By 40 - the 3 pieces you should own by this milestone birthday
In the milestones of life, 40 has always been significant. More than the getting of wisdom, it’s an age that represents authenticity; of shedding the unnecessary insecurities of our youth to claim, and really define, who we ultimately are. While we will always continue to explore, our sense of style has been established to the extent we can safely acquire pieces of furniture and art that will feel relevant now and in years to come.
Transcending fashion and the limitation of popular opinion, we look at the 3 décor pieces you should own by 40 and the lens through which you should view them…
Investment pieces become the landmarks of our interiors - the grounding of a home built around quality and craftsmanship as we align with a more sustainable and mature mindset of paying more and buying less; of laying the foundation of an interior we can build on, rather than continue to replace in the decades to come. Left, via @tamsinjohnson. Right, via @vogueliving
1. An investment piece
Cheap, easily acquired goods are a fairly modern invention. While an Ikea piece has utility, the items of furniture we cherish and hold onto over time are more likely to be pieces acquired with deeper consideration given to their functionality and aesthetic as we commit to them as an investment, rather than something disposable or stop-gap filler (as we might have done when we were younger). As such, these become the landmarks of our interiors - the grounding of a home built around quality and craftsmanship as we align with a more sustainable and mature mindset of paying more and buying less; of laying the foundation of an interior we can build on, rather than continue to replace in the decades to come.
By 40, you should own at least one (if not more) investment piece of furniture or art - a piece you’ve worked hard for (and sometimes searched endlessly for) in a way that’s not easily forgotten nor readily discarded.
Investing in craftsmanship: a TH Robsjohn Gibbings cabinet via @poceberga
2. A time-won classic
Material, form and fashion are tested over time. When it comes to quality, history gives us insight into the fleeting as much as the steadfast; to enduring ideas of design over short-lived fads. While there’s room for play at any age, by 40, your eye should be cast towards the classics - to owning well-established essentials that might be modern iterations or superlative originals but those that hold their worth and retain their allure, as much as their currency, despite age.
Classic elements remain current: Left, Carl Hansen & Søn Wishbone chairs from Cult Design. Right, traditional materials becomes contemporary in a @decus_interiors interior.
Left: the classic curve of the Nau Design Aran bed and right, the frère lines of the Rachel Donath Wave Chair remain enduring over time.
3. A sentimental coup de coeur
There are moments when we come across a piece that holds us captive from the get-go. It’s love at first sight - an instant, unequivocal affair of the heart that leaves no room for uncertainty or doubt. It’s the kind of piece for which we’d move mountains to own (and sometimes do), where all rules go out the window and the possession of the piece itself - for its story, its memory, its unyielding hold - is all that matters and we know that it will maintain a forever place in our homes. Aside from feeling fated, these pieces add a strong sense of personality to our interior by betraying something of an internal world externally - a private affinity exposed that by 40, is often steeped in nostalgia, identity and the sentiment of lived experience.
A Dina No Ceramic candle holder via Spartan Shop: A sentimental coup de coeur holds a private affinity that by 40, is often steeped in nostalgia, identity and the sentiment of lived experience.
From the Inventory
The Wave Coffee Table, SHOP NOW
The Grace Dining Chairs, SHOP NOW
