As more and more companies either move completely online or were only ever there in the first place, it can be difficult for the consumer who wants a good deal (and the lack of shop tends to keep the prices down) but who also wants to touch and feel the thing that they are buying.
On the one hand we have all now got used to shopping online. Even my mother will cautiously buy a book on Amazon these days – mind you this is a woman who refused to use a cashpoint machine for the first five years – but you can still go wrong sometimes.
The main thing I forget is measurements. Obviously I will measure a sofa and the larger items, but I have often bought a pretty tray or a vase only to be surprised by the size. And it doesn’t just happen to the customer either. I was talking to someone who runs an online store the other day who admitted they had bought some fabulous chairs online only to discover, when they turned up in the warehouse, that they were really, really small.
Some stores are now trying to get round this with pop up shops – the most successful of which has been Rockett St George in Liberty but think also of made.com who started out only online and who now have four showrooms (London, Liverpool, near Leeds and Birmingham).
And then there’s One World. A company which was founded 25 years ago and is still a family-run business. And they have just landed a 12 month concession at Harvey Nicks. Yes, yes I know that doesn’t help those of you in Cornwall and Glasgow and Manchester but it does, perhaps, give you a little more confidence about trying something new online. After all, if it’s good enough for them etc…
The furniture is fairly classic with a country or industrial feel so it’s about how you style it to make it work in your house. As you can see from these pictures you can go a bit Gustavian with lots of pale greys for that Scandinavian look, or add in some element of black – picture frames and lamps – to give it a little more edge and presence.
They also have a really good selection of mirrors, like this one below, which can trick you into thinking there’s an internal window, more space than there actually is and, of course, more light as they can bounce it round the room – essential at this time of day.
So take a trip to Harvey Nicks if you’re in town – you might see Edie and Patsy there – it is, after all, their store of choice. Failing that you can shop online here.
