The Allsop’s home rebuild

A director’s story: by Adam Allsop

Back in September 2022 our family suffered a devasting house fire, which left us with nothing more than a pile of ash and smoke-ridden belongings. Words cannot describe the feeling of watching everything you own and cherish go up in smoke. At this extremely difficult time for me, my wife and our two young boys, my team at The Shutter Studio were among some of the many people who helped us pick up the pieces and rebuild our home and our lives.

The day of the fire

How it started

I was on the way to London with my family when we received a frantic call from our neighbour. Smoke was coming from all the windows of our house and the fire brigade was on its way.

The first thing that came to mind was that our one-year-old Cockapoo, Cooper, was shut in the kitchen. At that moment, nothing else mattered other than getting Cooper out of the house.

We were fortunate enough to have lots of family and friends nearby who rushed to the house, while we jumped in a taxi to head back home.

Meanwhile, the fire brigade had accessed the house, however, the smoke was so thick they couldn’t see a thing. After what felt like an eternity on the other end of the phone, they found Cooper who had passed out in the larder.

The moments that followed were very emotional. After being put on oxygen Cooper came around and was rushed off to the vets.

Adam and Cooper, safe and sound

After the life-changing events of that day, we moved into my parents’ home whilst we regrouped and came to terms with our situation. It’s in times like these that you realise how lucky you are to have family and friends close by, and this is something we will never take for granted.

For the next 20 months we battled with insurance, several home moves and a rollercoaster of emotions as a family. The one thing we are thankful for is that no one was hurt, despite the emotional trauma of losing our home, we knew it could be rebuilt.

The rebuild

The fire had caused significant damage to the entire rear of our house and rebuilding it was going be a big job. Not only did we need our house back, we also needed it to feel like our home. Fortunately, we were surrounded by the best people to make this happen – our family, of course, but also my team at The Shutter Studio who were more than willing to use their skills to help me in this difficult situation. We also employed the professional skills of talented builders, Hilleards and bespoke kitchen manufacturer, Stoneham Kitchens.

One particular person who played a huge part in the rebuild was Roberto, one of the Shutter Studio’s top surveyors and a very talented tradesman. He is also a good friend of mine. With his extensive carpentry skills, he helped with many aspects of the build including all the bespoke joinery, and he personally oversaw a lot of the other work taking place to ensure the quality was exceptional.

Our Shirley branch helped add finishing touches to our home, installing new roof blinds and shutters and, we were delighted when our factory team said they wanted to restore some of the furniture that had been damaged in the fire. This included our dining table (see image) which they beautifully transformed. Having some of our original items back really helped bring familiarity and cosiness to our new home.

Restoring our dining table

A team that goes above and beyond

Now, over two years later, apart from some small details, we have our home back. I am extremely grateful to my team who came together to show their support and use their craftmanship and hard work to help my family at such a difficult time. It makes me immensely proud to have such talented and kind individuals working for The Shutter Studio.

Their response demonstrated what I already knew to be true, that The Shutter Studio is not just a team of blind and shutter specialists, it is so much more than that. The people at The Shutter Studio are multi-skilled and compassionate and they approach every project with the same care and dedication as if it were their own home.

This ethos is what distinguishes us, ensuring every customer receives a tailored service of the highest quality, with a team ready to go above and beyond.