London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design London

Job Tips Part I



Ever since Global Interior Design began to establish its reputation as London's premier no-fuss design studios, we have regularly seen a peak in the number of job applicants in April and May. And it's that time of year again! As students approach the end of their interior design certificate or degree programmes, many are keen to enter the workforce through either full-time junior-level jobs or summer work placements. We see applications from every corner of the globe..... but to be honest a good number get shredded and recycled by my assistants or team manager because they are simply not up to par! In the next two blog postings, I will offer some advice for London interior design candidates applying for jobs in the capital. If you follow these straightforward hints and tips, you can almost guarantee that your CV and cover letter would move beyond the first-round pre-check and reach my desktop.


Job Tips Part II


Here are my top tips for jobseekers:


1. Thoroughly explore the website of the company to which you are applying! It is essential that you fully review the signature styles, expertise and portfolio of the targeted interior design firm. If you forget to do this, your cover letter and CV will end up seeming nonspecific and dull.... here comes the shredder and the borough recycling lorry!


2. Make sure your text is 100% error-free. I always tell my team manager to eliminate any job applicants whose materials have mis-spellings or grammar problems, or who fudge the name of our London-based interior design firm.


Job Tips Part III


Finishing off my top tips for those seeking employment in interior design fields:


3. Put your best foot forward. Don't be shy in explaining why you are right for the job. I am always eager to receive applications from candidates with an intuitive aptitude for interior design. Make sure to attach samples from your interior design portfolio, and don't forget to talk about your education and/or prior employment in interior design in London or related fields.


4. Don't go overboard on the flattering remarks. I am often pleasantly surprised when job applicants know about awards or publicity that Global Interior Design has recently received, or when they compliment me on the industry thought leadership that is showcased in my blog. However, I am wary of applicants who over-emphasise these things and consequently seem obsequious.


Thank you and best wishes to all of London's interior design jobseekers this season!


London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

London Renovation Company - Fabulous Flooring Options - Marble or Wood?

Fabulous Flooring Options - Marble or Wood?



I have to admit, flooring is sometimes not considered one of the most exciting areas of creativity among London's top interior design firms. My flooring solutions approach relies on a few key concepts, which I would like to share with all my readers today.


Marble: Interior design firms ought to think of marble for an ultra-luxury lobby in a wealthy London bank, for instance. Hard-wearing and compatible with most industrial cleaners, marble guarantees a look of sophistication and opulence that London's world-class businesspeople deserve.


Wood: This is not as pricey as marble, but is nonetheless easily cleanable and quite robust. Interior design firms will think of wood when their clients crave an enduring, historic design scheme.


Fabulous Flooring Options - Carpet Tile or Broken Paint?


Continuing from my previous blog posting, I wanted to move on to some of the more modest solutions systems for flooring.


Carpet Tile: This versatile option is ideal for scenarios where cost control is important and where we expect plenty of people walking in and out all day long. For instance, a London interior design firm might choose carpet tile for the entrance corridor of a multi-level office block in multicultural Slough, a town just outside the west of London. Each tile can be sliced with a carpet-cutter to fit the most awkward dimensions. Interior design firms will often inform clients that any one carpet tile can always be taken up and replaced in the even it becomes worn or excessively dirtied.


Broken Paint: An interior design team might select this finish for an affordable kebab house in an area dominated by social/community housing. The paint is cheap to purchase and apply, and food spills can be cleaned up very easily.


London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

London Renovation Company - Designing Stylish Kitchens

Designing Stylish Kitchens



Recently I was online, busy with some e-catalogues from a kitchen studio for a project in London that is being managed by our interior design firm. It made me think about some do's and don'ts of kitchen design, the most important of which is that "doable" does not equal "advisable!" On occasion, our interior design firm encounters a client who craves massive architectural modifications in their kitchen. This can be doable but may be very pricey, without guaranteeing any particularly splendid outcomes that could not be achieved more economically. In these cases, our interior design team will come up with ideas for more subtle ways to reach the design of our client's dreams.


In all cases, your London interior design firm should be giving you guidance and regular updates on the key decisions and costs involved.


