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Aram's family values: How design store owner Ruth Aram embraced her parents' cutting-edge style

Sarah Harris
Sunday 28 October 2007 00:00 BST
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My style has definitely been influenced by my parents - an eclectic mix of old and new. My father [Zeev Aram of Aram Design] taught me to appreciate cutting-edge design from an early age, while my mother studied textiles at St Martins and runs an antique shop in Wimbledon, so they have certainly left their mark on me.

The house is a classic north London Victorian terrace, which was divided into grotty bedsits when we bought it 12 years ago. We had to gut it and knocked through the dividing wall in this room to create one, spacious L-shaped room with a big long dining table at the back and a living-room at the front overlooking the street. I love it in here because it's where we spend most time as a family, whether it's eating, watching TV, or when the kids sit here to do their homework at the desk.

The sofa is a very early prototype by Eileen Grey, who was rediscovered by my father during the 1970s. I've upholstered it in a modern grey fabric to match this little Victorian button-back lady's armchair from my mother's antique shop.

The round, chrome side table is one of Grey's designs from 1927. It's incredibly useful because it slides up and down and you can pull it over a bed or a sofa when you're eating - and loads of people have copied it since. Another favourite of mine is the lovely Tolomeo floor lamp by Artemide, which you can pull around the room on casters to use for reading, or face it to the wall to create ambient light.

My philosophy is that when you buy a piece of furniture, you should buy the best quality you can afford, then you will love it and live with it forever. I think there has been a move to push interior design towards fashion, so that it changes with the seasons, whereas I think that if you invest in something you love, it only gets better with age. A few scratches add to the history of the piece, so it becomes part of your family and your history.

The new Interlübke showroom is now open at Aram Store, 110 Drury Lane, London WC2, tel: 020 7557 7557, www.aram.co.uk.

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