I often ponder on how i make decisions in what i buy for my home. Do you ever consciously do that?
When it comes to cushions, i’m, like with everything else, very discerning. I suppose if i were to analyze it a bit further and try to trace back the first time i made a conscious decision about cushion buying it takes me back to the beginning/middle 90’s. I remember the first time i bought a ‘more expensive’ cushion was at a designers fair. It was exciting to have something that was hand-made and a little more exclusive than buying from ikea, habitat or even the conran shop. It was made by the person standing in front of me, excitedly showing me their initial design drawings.
One such time i met a girl who designed cushions and lampshades. We became friends and one day she gave me a cushion as a present and memory as she was leaving the country. She’s no longer in business so i cherish that cushion even more. It was the first time i had seen someone play with different textures on a cushion and have the front and reverse in a different material. In this case it’s silk and velvet.
That opened a whole new way of thinking to me. From that day on i never just bought a cushion off the shelf. I often buy fabrics of my choice and get them hand-made for me by my friend john at foamtec, or i buy cushions made from vintage materials. Either way, i end up with something quite unique, to my taste and exactly the size i want.
Take a look at some of my beloved collection: the first one is a vintage piece i bought in the late 90’s from an amazing lifestyle store called maisonette in kensal rise. Unfortunately they don’t exist any longer. They used to specialise in vintage cushions and i’ve so far not found a replacement for them. I absolutely adore this cushion.
A few years ago i got obsessed with fabrics from fornasetti, especially with ‘gerusalemme by day’. There is also a night version, if you’re interested.
Ok, ok, i know, you all know my love for missoni by now. So, it wouldn’t be a post about cushions without including some of my missoni collecion, right?
And now to my latest acquisition. I discovered hunted and stuffed through the lovely sophie from hiddenblossom.com. I immediately fell in love with the Oscar de la Renta one-off piece but didn’t like the cream cotton on the reverse side. That was a definite deal breaker. I called ellie who was utterly charming and explained that i was looking for a back that had colour and texture. We chatted a bit. I sent her a couple of pictures as examples and off she went to find me the perfect backing. Thank you ellie, i’m totally in love with it. I still can’t get over the size of the cushion and i will cherish it forever.
So what have i learned? I’ve learned that waiting for the right thing always pays off, not to be afraid of colours, patterns, textures or to mix and match. I’ve also learned that scale is super important and all my cushions are different sizes. The last one is a floor cushion size. I love having cushions made up for me and am not afraid to ask for what i want. The worst scenario is that someone says: no, they can’t do it but that hasn’t happened to me so far:)
Best of all, i get to live with all of them, reminding me of different memories, different times and eras. Oh, and i get to sit very comfortably.
How do you go about buying cushions? I’d love to hear some of your experiences. Have a great weekend. See you back here on monday!
