It's all change at Lukehurst, the family-run furniture and bedding store in Sittingbourne.

The company is currently upgrading its store on Eurolink Way.

Managing director Kathryn Lukehurst said: "We've had a fantastic offer in-store, especially since we put a new mezzanine floor in during Covid. But the exterior of the store didn't match.

"It was a rather dull 1950s' style warehouse. Sometimes people would wander in and be surprised, saying they had no idea how great it was inside."

Now the firm is looking to also present the right exterior image – spending £250,000 in the process.

Ms Lukehurst added: "We are modernising the exterior, new cladding will go up and LED lighting and signage.

"We really would like to raise public awareness and perhaps attract younger customers.

She said: "Business is growing, especially through Covid, with people upgrading their homes.

"We want to create a building that will serve us well for the next 20 years."

The firm has been in business for 52 years since Ms Lukehurst's grandfather Gerald first opened a store in Rainham on October 16, 1970.

The shop sells everything from sofas and chairs, beds and mattresses, to curtains and blinds and carpets and flooring

The building remains open for business, even if the exterior is surrounded by scaffolding at present. The work should be "98% completed" by the start of November.

Ms Lukehurst conceded with the cost of living crisis, it was an uncertain time to be investing money.

But she said: "It is risky, but if you don't move forward, you slip back. We are here for the long term."