Chris Court is incredibly inspiring. He is creative, has a sense for aesthetics, put things together and obviously, he is very handsome. In our interview, he talks about his furniture business and the exciting job he was doing before he started his own business.

What is your business and what do you do?

Hi, my name is Chris and I’m the owner of Furniture Warehouse. My company is based out in Essex and I have a website selling many different collections of furniture. Mainly, I specialise in Reproduction Furniture and Shabby Chic Furniture. However. I also have many different dining sets to choose from and I have a fantastic range of white bedroom furniture that is made here in the UK.

How long have you been running your business?

I’ve been running the business now for 5 years.

Please can you tell me 6 things that are unique about the way you are with your business/clients

Well.

1. I try to use manufacturers based locally as much as possible
2. This can reduce waiting times considerably
3. It allows the the client to have any bespoke requirements taken care of more easily. It’s also a lot easier if there is a problem somewhere down the line.
4. You can have items custom built.
5. We carry out all deliveries ourselves.
6. It’s not unusual for the actual owner of Furniture Warehouse to be out on the road delivering your furniture to you!

Do you have the stock in house – or somewhere else?

I try to keep certain items in stock as much as possible, but since I use local manufacturers it doesn’t take long to get new stock through.

Who do you mainly work with? Direct with clients or with interior designers?

Nearly all of the time directly with clients, however lately there has been interest in our French Furniture from interior designers, who want these pieces in the homes of projects that they are working on.

Have you ever had a request for something you couldn’t fulfil?

Not just yet. Literally last week I completed a couple of bespoke Reproduction Furniture pieces for someones home office in West London. It was a tricky job, but I worked closely with the client and the manufacturer was happy to undertake the challenge. The end products looked amazing and the client was extremely happy!

What did you do before running this business?

Ooh..lots of different things over the years! Directly before running Furniture Warehouse, I worked on the super yachts in the Mediterranean for 3 years, absolutely loved it. Working out in the sun and seeing some of the most luxurious places in the med!