Life in a student flat starts rough but gets colourful. The walls were bare, but we gave it soul with furniture.

No student can afford Mayfair prices, so we searched markets. One mate found a sofa in Hackney. Everything mismatched, but that’s what made it ours.

Vintage sofas feel alive, chair retro and students get that instinctively. I’ve crashed into a leather sofa after a night out, and the furniture was part of the night.

Markets spill chairs onto the streets, contemporary leather armchair and students rely on it. One afternoon I stumbled into Smithers, and the sofas looked like they belonged in films. we were broke students, but everyone fights to sit in it.

Every student flat tells the same story. it’s what makes memories. Vintage pieces survive it.

Brand-new looks boring, but retro style settees lasts. every creak is another laugh.

Once the parties are done, the stress disappears, but you remember the sofa.

Next time you walk past a market, forget the catalogue shine. Choose a funky accent chair, and make it part of your story.