It has nicely distressed vintage style leather and is highly desirable.
“We have had several chairs like these in the last couple of weeks, a similar sort of style. Retailwise these are quite expensive as modern furnishings are. You’re paying for the manufacturer’s profit, the retailer’s profit and then you’ve got VAT somewhere in there too.
“But this is lovely leather, and as I say beautifully distressed. It is the sort of thing that people love to have in their home. It is comfortable and a neutral colour that fits in with any scheme. At the moment if you look at interiors magazines this is the sort of furniture that you will see in a sitting room, study or family room where it is comfortable to sit on relax and put your feet up at the end of the day.
“I would expect something like this at auction to make between £150 and £200. So you’re paying a really good price for it. And the person who has had it and enjoyed it has maybe moved house or downsized and they no longer need it. So instead of it just simply going to the dump or being recycled now it finds a new home with somebody who will cherish it and look after it again.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
