Style hero
Holly Tucker, co-founder of the site Notonthehigh street.com, believes decorating is about finding your own style, rather than following trends
More than 10 years ago, Holly Tucker teamed up with her friend Sophie Cornish to create online marketplace Notonthehighstreet. com. Enabling small businesses around the UK to sell unique homeware and accessories on one site, it became a huge success and earned Holly an MBE. She now serves as a board member and lives in St Margarets, Middlesex, with her partner, Frank, their son, Harry, and their border terrier, Mr Mudley.
I’m constantly inspired
by small businesses. I’ve dedicated my life to supporting the most creative businesses out there. Being able to watch what they produce is an honour. From the boutiques crammed into village lanes to the start-ups with popular Instagram profiles, independent businesses are at the cutting edge of what’s new. Shopping for my home is my therapy. I believe that your home is an extension of you,
your dreams and your spirit. You should be able to get to know someone very well just by walking around their home.
Every wall in my house is
white. When we moved in six years ago, we painted every wall white in less than 48 hours. I introduce colour through accessories. I can’t seem to get enough of artwork featuring animals, so the first thing I bought for the house was a fibreglass pig sculpture called ‘Pigs’ by the artist Finn Stone. I never make considered decisions when redecorating. Every time I’ve done revamps, they’ve happened to coincide with huge projects going on at Notonthehighstreet.com, so they’ve taken a backseat to work. In fact, we’ve just embarked on a big renovation of the house and I’ll be launching my new venture, Holly & Co, in January, halfway through the building works. I'll never learn!
My favourite room is my
bedroom. It’s a place where I can shut the world out after a busy day and take a few deep breaths. I have a beautiful dressing table full of jewellery and treasure boxes displayed like art. Some pieces are more valuable than others, some are hand-made by my son, but each one symbolises a different story. I look at them and am instantly transported back to that moment. These memories are priceless to me.
I still wake up at dawn on
Christmas morning. We all get up early to discover what gifts Father Christmas has left for us, then the rest of the day is spent eating, napping and walking. Two years ago, my brother-in-law introduced us to the ‘11am Christmas Morning G&T’ tradition and, I have to say, it’s definitely a keeper!