The Thrill of Old and Lovely Things by Sophie Conran

In the early 1970s, my mother and father were expanding the Habitat homeware stores across Europe. Their hard work, their tireless energy, and their wish to share the beautiful things they were discovering in Europe, Scandinavia and beyond had begun to bear fruit.

When I was five years old, my parents bought an old school near my father’s new offices in Wallingford. We packed up our cottage in Suffolk and moved into a great Georgian red brick pile, solid and serious on the outside, but soon to become a lively experiment within. The house became both a building site and a family adventure. The walled garden, once a Christmas tree farm, began to bear fruit and bloom with colour, and generosity. It took years, decades even, but the place slowly grew into itself.

My father’s ambition was boundless. Whole sections of the house were reduced to rubble. My four brothers and I tottered through the chaos, stepping over piles of timber and plaster, while my mother researched, wrote, and cooked, filling the house with the rich and enticing aromas. She was bringing home the flavours of Europe at a time when olive oil was still exotic.

From Childhood Influence to Signature Style

Inside, the rooms were filled with an extraordinary mix of things. There were pieces from Habitat, bright and modern, sitting beside Italian furniture and contemporary design, and an ever growing collection of antiques. My parents shopped together for the sheer joy of it. They brought home Art Deco tables with glass tops, Thonet chairs, striped American quilts, Indian dhurries, and huge Provençal oil jars for the garden. There were headless Roman busts, mugs of mochaware, and Ikat cushions woven in vibrant colours. The huge rooms, painted white and flooded with light, seemed to dance with all these treasures. It was a conversation between the past and the future, between elegance and humour.

It was here that my love of antiques began. I loved the way my parents mixed styles so easily, how they allowed different times and stories to live together in one space. The house seemed alive, full of warmth and character.

My father, as a designer, championed the great names of the craft. We lived among pieces by Mies van der Rohe, Eileen Gray, Joe Colombo and Vico Magistretti, to name a few, and I grew up surrounded by the quiet excitement of beautiful design. Craftsmanship was everything. Beauty lay in proportion and honesty, and in the touch of the maker’s hand.

The Joy of Discovery: Finding Beautiful Things

My first real venture into the world of antiques came early. My mother and I had a small stall at the local antiques centre in Hungerford. I must have been ten. I remember the smell of wood and polish, the sound of people talking, the thrill of finding something old and lovely and offering it to someone who saw its worth. That thrill never left me.

In my twenties, I became the antiques buyer for The Conran Shop. Up before dawn, I would scour the markets of London and beyond, searching for unique and interesting things. I loved the hunt, the sense of discovery, and the feeling of bringing history forward into the present. Even more satisfying was that the pieces sold well, one even being bought as I was unloading from my car. In the early 90’s, Dad commissioned me to find special pieces for his expanding restaurant empire. I set about gathering a collection of British and Irish 19th century Kitchenalia for the Chop House, and found a stunning large model of Tower Bridge to serve as a centre piece for Pont de la Tour. It was a job I adored, and always managed to pick up a little something for myself along the way. 

Living with Antiques

I have always loved living with antiques. They have a personality that new things rarely possess. Each one carries its own story, a whisper of the people and places it has known. You can buy something new in a moment, but the craftsmanship of the old cannot be replaced. A house comes alive when it is filled with such things, when beauty is allowed to show its age.

Antiques have followed me through life. I used them in Australia, where I lived for two years and where my son was born. Later, they found their place on a farm in Devon, and in a Queen Anne house I rented in the South Downs with its graceful proportions and quiet charm.

And now, they live with me at Salthrop House, a place of generous rooms and endless possibility. Here, old and new sit together once again. When I first arrived in 2013, I discovered Dreweatts. It was, and still is, a treasure trove of beautiful things. They have pieces of great quality, and often at prices that make them possible for me to own. It is a place that inspires, and reminds me of why I fell in love with antiques in the first place.

In my capacious dining room, I commissioned wonderful silk panels from de Gournay. These surround the room and tell my story of gratitude to Chinese ceramicists which inspired the range I designed with Portmeirion. Filled with delicate scenes in a heavenly colour palette, they feel just right for the age and proportions of the house and set the stage for the theatre of entertaining, working beautifully with the antiques that furnish the room.

Antiques connect me to my past and to the people who came before. They remind me that beauty lasts when it is made with care and imagination. Every piece has its story, and together they tell mine, guiding my work and enriching my every day.

Thank you, Dreweatts.

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Auction Details

Auction: 
Tuesday 2 & Wednesday 3 December 2025 | 10.30am GMT
Dreweatts, Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE, UK

Bidding is available in person at our salerooms, online, by telephone or you can leave commission (absentee) bids.

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Viewing:

• Viewing at Dreweatts Newbury (full sale): Donnington Priory, RG14 2JE
  • Friday 28 November: 10am-4pm
  • Saturday 29 November: 10am-3pm
  • Sunday 30 November: 10am-3pm
  • Monday 1 December: 10am-4pm
  • Tuesday 2 December: 9am-4pm
• Dreweatts 360 Virtual Auction Tour | Available from Friday 29 November

Further information:
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