We spoke to Suzanne Drew, owner and founder of the Drew Decor decorating shop, about her love of all things interior styling related and why she decided to create a luxury interiors store right here in Sheffield.
Suzanne, When did your interest in interior styling begin?
In my early twenties, when I started visiting London quite often to visit my Cousin who had her own boutique clothes shop on New Kings Road. I would meet her there and she would take me to all the interior shops along that road and there was one shop in particular that I loved, called India Jane. It was set over two floors and it was packed with inspiration. I’d say that store planted the seed and the more I visited London the more I wanted my own interiors shop.
Why did you decide to open the Drew Decor shop?
Having a passion and interest in interiors and fashion meant it made sense for me to open the shop I had dreamt about from my early twenties. My husband has his own painting and decorating business, and I could see customers travelling all the way to London to find the products they wanted. We live in such a great city and I could see that it was time we had our own luxury interiors presence, making good design much more accessible to Sheffield and the surrounding areas. I know our customers really appreciate that.
Where do you like to start when you begin a new scheme for a customer?
I like to choose the wallpaper first as this forms the backdrop to the room and sets the tone for the rest of the scheme. People often choose their paint first because it feels like the biggest job or most pressing one. But if you choose your wallpaper or statement pieces first, you can then be very exact with paint colour selection. This careful colour work will really make a room sing. We do a lot of colour consultancy with clients and the results are spectacular.
Do you have any top tips for decorating?
Get a professional to do it if you can. And decorate your home in a style appropriate for your property. You can mix traditional with contemporary if it's done correctly, again we help a lot of our customers with this. Getting that mix of old and new in the right measure makes a huge difference.
How would you describe the Drew Decor shop to someone from another planet?
A fabulous boutique interiors shop that houses some of the best brands in the world!
More personally, if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?
I’d be a pine tree! The pine tree is the peacemaker, loving agreeable company and helping others. I love peace and harmony and I have an active imagination. I think in the design schemes I work on I like to create that peace and harmony for my clients whilst also giving the space an imaginative edge.
If you could choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what song would you choose and why?
Tough one this, but I would go for Better the Devil you Know by Kylie Minogue as I was a big Kylie fan growing up and this song always put me in a good mood. I would play it getting ready before a night out with the girls.
The Drew Decor shop is a small family run business with big dreams. We would love you to pop in and see our fabulous collections. We are at 910 Ecclesall Road, S11 8TR and we are open six days a week - Monday to Saturday. Beautiful is what we do best.