HOME SWEET HOME
Monkeys, moss, ambient lighting and fizz. What more could we ask for on a night out to celebrate the opening of Dowsing & Reynolds, the stunning new interiors store in Victoria Quarter.
I am a big fan of a dark painted wall and practically mole-like when it comes to lighting so stepping into the stunning, brand spanking new Dowsing & Reynolds store in Leeds, entirely decorated in the brand’s dark grey ‘mud-wrestling’ paint and adorned with their characterful monkey lights, was like a homecoming.
Having focused solely on their online business for the last seven years, the Leeds-based luxe interiors brand has officially opened its doors to its first store, a fabulous corner plot, in Victoria Quarter’s County Arcade, showcasing a range of striking fittings and distinctively stylish accents for the home.
Beautifully designed by company founders James & Ally Dowsing-Reynolds with the help of local interior designer Karen Knox from Making Spaces, the concept shop has been meticulously thought through and products uniquely presented to create intrigue and inspiration.
Such is their painstaking attention to detail, the couple also worked closely with retail psychologist Kate Nightingale from Style Psychology, to really get to grips with customer shopping behaviours, ensuring a seamless flow throughout the store and a positive customer experience. And it certainly shows.
With a dedicated section for each room in the home, the ‘kitchen’ area downstairs features design-led cupboard and drawer handles, knobs and pulls whilst the ‘living room’ showcases paint, table lamps, outside lights, as well as the company’s range of incredible faux foliage.
Upstairs is a bedroom and bathroom area where bespoke units have been designed and built to house the beautiful rainfall showers and handsome wall mounted taps.
Ally Dowsing Reynolds explains: “With such a range of products on display in our new shop, and more yet to come, we’ve worked around the clock to bring something extra special to those shoppers in Leeds who are looking to make their homes more striking with carefully selected finishing touches.”
Their hard work has certainly paid off. Never have I felt so compelled to stroke a plug socket or test a kitchen drawer handle, and a special shout out has to go to the petrified moss which covers full walls in parts of the store but can also be bought as single panels and framed. I love the moss.
It’s easy to see why Dowsing and Reynolds has scooped several prestigious awards including Best Home & Garden and featured on TV shows such as Grand Designs and The Interior Design Challenge. Both the store itself and the entire product range is unique, stylish, glamorous and offers something a little bit different which is surely what we are all looking for in our homes.