Luxury for Aspiring Chefs


When I am teaching my interns about kitchen design, I always remind them to think about special extras! The interior design firm in London should always explore the client's needs and desires. For example, will the home regularly be visited by London's landed gentry, who enjoy fine wines and restaurant-style meals? Does the aspiring chef desire a high-end rotisserie for flame-grilling chickens, or a floating-lid panini maker, or a granite-topped island with extractor fan for preparing marinades? Does the kitchen area need to serve multiple purposes, perhaps as a drinks area for visitors during summer soirees? The interior design team should work hard to understand their clients, anticipating needs even before the clients know themselves!


Use Cases for Kitchens


Junior interior designers often have difficulty imagining themselves in the shoes of their clients. Certainly, London is highly diverse, and people from different cultures and cuisine heritage regions will use kitchens in different ways. But in my view the interior design team needs to lay out what I call "use cases" to guarantee the most appropriate kitchen design. For example, the interior design professional should ask their client whether children will ever be in or near the kitchen? Should child-proofing of dangerous appliances be made a priority? Alternatively, some London residences need to feature panic buttons for older relatives - the kitchen can be a great place to install such a system. Does the kitchen need to serve as overflow for larger gatherings or garden parties? And will it be a vegetarian kitchen, or one that serves only Muslim-approved foods, for example? Today's modern London interior design professional needs to understand all these possibilities and more.


London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

Splashing Out: Bathroom Design Explained - Kid-Friendly Designs

Bathroom design professionals work tirelessly to fuse practicalities with aesthetics in pursuit of magnificent interiors. In this three-part article collection which I call "Splashing Out: Bathroom Design Explained", I recall my experiences collaborating with many of London's best bathroom design experts to help readers understand this fascinating speciality design area. This third and final article focuses on how to create bathroom designs that are perfect for tiny hands and feet.


Most of us can no longer imagine what it was like to be tiny. As a consequence, creating fabulous bathroom designs that are kid-approved can be a major source of confusion. London's population is increasing year-on-year, and as a consequence new parents are always calling to inquire about kid-approved bathroom design approaches. My most major concern is generally about how to design a bathroom that the kids won't grow out of in just a few years! What feels amazing to a young Year 3 pupil at a London pre-prep may well seem uninspired and too "childlike" by the time the kid is just a little older.


Kids adore colour, but London's top bathroom design professionals recognise that there are limits to colour expansiveness. One approach that I love is to preserve a mid-colour envelope by selecting ecru or ivory for walls and ceilings. Hints of accent colour can make inroads through towels, borders and accessories. Some prestigious London bathroom design studios will routinely incorporate potato, banana, blackcurrant or pink grapefruit for a kid's bathtub or shower wall - critically, such hues are not as overwhelming as (say) red raspberry or apple.


For the smallest children, we focus on bathroom designs that offer expansive movement areas. Easier said than done for more compact London flats! Some bathroom design experts will recommend a step-up miniature ladder that allows kids achieve improved handwashing reach. It is small enough to be easily stowable after use. Sensor-based tap activators can eliminate reach problems for tiny fingers, and your bathroom design professional will often pre-adjust the thermal controls to guarantee that kids will never encounter water that is too hot for safety.


That brings to an end my series called "Splashing Out: Bathroom Design Explained". From Global Interior Design in London: thank you for reading!



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

Splashing Out: Bathroom Design Explained - Colour Me Fabulous

Bathroom design professionals work tirelessly to fuse practicalities with aesthetics in pursuit of magnificent interiors. In this three-part article collection which I call "Splashing Out: Bathroom Design Explained", I recall my experiences collaborating with many of London's best bathroom design experts to help readers understand this fascinating speciality design area. My second article dives into bathroom colour themes.


Have you ever seen a colour wheel? It's a key tool in the kit of any London bathroom design professional. The device can help us to select harmonious colour coordinates - whether the desired effect is slow and refined or fired-up and bold. For instance, some larger London bathrooms can be perfect for colour-divergent complimentary schemes. For this effect, your bathroom designer will select two hues from opposite peripheries of the colour wheel - perhaps a daffodil foundation with an indigo accent scheme! I note that more compact London cloakrooms would not be suitable for such a bathroom design approach because it would simply overwhelm the residents. For cloakrooms, a monochrome scheme with just one hue but plenty of variational tints might be quite splendid. Think of the exact same bathroom design as mentioned above but with robin's egg blue instead of the yellow - you can keep identical proportions and hardware, but the net bathroom mood will be utterly different. Ideal maybe for a South London semidetached home or a London Docklands warehouse conversion.


