Stool, $2

It is not always clear why an object might strike you as immediately appealing. In the case of this stool, I realised afterwards that it was because it resembled a piece of furniture in the 1920s Bernard Hall painting The Studio Party, which is set inside the Russell Street landmark that has twice housed the National Gallery of Victoria. The stool was actually for sitting on – not for selling – but it took the kindly proprietor just two seconds to decide to let me have it.