Earlier this year, independent luxury furniture store La Residence Interiors celebrated 10 years in the industry. We spoke with founders, Dan and Sarah Cook on the milestone and recent investments within the business.
Can you tell us a bit about La Residence Interiors?
We really struggled to find high-quality, luxury furniture to style and furnish our homes while renovating properties in the UK and France. So, we decided to design a few items of furniture and have them made specifically for us. So many people who saw our furniture kept asking where it was from and wanted to buy similar pieces themselves. It was then that we decided to create an exclusive collection of our very own and La Residence Interiors was born.
At first, the collection was influenced by our love of France and the fact we had a home there, hence the name and distinct Gallic overtones to the styling of some pieces, such as our classic French-style Louis armchair. But as the company has grown and we have expanded our collection we’ve moved on to creating timeless, elegant, classic furniture that harmonises with a wide range of interiors. We are delighted to have a small, but fantastic and growing, team who work on getting all the aspects of the business systemised and streamlined which allows us to be in a good position to grow.
How does it feel to reach the 10 year anniversary milestone?
We are delighted to be celebrating a decade in business. 2023 has been an exciting year for us, and we will be launching new products towards the end of the year as well as redesigning and extending our Surrey showroom and growing our team. We are excited about what the future holds.
We are also lucky enough to be able to work with a fantastic business mentor, who has helped to guide us along the way to reach our goals and help grow our business knowledge and reach our personal goals.
Can you share some key moments?
We have come a long way since our founding in 2012, expanding our showroom and increasing our product line to over 250 products and colourways. We have worked hard to source and design unique and timeless pieces that are classic and stylish as well as offering a personal service to our customers. We provide competitively priced products that are readily available, so our customers can enjoy their furniture as soon as possible.
We work hard to provide our customers with the best service, and our showroom in Surrey provides our customers with an opportunity to experience our products first-hand. We were also lucky enough to have had the opportunity to be able to buy our showrooms during lockdown which gives us much more opportunity for expansion and growth in the future.
How has the year been so far for business?
We are in a difficult climate but we’ve had a great year so far. Our personal goals of expanding our team and product line are well underway and we can’t wait to share more plans soon. We will ensure to continue providing high-quality products and services to our customers and look forward to continuing to serve our customers for many years to come. We have been working on having a steady supply chain for our products and ensuring most of our collection is in stock with no long lead times where possible.
Do you have anything in the pipeline you can reveal?
We are also working behind the scenes on redesigning our website which will be ready to launch very soon and we can’t wait to unveil it. This is just one of the projects in the pipeline and we look forward to sharing more.
What would you say is trending in the industry?
We have noticed that gold and brass accents are making a comeback in our industry, paired with an elegant but simple design which is how our latest collection of Westcott and Cavendish coffee, side and console tables was born. Boasting a timeless, yet sophisticated look that resonates with our customers, each piece offers a touch of sophistication and class which will go perfectly with any home.
Additionally, we have noticed that our customers are looking for furniture that is stylish and unique, but most importantly, timeless and can stand the test of time both in terms of design and quality. This is a sentiment that forms the backbones of our ethos at La Residence Interiors.
A final word…
The customer is always at the heart of the business, and we are extremely proud and thankful to be celebrating 10 years in the industry, which has been made possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of the entire team. From our amazing customer service department to our hard-working craftsmen who hand-make all of our furniture, we wouldn’t be here today without any of you.