Well-heeled London businesspeople often crave the spa-style feel that is such a hit in modern times. Bathroom design professionals will focus on fresh, tranquil colours including plenty of sapphire and meadowland hues. A favourite technique of mine is to match these up with the ivory and dual-hue matt-shine metallic taps and waste rings that are often a feature of beauty parlours.


For many an age, society ladies in London have relied on makeup to beautify their faces and to obscure any undesirable blemishes. Colour can be used in the same way to el evate bathroom design to stratospheric opulence - maybe by making a feature of historic plumbing, dado rails or architectural elements.


I can remember when bathroom design lecturers at London's design colleges would insist that painting a more cramped bathroom in a less sunny colour would make it seem impossibly small. However, bathroom design mavens today know that this is far from true. Selecting various hues of a heavier colour in a less spacious bathroom can make the interior seem surprisingly large. Ribbled paint can seem to improve the proportions of the space while improving the level of visual and tactile engagement.


In my next article in this series called "Splashing Out: Bathroom Design Explained", we will discuss designing for kids.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

Splashing Out: Bathroom Design Explained - Creativity

Bathroom design professionals work tirelessly to fuse practicalities with aesthetics in pursuit of magnificent interiors. In this three-part article collection which I call "Splashing Out: Bathroom Design Explained", I recall my experiences collaborating with many of London's best bathroom design experts to help readers understand this fascinating speciality design area. This first article explains how to get creative.


Centuries ago, the most luxurious element of a London bathroom was a diary and pen, a sputtering lantern and a bathing tub filled with lukewarm water. But enter professional bathroom design, and that situation was completely transformed! Busy London residents today love to max out the productivity in every workweek, and as a consequence the bathroom is rapidly being seen as a haven of tranquillity. Homeowners are engaging bathroom design teams to incorporate hard-to-find uniqueness that adds designer flair to any bathroom.


The bathroom design team should always begin with creativity. London's most demanding clients can request anything from a spa bathroom to a sanctuary bathroom to an audiovisual bathroom replete with flatscreen monitors and high-end acoustics. Each category of bathroom is linked with its own bathroom design "speciality extras"; - spa-type oversize baths, underfloor heating, and below-basin hotzones for fabrics and flannels. Even the hardware today is amazingly diverse and luxurious. Imagine bathroom designs that feature hot-steam sprayjets, touch panels and in-wall shower dashboards. The hospitality and resorts industry has definitely contributed to bathroom design in a major way. London clients today crave high-end standafoot vessel washbasins and plush stools upholstered with water-resistant fabrics. Open a bathroom cabinet and you may just find a cafetiere set or a mini-refrigerator for the ultimate in at-home luxury!


Home audiovisual tech is also making waves in London bathroom design today. LCD televisions and surround-sound audio are rapidly becoming de rigeur. Some top bathroom design mavens will hide a satellite TV hookup in a vanity unit .... ideal for the busy businessperson who has to stay current with the Asian stock markets on Bloomberg while she perfects her makeup at the crack of dawn!


In my next article in this series called - "Splashing Out: Bathroom Design Explained", I'll explore the role of colour in London bathroom designs today.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

London Renovation Company - Secrets of Polish and Flair - The Georgian

Interior design and in-style vogue have been intertwined for decades. In this article series called "Secrets of Polish and Flair," I examine the meaning of flair for interior design professionals today. I reflect on my professional know-how from collaborating with many of London's top interior design mavens. This is the final article in my series - please join me as I complete my exploration of period design, by jumping right in to the world of the Georgian.


When interior design professionals talk of "Georgian," they generally have in mind the interior design landscape as it existed from about the 1710s until the late 1820s. Georgian design styles continue to be incredibly popular in London today.


London was a mecca for interior design in the Georgian era - English craftsmen and women ranked among the best in the world for skillfulness and versatility. The richest Londoners craved high quality, and their unrelenting sophistication demanded perfectly-sized furniture items.


A handful of interior design professionals made names for themselves in Georgian times. Their iconic contributions continue to influence us today in the thousands of private and public interiors that are Georgian-inspired on so many levels.


