Jane’s long-established furnishing and design business
has become a household name in Gibraltar, due to the quality,
the choice, the friendly personal service and the range
of prices to suit just about every budget.
Now working with her daughter Meme (pronounced
mimi), and Madelaine Andlaw in the afternoons, Jane’s
wide experience goes back long before she set up in Gibraltar:
‘I worked for Habitat in Dubai for a long time, and
then in 1986 I moved to Spain. I started a horse riding
stable in Los
Barrios,
but had to close due to restrictions caused by the Peste
Equina which was rampant across the peninsula at the time,’
she told me as I sat in her snug and restful shop in Engineer
Lane. ‘One of my customers had the Ducal furniture
agency for Gibraltar, and asked me to help sell for him.
As well as that, the Westside reclamation was starting and
I could see the potential in all the new homes that the
government was about to build there. As a direct result,
I opened the first Denville Designs shop in the ICC.’
Her skills and reliability caught on quickly
— she designed and furnished most of the original
Queensway Quay interiors — and she received a further
boost when local fabric suppliers Cargnie and Bain closed
down, meaning that Jane was able to take on all of their
agencies for leading British fabrics.
There isn’t much for home or office interiors
that Jane doesn’t supply now, including a full design
service that includes flooring, wall coverings, lighting,
painting and decorating as well as the fabrics and furniture.
‘We work to people’s budgets,’
she said, ‘They set the price and we will advise on
the best value that they can get for their money. We will
also advise if they are trying to practice false economy
— as you know, cheap things can work out dear in the
long run. But basically, just come in and say how much you’ve
got to spend.’
I learned that she now has customers who come
back ten or fifteen years after buying a sofa or armchairs
because they want new covers for the furniture, which is
still in prime condition.
The fabrics that Denville Designs supplies
read like an elegant hall of fame: Sandersons, Osborne &
Little, Nina Campbell and Designers Guild as well as Andrew
Martin and Malabar. And, as pointed out at the start of
this review, you can pay a lot more buying direct from,
say, Osborne & Little’s own shop in London than
you would for exactly the same thing in Engineer Lane. ‘This
is partly due to there being no VAT here,’ Jane explained,
‘but also because agencies get very special prices
and there is no middleman here. I have seen fabrics in the
company’s London shop at £50 that I sell here
for £30. Similarly over the border. Yet people still
go to Spain because they think they’re getting a bargain’.
In real terms, fabrics at Denville Designs range from £8
to £67 a square metre — quite a price range.
All of the furniture is top quality too, mostly
from the UK but also from two exceptionally good Spanish
manufacturers whose work is, Jane told me, ‘just absolutely
beautiful solid wood’.
It’s not all lounges, bedrooms, dining
rooms and bathrooms either: the shop is a fascinating exhibition
of all types of classy home complements, such as cushions,
candles, lamps and lamp shades, figurines, wind chimes,
curtains and bed throws.
Jane and Meme also sell top quality paint and
wallpapers, just to give you an idea of what’s on
offer, and there are also a lot of interesting items from
Morocco and Dubai, bought personally in those countries
by Jane. She told me that most of the fabrics from Dubai
are in fact the much sought-after silks and cottons from
India.
Most of the major items can be supplied either
ready made or made to measure, so you can choose the size
and the fabric yourself — and there’s as much
advice available as you want.
Another point worth mentioning is that curtains
are hung at no extra charge, and Denville Designs will provide
the poles and fittings if required. The larger items –
kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and such - will also be installed
as part of the price.
It’s not just householders who appreciate
the skills and service at Denville Designs — a lot
of Gibraltar’s top professionals, lawyers, insurance
companies and estate agents, for example, have engaged Jane
and Meme for their boardrooms and other office designs.
Open from 10am to 2pm and 3pm to 6pm, Denville
Designs is at 62 Engineer Lane (just along from the Bell
Lane corner) and the telephone number is 44012, fax 74231
or email interiors@gibtelecom.net
See the At Home supplement with this magazine
for tips on how to be your own project’s Interior
Designer from Jane.
