A polar bear *will* drown if you don’t go to the Braderie de Lille

Yesterday, I gave a presentation about my book at the vt wonen&designbeurs in Amsterdam. I still can’t get used to the clumsy name for what is the Netherlands’ biggest interior design fair, but hey – you don’t hear me complaining. After all, it was a packed house and I had a lot of fun signing books after my talk was over. One of my favorite chapters in my book is about vintage furniture dealer Babette Kulik. We had such a lovely time together when I interviewed her in London. Looking back, however, we didn’t spend too much time talking about how buying vintage is so much better for the environment than buying new stuff. Let’s face it: every time you buy something used, probably means that you’re not buying something new. Trees don’t need to be cut down, cargo ships no longer have to sail from China all the way to your neck of the woods and polar bears won’t drown just because you wanted to buy a new table. Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing with you eighty items I saw recently at Europe’s biggest outdoor vintage fair – the Braderie de Lille. And I sincerely hope that I can convince you to do your part to save our planet.

In the right context, this Seventies table could definitely work.

An interior decorator friend of mine uses vintage fireman’s helmets like this one as decoration and they look amazing.

These brass pots are perfect for plants!

I could definitely see these chairs in my garden. If I had one, that is.

This bright yellow planter box got quite a few likes when I shared it in my Instagram Stories.

Who needs an IKEA nightstand when you can buy this?

This modular bookcase is definitely an eyecatcher, which is something every space needs.

Plastic used to be so futuristic!

I can’t really tell if that dish is supposed to look like an onion or garlic. Either way, I should have bought it.

This could be the beginning of a beautiful collection of animal teapots.

This coffee and cake service set looks totally fierce in black and bright green.

I feel a ceramic fruit trend coming on.

I kept seeing shell lamps like this one this summer – not just at the Braderie de Lille, but also at the antiques market of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

Sometimes you have to look a bit more carefully if you want to find something nice like these blue ceramic table lamps.

I’m not really sure where this bust comes from, but I do know it would look amazing in a modern home.

So much nicer than all those low-quality vases at Zara Home, don’t you think?

More ceramic fruit!

Oh la la!

This is the perfect desk for your kid’s room.

The dogs, the Chinoiserie cabinets – what’s not to like?