We haven't really been involved that much in office refurbishments primarily because they generally require speed of execution rather than a top class finish, (which of course is our forte). That doesn't mean we don't want to carry out commercial contracts. We simply haven't been invited to tender for any high specification commercial contracts recently, perhaps because we are becoming known as being a residential specialist. None the less, please take note. We are interested in ANY interior design contract out there. We would have loved to have been the builder on this particular project, by Inhouse Brand Architects. Check it out. Now, that is what I call an office refurbishment:

Uniform timber cladding to the floor, walls and ceiling. I can't fault the craftmanship.

As I am waiting for the latest photos from a couple of our completed building sites to be sent by the photographer, I thought I'd just upload a few inspiring photos. I often get asked for recommendations on furniture, and I love this floating bed by Zeitraum, and the carpentry details on the matching bedsit table. What do you think ?

Source: Zeitraum

Just something I stumbled upon, and which I found rather cute. Kids love cloud's, and so do I :) We even built one out of plasterboard for a customer once upon a time. See our gallery and find St. Mary's Court. It should be there.

Source: Cloud Pendant Light

Source: http://www.solardecathlon.ugent.be/nl

This eternit clad house has been created by some eco-friendly and green thinking young people at the University of Ghent in Belgium, and although I think the design is not beautiful in its own right, I congratulate the people behind the initiative.

The E-cube has been designed as a solar powered, zero energy use house, with pre-engineered and factory-built components. Furthermore, it is designed so that most savvy DIY people can build the house themselves, without having to find themselves a builder. (Am I digging my own grave here? :) ) From a basic starter unit, the E-cube can then be extended and modified to fit the customer's needs. Think Ikea at a slightly larger scale.

There is no doubt that we all have to look to the future and put on our green thinking hats. That goes for all of us, but nowhere more than when it comes to people involved in housing. It start's with the architect's, interior designer's, and builder's. I for one would love to build with greener designs in mind, and the E-cube is somewhat inspiring. Surely, the design of the E-cube, could be modified so that it could be used as the skeleton for a House Extension of an old Edwardian house and then simply use London yellow bricks as the outer skin? Just a thought for the future.

Time for yet another blog post. This time about wall lamps that we find are exceptionally well designed and will look awesome in most homes. Yup, running a team of London builders does have its perks. We get to talk about design, and actually force feed our opinions to our customers. Just kidding. Here we go:

Source: B&Q

It may actually just look like a white brick to you, but my first wall lamp is a bit of a trade secret. Why, you may ask? Well, one of the great things about the Melody Square Wall Light is that it is ceramic, and can be painted the same colour of the wall, which makes it close to invisible. Besides that the glow coming from this lamp is both welcoming and and warm. But perhaps, best of all, is the price. At £13.48, this up-and-down light is a steal whether you live in Buckingham Palace or in a trailer somewhere. It will work anywhere. What are you waiting for? Trust me, go and get it!

Source: Artek BS912 Wall Lamp

Admittedly, I have a weakness for staircases. Probably because the design of a unique staircase, if build right, can make or break a property when it comes to a refurbishment. With this little blog piece, I hope that the reader will come away inspired. I have included a few of the ones we have designed ourselves or have been contracted to supply through architects.

Made from steel, glass and solid walnut cladding from one of our very own building sites, this designed staircase is horrendously expensive, but yes, it does look the business, doesn't it ?

Source: Preisler Construction Ltd.

Just to inspire the few people who read our little design blog.

First up, one of our own kitchen's, (bought from Barget's), installed in Onslow Square here in London. I ask you, the reader, to notice the symmetry of the fitting. If you look closely you will see that the line in the upper kitchen cupboards, is dead center to the roof light in the house extension London, and this line carries through the hob, the tap, the lower cupboards of the island, and finally to the middle of the centre tile of the floor. Yeah, it is true we can be a bit OCD. Perfectionists to the extreme. David Rea architects must take some of the credit for this though.

Source: Preisler Construction Ltd.

Top 5 Designer Towel Rails.

When it comes to bathroom refurbishments most customers have a hard time deciding which bathroom fittings to buy. I have therefore decided to devote a few entries in our blog to pinpoint a few of the bathroom fittings that I would recommend when carrying out a bathroom refurbishment in London.

As the title of this article will tell you, I have decided to list a few of the towel rails that I have come across which I find aesthetically pleasing bearing in mind that the current trend in towel rails dictates a square or at least a flat panel look. The criteria for the list below are as follows: They should 1) be in line with the current trend, 2) look good in most bathrooms, and 3) still remain timeless when the current trend comes to an end.

1. First up is the Aeon Cat Ladder Towel Rail:

Aquavista Panoramic Aquarium as part of a renovation?

As part of a renovation in Highgate London, we had to get rid of an old aquarium. In this context our customer was contemplating buying a new one, but since he could not find anything which matched the new interior he decided not to have one installed after all.

However, over Christmas I had a bit of time to browse the net, and suddenly I found this:

The Aquavista Panoramic Aquarium basically looks like a wall-mounted plasma TV. It is stylish but does not dominate the room. (That is, unless you want it to of course, in which case you just buy some blue corals and a couple of bright green fish, and you are off.)

OpenSun Conservatories

We have installed a fair number of conservatories, and it is my opinion that they generally speaking don't add much value to a house. Yes, they may give you some extra square meters of sun light, but generally speaking they are not very pretty and more importantly they are not looked upon as habitable space when it comes to a house sale. Mostly I recommend our customers that they consider building a house extension instead.

However, while I was surfing the net, I suddenly stumbled upon a French manufacturer of conservatories, OpenSun. Quite a revelation. I think the photos speak for themselves, but imagine a conservatory made of floor to ceiling glass panels, effectively giving you an outdoor room. It is beautifully crafted and the rounded design appeals to me aesthetically. The design is circular which is unusual, but the best feature is definitely that it folds back so that the encircled area becomes an outside area at a click off a button. Although not an estate agent, I am pretty sure that this will add value to your house.