An expose of Georgian design would not be complete without a reference to William Kent, the interior design patriarch who lived from 1684 until 1748. His fabulous seating and dining solutions showcased opulent ornamentation that harked back to the mythologies of the Ancient Greco-Roman era. In modern times, such period design elements are still a favourite of London interior design boutiques that work extensively with the Georgian style.


Thomas Chippendale is practically a household name among well-heeled Londonders today. The famous furniture designer lived from 1718 until 1779. He created cabinetry that was considered not as showy as that of William Kent. Chippendale's work is often conceptualised as being more "English" in style - it appealed more to London's sense of refinement and class. The highly polished and gentlemanly look was exactly what the upper crust craved. Today's interior design mavens will recommend both Chippendale originals and modern copies for our most discerning clients.


When I mentor interior design students, I will often recommend vigilance with Georgian styles - this design approach risks being seen as inappropriately grandiose if one makes it too obvious. I will really only recommend the Georgian interior design style for expansive London manor houses with large windows.


That brings to an end my series called "Pulse of the Interior Design Profession: Secrets of Polish and Flair." Thank you for reading!



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

London Renovation Company - Secrets of Polish and Flair - Two Timeless and Historic London Design Styles

Interior design and in-style vogue have been intertwined for decades. In this article series called "Secrets of Polish and Flair," I examine the meaning of flair for interior design professionals today. I reflect on my professional know-how from collaborating with many of London's top interior design mavens. This is article number two in my series, in which I expose historical/timeless design, with special insight into the Jacobean and Victorian styles.


Traditional interior design relies on fabrics, woods and glassware that echo the fabulousness and sumptuousness of days gone by. London interior design professionals will recapitulate the most attractive elements from decades long gone, and masterfully match them up with today's best practices and modern materials. Historical interior design projects often focus on sophistication, aiming to recreate spaces in which to luxuriate in splendour and grandeur - though sometimes echoing a touch of vulnerability as well.


Jacobean styles are a huge hit in massive London mansions and similar residences that carry major historical context. When I hear the word "Jacobean" I immediately think of weighty woods - inkily dyed mahogany with plenty of varnish is characteristic for panels that are often used on walls and for floors. Oak is commonly seen in the furniture, with a resulting interior design look that calls to mind both vigour and resilience. The furniture items are comfortably-dimensioned, taking up the space and making their presence felt. Thick embroidered textile fabrics are a critical element of the Jacobean - today's interior design teams often use these for upholstered furniture or curtains, echoing the "tapestry" design style of ages past.


I tell my interior design students to take care with Jacobean designs because the style does demand heaps of natural light, or otherwise the overall look can be slightly drab. This is mostly an issue with more cramped London flats, and is not a concern for the massive castles or manor homes outside London with their enchanting wall-to-ceiling windows and expansive acreage.


By way of comparison, the Victorian interior design style is rather more sedate, respectable and unadventurous than the Jacobean. Imagine tiny circular tables, often fabric-covered, together with plump buttoned-down chesterfield sofas. It was in Victorian times that London first really started to feel like a city - and the result was that the Victorian "designer look" began to incorporate wildlife as a textile scheme, balancing out the capital's encroaching feel of rapid industrial growth and mechanisation. If you walk into a London bathroom and see flowers, plants or birdnests stencilled on the tiles you can be sure that Victorian inspiration was at work somewhere!


In my next and final article in "Pulse of the Interior Design Profession: Secrets of Polish and Flair"; I will shift over to another historical style that plays a major role in London's interior design scene - the Georgian.



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London Renovation Company - Secrets of Polish and Flair - Basics

Interior design and in-style vogue have been intertwined for decades. In this article series, "Secrets of Polish and Flair," I examine the meaning of flair for interior design professionals today. I reflect on my professional know-how from collaborating with many of London's top interior design mavens. This first article focuses on foundations.


I often point out to clients that people tend to modify their residences much less often than we buy new outfits! Consequently, it is critical that the interior design professional not push for too "in vogue" a design concept. We don't want to create something that will be utterly passe when next season comes around. Definitely it is a great idea to stay current on furniture trends - just check out London's regular interior design exhibitions - but the interior design maven will often do better to dive into fabric-based styles that can be modified regularly and at will. Think of throws, drapes, tablecloths and towels, to name just a few.


