Local Shepperton Business - Style it Pretty
Today, we meet Helen Cooke from Style it Pretty. The Style it Pretty Instagram and Facebook threads have been brightening up our timelines with amazing upcycled furniture. We find out how the company started and more importantly, how you can acquire her work!
I started upcycling my own furniture a couple of years ago – I saw on Instagram how someone had painted and wallpapered an old bureau and I couldn’t believe the difference it made. A whole new world opened up for me and I quickly became very obsessed about how to improve and transform the furniture we already had. I ended up re-decorating my whole house around the furniture I had transformed.
When friends and family visited our house they all commented on how much they loved my furniture and said I should do it for a living, but I never seriously considered it as I was already busy with family life and working as a reflexologist. Then lockdown happened. I was unable to work as a reflexologist, and for the first time in years I had a lot of free time on my hands.
I started with locally sourcing some second hand corner cabinets with an idea of transforming them into stylish cocktail cabinets. After nervously listing my first one for sale, it sold within the hour and I also had my first commission for another one! I’ve not looked back really and now regularly upcycle bureaus, tables, bookshelves, corner cabinets, chest of drawers and most recently a rocking chair.
There are two sides to my business – sourcing furniture and upcycling it in my own style to sell, and taking commissions from customers. Customers either commission me to upcycle and breathe new life into a piece of their existing furniture, or they commission me to source a specific type of furniture for me to then upcycle to their specifications. If my customer needs help deciding what colours or style to go for, then I usually start with them emailing me a few photos of the room that the furniture will be positioned in so I can get an idea of styles and colours that will work. We then work together to ensure their newly created piece of furniture perfectly reflects their personal style and their existing home décor.
I absolutely love what I do and enjoy being creative and feel very lucky this is now something I am able to do for a living.
If you’d like to see more of Helen’s work and her business, check out her website www.styleitpretty.net
Facebook page www.facebook.com/styleitpretty.helencooke and Instagram account www.instagram.com/styleitpretty.hc
Helen is available for commissions - if you would like advice on how Helen will be able to upcycle your furniture please contact her on 07970 171873 or email styleitpretty.hc@gmail.com.