Sophisticated and vintage furniture to set off any home interior design that makes its debut second time around
Monkey, parrot, giraffe, fine flowers and chintzy fabrics matched up with pale creams, muted greys, solid greys and whites … new outlet My Favourite Things mixes up paints, textures and prints to make objects of desire.
And most pieces are upcycled although owner Carole Alan – an interior designer – prefers to look at them as pre-owned pieces brought back to life. The items of furniture and home accessories have been picked up at auctions and sales around Suffolk and Norfolk, transformed by her own fair hands and sold to customers who want contemporary and vintage feature pieces with an interior design accent at a fraction of the price that major manufacturers charge.
These ‘unique’ pieces range from some hand selected decorative accessories – purely for show – to bedside cabinets, to the most ornate chairs and tables, and to baskets, storage, sculpture and more. The items are mostly for the home but she has a passion for garden design too and so stocks pieces that would dress up any garden space however large or small. ‘It’s all about what makes you happy and interior design is my passion. My customers are looking to beautify home spaces but in some instances they have a compromised budget. Maybe a refurbishment, maybe a new extension but they want it all to work for them aesthetically. They want it to give the vibe they feel, whether it’s flamboyant, functional, clutter free, everyone channels their own ideas that are as individual as they are.’
Pieces have literally ‘flown’ out of the outlet since it opened during the first week of November. ‘I am being asked how I manage to sell these beautiful pieces at such affordable prices and the answer is that they came to the second-hand market and I identified that they could be beautiful so brought them and renovated them to make them someone’s dream purchase.’
Carole, who was born on The Isle of Sheppey, an island of the Northern coast of Kent, and has lived and worked in various States in the USA before settling back in Norfolk to open a similar shop in Holt, reached a point in her life when she could retire but chose not to. As she loves the job she does. ‘I have always been creative and enjoyed restoration – but have also worked in business – and social care. For me, this is where I think my future lies.’
‘I have been supplying beautiful furniture for around ten years now and it’s what I love to do. When the shop closed in Holt – I then entered another phase in my life – I missed the people and the socialising.’
‘I spent all of lockdown doing what I do best, restoring pieces for my own personal satisfaction and when lockdown came to an end I looked at the many lovely items I’d restored and it was obvious that I should get back to the business of selling them.’
‘They are My Favourite Things and I love to see people excited when they can clearly see the beauty in the pieces that I see. It gives people a new interest in furniture to find pieces they can’t resist and that they can afford.’
With a son in the USA and daughter near her in Suffolk, Carole is now settled and living in Hadleigh.
My Favourite Things is situated within The Garden Centre at Stonham Barns Park next to the newly renovated Café 24. Visitors to the outlet can combine an interior and outdoors shopping experience. The Garden Centre sells a huge range of plant pots, plants, shrubs, trees, garden sculpture, ornaments and planters, garden benches and BBQs.
Other retailers at Stonham Barns Park include The Garden Centre, Carters of Suffolk, Chintzy Lamp, Future Presents Now, Hemingstone Frames, Hot Tub Village, Ideal Interiors, Merit Sheds, Stonham Village Stores, Suffolk Bridal Outlet, The Beauty Barn, The Book Cellar and The Little Dance Barn. Among the most recent retail additions to the village are The Dogs Business, SUP Den, Lydia’s Fabrics, Stephen Watkins Art Exhibition Outlet and just-opened GG Trading Cards and Flowers for All Occasions.
Stonham Barns Park has just revealed a new look entrance and is rolling out new features over the autumn/winter.
For more information about Stonham Barns Park please contact 01449 711901 or visit www.stonhambarns.co.uk
