Carla and her mum brush up their skills in new Southsea shop

Dukes of Southsea is a business specialising in giving unloved furniture a home and a new lease of life. It opened the doors of its new shop in Marmion Road, Southsea, on Sunday.

Owner Carla Duke, from Cosham, said: ‘My mum and I used to paint furniture together and people would always come round and ask how we did that. It’s always been a bit of a dream to open up a shop.’

Ms Duke, 29, said the shop will stock a range hand-painted second-hand furniture, accessories and other home furnishings.

There is an area at the back of the shop where the pair will paint and show people the techniques they use to restore furniture.

In the future they hope to offer workshops to teach people how to take something old and make it perfect for their home.

Ms Duke, a University of Portsmouth graduate, said: ‘We want to inspire people. We want them to choose us when making finishing touches to a design. We want to encourage people to style their homes and to get creative.’

The shop, formerly the The Daisy Chain Gift Shop, took around two months to renovate.

They painted the walls, made a new ceiling, added rustic features to the walls and put in new flooring.

Prior to opening the business, Ms Dukes was a financial analyst but says she is pleased to now be following her passion.

The store will be run by herself and her mother, although she said they hope to be able to hire more staff as the business grows.

She said: ‘We are a family-run business, it is something we have done together for years. My mum’s style and love for home styling has certainly been passed on to me.’

Tracey Duke, Carla’s mum, is the first employee of Dukes of Southsea. Tracey, from Havant, said: ‘Carla asked if I would be up for working with her and she knew I loved painting so I said yes. I mean, what better way to do what you love, than to do that with your daughter?’

The shop at 18 Marmion Road is open six days a week. For more call (023) 9234 6250 or go to dukesofsouthsea.co.uk.