Interiors shop to move to bigger premises after 30 years

A HOME furnishings shop in Henley is relocating after 30 years.

Brook House Interiors in Reading Road will move to its larger furniture barn in Rotherfield Peppard by the end of next month. The company produces bespoke sofas and furnishes show homes in the Henley area.

The business was started by Jonathan Bisson, 55, from Nuffield, in 1995 at what is now the Bluebells of Henley florists in Reading Road. In 2002, the store moved to its current location nearer the town centre but still in Reading Road. Mr Bisson’s wife, Louisa, 51, joined the business after taking voluntary redundancy from her accountancy role in the City in order to bring up their two children, Ella, 21, and Leoni, 18.

She said: “I wanted a job that I could work around the kids, so when they were babies they would come in with me. It has been a really good work-life balance over the years.”

Mrs Bisson said there were several reasons for the move, not just the need for a larger and more accessible site.

She said: “The business rates have gone up by 40 per cent and with a business like ours, we don’t need to be in the high street anymore. We opened our showroom in Peppard when the girls were babies and over the years it has got bigger. Having two places is quite a lot but if we’re just open four or five days a week at the barn, it gives us more time.

“I think things have changed so much that people are happy to drive as you can put things in the back of the car.

“The high street isn’t really what it used to be and it isn’t as much of a draw for us anymore. But we’re lucky because we bought the building, so we can rent it out.”