Decor Kitchens & Bathrooms, were recongized for their acheivement of winning the Neff Best Design Award, and had an artical written about us, which you can read here:
http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/hidden-gem/story-20065321-detail/story.html
The artical says: Blink and you might miss an extraordinary family-run company in the village of Hugglescote, near Coalville.
Between a chip shop and a hairdressers is a driveway that leads, Narnia-like, to 30 award-winning kitchens and bathrooms.
The company, called Decor, was taken on as a plumbing and hardware business by satisfied customer Karen Osborne seven years ago.
She and husband Paul, who live in Desford, have re-created it as a design studio and even won a design award, beating 300 other UK companies. Under their ownership Decor's treasures are many.
From the street it is impossible to imagine there are 15 kitchens and 15 bathrooms set up inside – all designed by the couple and their team.
"We spend around £25,000 a year on re-planning our showrooms with new designs," said Paul, 44.
"We tend to fit about 35 kitchens annually and 25 bathrooms."
There are only five full-time employees, but Paul counts their sub-contracted master fitting teams as vital to their success.
The two fitting teams have been working for the company for 20 years and impressed the couple so much they bought the company.
Karen, who previously worked for recruitment agency Alfred Marks in Leicester, said their ownership of Decor began with a dodgy toilet seat.
"We had had a kitchen and bathroom fitted by the previous owners of Decor, which we loved," she said.
"Eight years ago, after our children came along, one of them damaged the toilet seat cover. We had been so impressed with the fitters that I went back to the Decor shop to get a new one."
That short journey from their family home in Desford to Coalville proved to be life-changing for the Osbornes.
The lady owner at the time mentioned that she was selling the business and already had a buyer.
Karen, 41, said: "I found myself asking her to call me if the sale fell through, as we would be interested in buying it."
Her husband Paul had some years experience working for another bespoke design company, so was no stranger to the field.
Luckily, the original buyer did pull out and Karen and Paul took over, investing their time, money and energy re-modelling Decor as a design studio and a 'one stop shop' for the design, planning, supply and installation of kitchens and bathrooms.
When they took over the business, turnover was £284,000 a year. Now it is about £600,000 mark and growing 15 per cent, year-on-year.
Paul and Karen put this down to passion and attention to detail from everyone involved.
Paul said: "Our fitters are masters of everything, not jacks of all trades. We take care of all the tiling, plastering carpeting and plumbing. The only thing we don't do ourselves is the electricals."
Decor is now the proud owner of a crystal glass trophy after winning a kitchen design award, beating other Neff dealers.
The winning design was the transformation of a galley kitchen to encompass a view through to a hot tub area.
Paul said: "We like to think we are a hidden gem."
