DRESSER WARS

Now and again a customer asks me what my house looks like. It’s tempting to say it’s full of IKEA and MFI but in reality virtually all my furniture has come via the shop. Oddly, there are only a few pieces that ‘never made it’ to Nest. Sometimes we get an item that I love, I know we will never see again and I go for it. So I take my treasure home, offer it up on the doorstep like a little doggy and hope my wife will love it as much as me! I have about a 50% hit rate getting it past the front door but if I wasn’t censored the whole house would be full by now.

Strangely, though, my favourite piece of furniture sat in the shop for about a month and was by and large ignored by you lot out there. I kept looking at it and thinking...hmm..I have a place that would look really good in. So...I bought it and it does look amazing. Another piece of furniture (a massive painted bowfront chest) sat in the shop for about 3 months. I finally got fed up of no one appreciating it and took it home out of spite! However, it looks fantastic and we haven’t seen another one since.

The shop really is an expression of the things Kathryn (business partner) and I like. So naturally both our houses contain the sort of stuff you see in the shop.

There was a large pink cupboard that we bought when first setting up Nest – we sold it quickly but then were offered it again some years later. So we bought it again! It sat in the shop for almost a week during which time several people fell in love but couldn’t persuade difficult partners to also fall in love. Kathryn then decided it would work in her kitchen, just before my wife decided it might work in ours and just before a customer came in after persuading her husband it would work in their house. After the dust settled I ended up having to build a dresser top to match the cupboard for Kathryn. It then took 2 years to find the right cupboard for my kitchen. As for the customer, she bought a vintage rolling pin and was going back home to discuss quicker ways off communication with her husband.

Confused? You should try remembering all this! I’ve got loads of these sorts of stories for future blogs...lucky you!