What we believe about houses
Four positions. Every one of them is something we act on, not something we say.
The budget is part of the design
A budget is not a limit imposed on a scheme from outside. It is one of the materials the scheme is made from, like light or ceiling height. Told the number early, we design something that can actually be built. Told it late, we design something that has to be unpicked.
So we will ask, we will be straight with you about what things cost, and we will never encourage you to spend beyond your means. If a room can be done well for less, we will say so.
Old houses already have the good part
The reason someone buys a period property is usually still in the building: the proportions, the joinery, the way a window sits in a thick wall. Most of what goes wrong in renovating one comes from treating those things as obstacles.
We work with what is there: original features, architectural detail, materials and colours chosen to enhance the house rather than argue with it. Modern life fits into an old house more easily than people expect. It just has to be planned for.
Getting it right once is the cheaper route
Hiring a designer reads as an added expense, and on the invoice it is one. Set against the wrong sofa, the second skip, and the kitchen that comes out again in three years, it usually is not.
Most of the value is in decisions made once, in the right order, before anything is bought.
A house is for living in, not for photographing
We would rather you ended up with a home that feels completely like you than one that looks like us. A scheme that photographs well and does not work on a Tuesday morning has failed.
And the process itself should be enjoyable. Hiring an interior designer can feel daunting at the start. That is exactly the part we are for.