Why did we decide to launch a new e-commerce business (during a global pandemic)?
www.houseofdome.com officially opened its online showroom doors in November 2021 and our aim is to share beautiful products for the home, from specialist Italian brands we know and love, with people who are as passionate about great design as we are.
My co-founder, Dan Domeniconi, and I are an Anglo/Italian couple living close to the river, just outside Central London. Taking the plunge to launch houseofdome.com, is something we had dreamed of doing but never “had the time”, so after my travel industry career was halted during the pandemic, it opened up the opportunity and we’ve definitely not looked back! Dan studied architecture and has worked in the design industry for over 10 years, bringing extensive experience and Italian design knowledge and I have a passion for exceeding expectation, love design and bring extensive marketing and business experience.
“We value quality, comfort, design and craftsmanship and have chosen products that are carefully made to stand the test of time. We believe this is a more sustainable approach to buying furniture and that our products represent investments in beauty, functionality and longevity.”
We started with a ‘blank sheet of paper’ and set the vision to help us shape houseofdome.com, always focusing on the customer experience and needs.
Product, Product, Product
We are totally motivated by beautiful products and Dan’s insider knowledge from the world of Italian design means we have sourced furniture, home accessories and lighting from highly-regarded specialist Italian design brands that you otherwise won’t easily find. These are brands known and used by interior designers and architects here in the UK, but we wanted to bring them to people as passionate about interesting design and quality as we are.
Personalised furniture to suit your style
Offering our customers the ability to easily personalise their furniture is fundamental and we have an unbeatable selection of high quality Italian fabrics, metals, marbles, woods and other materials. We’ve built an extensive Virtual Studio on the website to help our customers make their selection and create their mood boards. All furniture is custom made in Italy, but we’ve managed to ensure shorter production times so that most items will be crafted and delivered within 6-8 weeks.
Furniture to love for a lifetime
And, most importantly, we wanted to offer beautiful products made to stand the test of time – ‘furniture to love for a lifetime’. This is our personal ethos but it aligns with the shift towards more conscious consumption as people re-evaluate their impact. We believe style today is less about throwaway fashion and much more about quality, design and craftsmanship, truly giving value to what we own.
Customer service – exceeding expectations
Although we are an online business in terms of our showroom, this doesn’t stop us offering personalised service to our customers and our team is on hand to offer design advice, share samples and offer in-depth knowledge by phone, virtual meeting or face-to-face. Our team all share the same ethos – we want to exceed our customers’ expectations at all points in the customer journey and we like to find ways to go the extra mile to ensure this happens.
A personal passion
We hope you’ll enjoy exploring our curation of sofas, sofa beds, dining tables, chairs, storage solutions, lighting, interior fragrance and much more at www.houseofdome.com. You can learn a little more about us here.
And, if you are on your own journey setting up your own new business, my advice is that once you’ve done your homework and your business plan stacks up – be bold, take that leap of faith, believe in yourself and follow your passion, you won’t look back!
