In DW's father's time, the shop had a beer counter and boarded floors on which fresh sawdust was scattered every morning.
When his father died in 1927, DW re-organised the premises. He put a gilt sign of a flagon of gold above the entrance and did away with the beer counter, replacing it with two big glass cabinets to display exceptional wines. He boarded over the staircase that led down to the cellars, and covered the floor space with dark blue carpet.
He had his own office panelled in mahogany and replaced his father's roll-top desk with 'a beautiful oval piece which had drawers each side and a space for one's legs under its centre'.
As DW wrote in his memoirs, "I have always thought it a good thing to have a nap in the afternoon whenever possible, so I had a curved panel made to fill up the front of the open space. I could then lie at full length under the desk without anyone seeing me. At times one of my staff would come in, look round and say to anyone behind him: 'That's queer ! I could swear I saw the boss walk in here ten minutes ago. He must have slipped out without my noticing him.' "
