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Suzanne Branfoot

A resolution to live more, with less

Updated: Jan 30

My New Year’s Resolution for 2020 was to buy less and only buy what I need - a resolution to live more, with less. A simple proposition in theory; but having worked in the advertising industry for over 25 years I’m more than aware how consumers have been sold the dream of ‘more’. More clothes we don’t wear, more kit we don’t need, more consumption and more materialism. All perpetuated by herd mentality (the latest, must-have, to-die-for) and easy technology (one-click, next-day).

However, there is a realisation that the relentless consumerism of the last few decades is not sustainable. Two images from 2019 vividly captured the need for change: Greta Thunberg and an army of students demanding action on climate change across the globe and the wildfires that raged in the Amazon rainforest. Conscious consumerism is no longer a niche market; instead ethical spending has been driven by increasing environmental concern. From a home interiors perspective, there is a big focus on sustainability and reducing our waste and this was one of the reasons we set up the Antiques Hound.

So, with my new year’s resolution made and the idea that we all have too much ‘stuff’; I started reading James Wallman’s Stuffocation. Then along came the Coronavirus and over 80 days of lockdown has shown that we really can all live with less. The impact of Covid-19 has heightened people’s awareness of what really matters to them. As we rethink our daily routines and longer-term plans, the home has returned to centre stage. With TV hits such as The Repair Shop and the Great British Sewing Bee tapping into our growing desire to ‘make do and mend’, we are seeing more people up-cycling, repairing and personalising their home accessories. Linked to the ‘make do and mend’ theme is the 2020 granny-chic trend otherwise known as ‘Grandmillennial’ style, which sees modern-day designs co-existing with antique and vintage finds. According to interior designer, Harriet Anstruther, “It’s about incorporating hand-me-downs and inherited pieces, alongside second-hand vintage pieces and reclaimed furniture.”

At the Antiques Hound we understand the importance of curating key antique pieces that will work in the modern home whether that is a George III mahogany bedside table, a Regency rocking chair or a Mid-Century sideboard. Our focus on sourcing ‘furniture with a past, designed for the future’, sits comfortably with Harriet Anstruther’s sentiment “I don’t believe in chucking out the old and making everything new, new, new. It’s best to mix things that complement each other. Parties are way more interesting when there’s a mix of ages!”

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