Universal Design in Cirencester.

“Sam provided a high quality design service for the renovation of our Grade II listed, 1st floor apartment. Sam initially met with us in our home and took into account all of our furnishings and tastes. She then made recommendations of which furnishings we could continue to use and came up with lots of suggestions on how to best marry our style with that of our period home. Consideration was given to the purpose and use of each room. Sam produced designs for each room, giving us a few different designs for each. Sam was a great help during the process of applying for listed building consent with the Council. She produced the heritage statement along with all the detailed drawings that were required. We could not have got through this process with the Council's Conservation team without Sam's professional and knowledgeable input. Sam's attention to detail and her knowledge of interiors and quality suppliers is endless. We would certainly use Sam's services again when we do our next renovation.”

“Caroline has been such a great inspiration to us with getting us to think carefully about what we want from our house interior! She has come up with a beautiful colour scheme and has great ideas and vision on how to throw some colour in too. Very professional and friendly with excellent customer service. With the added bonus that she can upholster cushions and blinds too and keen to upcycle existing items that we already have! Would highly recommend ”

“I worked with Aly on an interior project for my new (Grade 2* listed) home. She really helped support bringing my vision to life and making suggestions on what would and would not necessarily work in the space. Aly was able to tailor the project based on my needs and budget, which I appreciated as it felt more customized. This included digital design layouts of the space, sourcing materials, and consistent check-ins weekly to ensure we were on the right track. There were a few stress points where I changed direction due to outside circumstances and Aly was able to pivot and help provide options for me to move in a new direction with ease. I am so pleased with the outcome of project, and the beauty of my new home!”

“I have used the House of Hozier many times and have always been delighted with the results. Clare is knowledgeable, professional, kind and very helpful. She is very thorough and the quality of work she provides is fantastic.”

“I had moved into my new home, and the interior decor was neutral - but bland. I was, frankly, at a loss as to how to begin to make it work for me. Kay visited, listened to how I need my home to function, talked me through the possibilities and created several mood boards to enable me to visualise how it could look. She even sent me links to the products I needed, taking the angst out of shopping for the right items. My lovely new home now feels like my space - thanks so much, Kay, for working your magic and taking the fear out of introducing pattern, colour and texture.”

“Hi. I'd just moved into a new home and was lost as to what to do with my lounge. I'd never used an Interior Designer before, but had a great time with Daniel ...and Laura who did an amazing job and were awesome to work with. I asked them to help with my layout, lighting and colour scheme with a fairly tight brief - they did a great job in presenting a variety of options and gave me plenty to think about, even laboriously sourcing a few of the items. The results are great. Absolutely recommended.”

“I engaged the services of Catriona from Tulipa last year in order to provide my rather sad and overly magnolia drenched cottage a much needed new lease of life. My initial brief to Catriona was to offer advice on paint colours, as I had been descending into a state of overwhelm over the choices available. The odd forays into bolder colours hadn't really worked, and I needed help. Catriona was able to come into my home, identify exactly what I wished to achieve from the space, and then make colour recommendations which proved to be absolutely spot on. My cottage seems lighter, calmer and certainly a more relaxing place to be. In addition, by taking the time to find out about me and my life style, Catriona was able to offer a wealth of advice and make subtle changes to the positioning of furniture and interior decor, which has completely changed the way I use my home spaces. I will be employing her again shortly for a further project.”

“Briony advised me on a bathroom redesign. It was a really challenging project. The room was tiny and the layout awkward. Briony came up with ideas I hadn't thought of (and I'd been mulling for weeks!) which included some brilliant technical and plumbing solutions. I was really pleased that she was able to solve some of these problems because it made a new and much better layout possible. Briony really got my sense of style and what I was looking for and I was delighted with the drawing she provided showing in quite a lot of detail what each layout might look like once units and tiles were installed. She also hand-drew a vanity I was hoping to have made bespoke. And she sourced some actual options for units and tiles, which was so helpful. I'll definitely ask Briony to help again!”

