My 'secret sauce' for sourcing fantastic pieces for my home, and the tips that'll help you find yours

Strategist and content creator Francesca Swan is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on the concept of 'Everything' and what makes a home special to you. See the rest of her articles here.

One sunny day, when we first moved here, we went out exploring all the amazing local vintage and antique shops. On the other side of the street, out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a small flash of vivid primary colours nestled in the back of a busy, beautiful window packed with glittering chandeliers and ornate antique pieces.

Imagine the most inaccessible piece in the entire shop. I managed to spot it from 50m across the road.

It looked like a big framed poster - something I’d been fruitlessly in search of to fill a huge empty wall in the living room. We step inside and it goes a bit like this:

Owner: “Yeah, it's actually a vintage 40s film poster, we had framed. It’s about 2m by 1.5m. Do you want to have a look at it?”

Me: “Errrrr YES PLEASE!”

Owner: “Okay, no problem. The only thing is it’s at the very back of the window, so we just have to take everything out first…”

So they unpacked and reorganised the entire store to free this piece. And in the process, we got chatting. It was such a fun morning. For me. Some of them might have slightly different recollections.

It was a wonderful piece. It was slightly faded and ripped at the corners and you could tell it had lived a beautiful, full life; if it could speak, it would tell stories of amazing things, people and places.

The Everything connection - that sense of beauty and deep feeling - had literally pulled me across the street to find it. This was not only an Everything piece, but finding it was an Everything moment; a pure dollop of dopamine.

It was perfect for my living room design concept, pulling the primary colours from the Habitat bowl, above.

Then there was an unexpected ripple effect…

When we had more art framed, the owner delivered them in person. He looked at the film poster and said, “Oh wow, I framed that 20 years ago.”

The circularity of him seeing it again, celebrated, in a pride of place, was wonderful. From that came a lovely conversation.

This is part of the excitement and wonder that the Everything brings for me; joy, inspiration and meaning from the first discovery of your pieces, to where they take you with your design.

Over the years, I’ve honed my tried and tested methods for finding those magical pieces. In ways that are fun, as opposed to making me want to tear my hair out. So, because I don’t believe in gatekeeping, over the next few articles, I’ll share my sourcing guide.

Firstly, the way we shop, and so how we find things to create our homes with, has shifted hugely over recent years.

It started with the explosion of ecomm, the decline of the high street and fewer actual shops to visit.

Then came the lockdowns. We had no choice but to shop online.

As we spent those months waiting it out, our homes became even more important. If you hadn’t been an online shopper for home before then, you sure were now.

Add to that, economic pressures and the influx of the SHEINs of the world, bringing a super fast turnaround of trends and products at very low prices, but very high cost in terms of sustainability.

So all our shopping habits changed to some degree. Of course, it’s different for everyone, but for me, that was clearly reflected in how I bought things for my home.

It took me five years to properly come out of lockdown and start to recover from the mental health challenges I was dealing with. I stopped shopping in person and pretty much everything was bought online.

That’s not always a bad thing; there's a lot about ecommerce that is great and should be celebrated - not least how it’s opened up the world of retail, widening our options as consumers, along with opportunities for retailers.

One of the biggest turning points as I started to get well again, was remembering how inspirational visits to the big retail cathedrals used to be for me. Selfridges, Liberty, Merci in Paris, 10 Corso Como in Milan, Moro Marrakech, above. I could go on…

It’s not just the curation of product, but the blend of architecture and interior design and different brand environments, all under one roof.

Shopping in person matters to me, because this is where my biggest moments of Everything discovery happen.

Finding out why people do what they do and hearing their passion, love and technical expertise, the back story behind products is fascinating, exciting and inspiring for me.

These experiences, stories and human connections help me keep my spark. Yet this had completely disappeared from my shopping toolkit.

A big positive of my ADHD diagnosis has been learning to question what I need to live as easily and stress-free as possible. Spoiler; it’s surprising how easily we unconsciously put obstacles in our own way; unhealthy or unproductive habits that make life more difficult or stressful.

So, I’ve brought more in-person shopping back into my mix. It’s made a huge difference to unlocking my creativity and bringing more fun to sourcing.

Finding items for our homes should be fun and enjoyable. You're creating a space which is a reflection of you. You want to feel joy, yet also held and grounded.

Your sourcing process should deliver Everything moments galore.

When we think about our sourcing mix, our own secret sauce as it were, we want to understand our most enjoyable version of How, Where and When.

So, are you the type of person who loves getting their elbows out for the first day at the Selfridges sale or getting down and dirty at a car boot sale? Or does that idea fill you with absolute dread and horror?

My Sourcing Secret Sauce™, as it were, is this:

• It starts with my shopping/wish list; a mix of pieces that either are essential for a project, dream designer or iconic items, or things I have seen and loved the colour, shape or texture.
• Inspiration tends to come from my trips to the big retail cathedrals and amazing stores, plus magazines (print always over digital), insta and Pinterest.
• My shopping criteria is simple but flexible; original and unique items, sustainably and ethically produced and sourced wherever possible.
• Also supporting small female-founder led businesses. Pre-loved if possible, but if I shop High Street, I try to go BCorps. There are always rare exceptions, but I try to make them that.
• Depending on what it is, and how quickly I need it, plus my budget and diary - I will then figure out a plan of attack. Maybe stalking a pre-loved designer piece through a combination of eBay and Facebook marketplace.
• Perhaps, a few BCorp retailers, looking at sales and good bargains. Or looking online at some of my favourite indies, who are too far too travel to, but I have chatted to through Insta.

The upshot is, I’ve learnt to find Everything pieces in unexpected places in a way that I enjoy.

I’ve also started to develop my version of the high/low mix, designer shopping on a budget and demystifying kitchen and bathroom design. Not to mention sustainability, ethics and smart high street shopping.

What I will share with you in the coming weeks is pretty tried and tested. BUT… remember, this is my personal preference.

It’s going to be different for us all - budget, priorities, time, convenience - there are a lot of factors at play.

You may feel completely differently. That’s the point of us all being individuals with free agency of thought and speech.

Yet, hopefully by sharing my sourcing guide and techniques with you, I can take you a little off the beaten path to find things that work for you, with a few cost-saving hacks thrown in for good measure too.

A favourite phrase of mine; we don’t know, what we don’t know. And there’s a LOT out there, so let’s find out…

Because also, it's not just about the pieces themselves, it’s the people you will meet, the places you will go, the shops you will visit, the things you will learn and experience.

That's Everything.