10 sofas, armchairs and stools that will still look good in decades – not just months

These lovely pieces of furniture chosen by Amelia Thorpe demonstrate that buying new doesn't have to mean sacrificing classic quality.

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(Image credit: ©John Hammond 2015)

Buying a new sofa too often involves a depressing trip to a thinly-disguised warehouse to buy something cheap, mass-produced and characterless. Yes, it'll look good on the showroom floor; but you know that in three or four years you'll have to replace it with something else.

It doesn't have to be that way, as these lovely pieces demonstrate.

Bowmore chair in Harris Tweed

From £886, Tetrad – 01772 792936; www.tetrad.co.uk

Knightsbridge ottoman

£1,920 plus fabric, Dudgeon Sofas – 020–7589 0322; www.dudgeonsofas.com

Coleridge 2½ seat sofa

£3,840, Brights of Nettlebed – 01491 641115; www.brightsofnettlebed.co.uk

The Quiver Klismos stool

£5,600, Soane – 020–7730 6400; www.soane.co.uk

St Kilda chair in Harris Tweed Granite Herringbone

£1,610, Sofas & Stuff – 0808 178 3211; www.sofasandstuff.com

Lauderdale 3-seat sofa in Elk Brown velvet

£1,675, OKA – 0333 004 2042; www.oka.com

Hanbury sofa

(Image credit: Photography: John Hammond)

£10,200, Jamb – 020–7730 2122; www.jamb.co.uk

Alexandra chair

£2,675 plus fabric, Beaumont & Fletcher – 020–7352 5594; www.beaumontandfletcher.com

George chair

(Image credit: Peter Marshall)

£1,764 plus fabric, The Odd Chair Company – 01772 691777; www.theoddchaircompany.com

Byron chair

£1,589, John Sankey – 0115-946 2121; www.johnsankey.co.uk

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The drawing room of West House in Chelsea where Withnail and I was shot.
(Image credit: Bernard ZIEJAmail)

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Are you sitting comfortably? And stylishly? Then we'll begin.

Country Life
Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.