“For some years, we had planned to extend our 3 bedroom, end-of-terrace property and already had plans drawn up and approved. However, with the passage of time, we wanted to be sure that these plans continued to suit our purposes. We invited Nick to review the proposals and he made a number of very useful observations. Importantly, he helped us to see that we could reconfigure the space and change our way of living to enjoy an improved view of the garden and across the valley in a light-filled, open-plan kitchen-diner with separate seating area. He also identified some simple changes to the layout to maximise functionality of the various new spaces, creating a separate utility room that we had always wanted, and an area for our pets. He also spotted a design simplification that would facilitate installation of a new kitchen. The proposed renovation would affect many of the spaces in the house, so Nick produced several 3D models of the whole property to help us to envisage optional layouts. His advice, supported by the different models and estimated costs, also identified elements that were not worth pursuing, releasing funds for other aspects that were more important to us. With the basic layout agreed, Nick worked with the architect, structural engineer, and Council planning officers to ensure that the agreed re-design would be approved. In parallel, he produced a very detailed specification with electrical and lighting layout and schematic for the TV, music and IT installation; this, together with architect’s drawings, formed the tender package against which 3 contractors bid a fixed price. We came to realise that this detailed document with specific references was critical to containing the price within defined limits; through the specification, the contractor was given very clear instructions on specific building works, plumbing and heating, joinery, lighting, flooring and other aspects of the project. Nick ran a competitive tender working closely with us and the 3 bidders. Together, we then selected the winning contractor and work started. In essence, whilst we lived with the building work, Nick was on site almost every day to keep an eye on developments and make decisions where required. Largely, we sat back and made cups of tea for the builders. If we spotted anything of concern, we generally raised this with Nick in the first instance and he would either explain the issue to us or, if some action was required, would address it with the contractor. Having established the principal price for the works, Nick was also keen to show us the total cost of the project including carpets, window dressings, audio equipment etc. He had also designed a number of bespoke storage units some of which were eventually fabricated and fitted. Early in the planning process we met to review decorative schemes with samples to show how each room would look and feel, along with the associated prices. He maintained a detailed spreadsheet, so that we could budget for furnishings over a timescale that suited us. The spreadsheet included a risk budget for identified risks, to help us understand the level of caution required as the project progressed. The value of the main contractor’s work was £120k + VAT (including kitchen) and the total project budgeted price was £150k + VAT (including furnishings etc). Nick oversaw the contractor’s implementation of the design. He also managed any interfaces between the contractor and other suppliers, and organised purchase of additional items such as the kitchen, carpets, blinds, and audio kit. He took us to view kitchens and appliances so that we could confirm our requirement. He then negotiated a good price for us which saved several £ks. This was another feature of working with Nick; not only did he negotiate good prices on our behalf, he also passed on elements of his trade discounts to us, and identified cost effective solutions which more than paid for his fees. We were particularly fascinated by Nick’s attention to detail and came to realise and appreciate its importance. For example, his insistence on the apparently small detail of aligning the floor level at the threshold to the French doors was simple to implement, but the contractors would have proceeded to fit a step over the threshold (because it was easy and what they always do) without Nick insisting otherwise. We now have no such trip-hazards. As the project proceeded, Nick spent more time with us and our teenagers, confirming styles and tastes, bringing samples and putting together schemes, before sourcing carpets and other fixtures and fittings. He introduced us to a number of new ideas: all of our friends marvel at our purple glass splashback and resin-worktop; the walk-in rain shower is fabulous; the music distribution system is fantastic, the wide floorboards are a real feature, and the look of our spacious, contemporary kitchen-diner is very special. He also future-proofed the property with an ethernet network in all key areas of the home. To manage cash-flow, the project was split into 2 phases. In planning for this, Nick ensured that all foundations, cabling, and pipes for phase 2 were installed during phase 1, negating the need for re-work or additional work later. In fact, during the 6 month break between phases, the contractor failed to record works already completed and paid for, and were preparing to escalate the ongoing price significantly (by approximately £8k, or 30% of the price remaining). However, Nick’s dogged determination and scrupulous record-keeping allowed us to maintain the project largely within the original price (allowing only for a legitimate inflationary increase in materials and labour). Throughout the project, we had every confidence that Nick would address any issue with the work. He produced a detailed snagging list at the end of each phase and ensured that all items were closed before the project was signed off. We are delighted with our “new” home and, having lived with it now for over a year, we find it practical as well as stylish, with plenty of functionality, space and light. Nick is a pleasure to work with. He offers fresh ideas and has opened our eyes to opportunities that we would otherwise have missed. Equally, he accepts respectfully that a client may not always be able to follow a particular recommendation. He is extraordinarily diligent and reliable and his involvement saved us money overall (to the tune of many £ks). We will certainly continue to use his services for future developments of our home and it gives us great pleasure to recommend him to others.”

“Many thanks to Annie , whose knowledge and vision helped us enormously with the design for our extension. She understood exactly what we were trying to achieve. We found it very difficult to visualise the final layout, but Annie’s ideas were excellent, and her skill in a visualisation so we could actually ‘see’ the final outcome, provided us with exactly what we needed. It gave us a focus and an idea of where we were going. Planning an extension and modifying an existing layout is not for everyone; it is very easy to get it wrong, and end up having to modify a poor start! I would recommend Annie without hesitation to anyone thinking about any sort of interior design or architectural or structural changes to their house. Thank you so much Annie!”