Mum who started a furniture company with just £40 now runs a £10.7m interior design empire loved by Amanda H – The Sun

Layla Chapman, 35, and her husband Dan, 33, launched HOS Home in February 2016, and now count celebrities like Mark Wright, Denise Van Outen and Amanda Holden among her A-list clients.

Layla Chapman

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The company, which was known originally as House of Sparkles, has thrived thanks to Layla’s talents for styling and design, and has since launched a partnership with Peter Andre selling bespoke beds.

Layla,  from Sonning, Berkshire, told Femail that HOS started as a “passion project” and she never thought that just a few years later would they be so inundated with requests from influencers and celebrities who love her furniture.

“Selling £1million of furniture in the first year was incredible,” the mum-of-one explained.

“It’s been amazing to transform so many homes. We’ve delivered more than 100,000 pieces of furniture in the last three years and the demand increases every month.”

Layla Chapman

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Layla Chapman

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However, Layla and Dan’s success hasn’t come without a few setbacks, they hit rock bottom following their dream wedding in 2014 when an original business venture collapsed.

Dan had founded an electronic cigarette business that was becoming popular in Australia but Layla explained that a “shift in market conditions” contributed to it’s demise.

At the same time Layla had been heavily involved in the events industry and was running exclusive events for brands and rich clients across the south east, but hit financial difficulties.

They lost their home and car and had to start over: “We decided to move back in with my mum, hit the re-start button on our careers, and start again from zero.’

“It was difficult, but we had never had mentors in business and had to learn certain lessons in order to push on again. Looking back it’s the best thing that ever happened to us.”

Layla Chapman

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Layla Chapman

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The couple were also facing difficulties in their personal lives, after they were told they would have to resort to IVF because they wouldn’t be able to conceive naturally if they wanted children.

Layla admits she was devastated to learn of the news having dreamed of a big family, and embarked on an IVF journey that cost £55,000 at the same time as launching HOS.

They faced four unsuccessful attempts during their four-year struggle and lost two babies, before their baby girl Yasmin was born earlier 12 weeks ago.

Eventually the couple moved out of her mum’s home and started renting, before coming up with the idea for the glamorous furniture business.

They saw a gap in the market for affordable luxury and launched the website which cost £40 to set up.

On the first day of trading they sold a Hollywood Mirror for £244, the same item that their first celebrity client Denise Van Outen also later bought.

Layla Chapman

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Layla Chapman

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Layla Chapman

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After running into difficulties with furniture suppliers unsure of their business model, they soon proved their worth when within the first year of trading the couple had made £1.13m.

The couple have since amassed more celebrity clients including Brian Mcfadden, Scarlett Moffat, Amy Childs, Kelly Brook, Megan McKenna, Olivia Bowen and Caprice

Layla has since launched a separate venture with Peter Andre called A by Andre, which came about after she built up a friendship with Pete and his wife Emily when styling their home.

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A woman who classes herself a ‘boring office worker’ explains in our Bossing It series how she runs a sex toy company that’s set to make £100k on the side.

And last week, we spoke to a mum whose baby was nearly hospitalised because of her itchy, bleeding eczema – but she fixed it with a homemade cream which is set to make her £1.5m.