London interior design trends can shift like the winds. In recent years London has seen a shift back to embrace the historic. The Georgian Adam mantlepiece has attracted the excitement of many an interior design studio. Mouldings are a real hit today, and interior design pros will often recommend them in oak or in stucco.


I am excited to report that the historic dado rail has seen a comeback even in some of the less spacious London flats. With it we see a resurgence in dual-hue wall colour themes. To echo historical trends, interior design experts will select a weightier, more inky colour for below the rail and a sunnier hue for above.


Colour and pattern matching on fabrics is absolutely in style today. There are so many great custom fabric shops in and around London that interior design professionals are really spoilt for choice! At our interior design studios, we often select textiles that reflect the designs on wallpaper, accents, rugs, or even dishware!


Last but by no means least, it is critical to conceptualise flair in the "setting" of the design zone. Two separate rooms can never be exactly the same. Every interior offers both highlights and less attractive features. London's top interior design pros will evoke polish and flair in such a way as to highlight an interior's best elements while also muting out any undesirables. As examples, less attractive room features may include ill-advised wall-removal by a builder, or maybe a quicky architect's error that is tough to fix due to structural concerns.


In my next article in "Pulse of the Interior Design Profession: Secrets of Polish and Flair", I will expose London's most ageless design modalities - Jacobean and Victorian.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

An London Renovation Company Reveals the Secrets of Outdoor Design

An Interior Design Company in London Reveals the Secrets of Outdoor Design - Schemes to Illuminate King-Sized Gardens


Similar to the situation with more cramped inner city London gardens, today's most prestigious London interior design companies will devise breathtaking exterior lighting concepts by initially writing out a ranking of the best attributes of your more spacious garden - whether city-style or rustic. By "attributes", we simply mean those segments or characteristics of your garden that are delightfully distinctive or attractive, and that can be transformed into a focal appoint with custom lighting design schemes. "Soft attributes" include growing wildlife - like vegetable patches, flowerbeds, and hedgerows. "Structural attributes"; are things like water features, cascades, amphoras or ornamental bridges.


An Interior Design Company in London Reveals the Secrets of Outdoor Design - Schemes to Illuminate King-Sized Gardens


With any large garden, the most critical caveat is knowing when enough is enough. Should your interior design company use lighting for the entire garden? Or would that make it look too much like a football pitch? If your residence is in central London, might the Neighbourhood Watch be concerned about safety and security implications if there is not enough light in your garden? Your London based professional interior design company with garden design expertise will keep all these issues in mind.


An Interior Design Company in London Reveals the Secrets of Outdoor Design - Schemes to Illuminate King-Sized Gardens


If your king-sized garden is in London or another UK urban centre, it can be astonishingly effective to throw some light along a thin metallic line in the ground, to allow guests and residents to easily find their way towards the carport and adjacent London streetscape. Alternatively, if your king-sized garden is in a rural area, your interior design company may use more nuclear and more modest lighting systems that allow the pastures and meadowland beyond to fade into black. The result is an atmosphere of understated mystique and obscurity. Many of London's best interior designers call this "strategic lighting".


An Interior Design Company in London Reveals the Secrets of Outdoor Design - Schemes to Illuminate King-Sized Gardens


King-size gardens often feature heaps of variety and interest. Your own expansive garden may well have elements like an orangery, an ornamental pond, or a miniature cascade water feature system. Your professional interior design company will probably suggest comfy weatherised solutions for residents and visitors alike to sit down, relax and enjoy your garden in every way. Some London based interior design companies have been known to recommend features such as hooded walkways that will keep residents dry as you walk from the mansion to a treasured garden centrepiece or a secondary building on your estate.



An Interior Design Company in London Reveals the Secrets of Outdoor Design - Schemes to Illuminate King-Sized Gardens


Your interior design company will use custom lighting schemes to pull one's attention to centrepiece or showcase elements of your king-sized garden. For instance, teepees and summerhouses can be illuminated extremely well with up-downlighters that fabulously showcase their appearance at nighttime. Certain London based interior designer companies will focus in particular on installing and lighting up overhanging greenery for king-sized gardens. For instance, a swathe of articulated climbing plants or fragrant bluebells can look amazing when lit from above or from below.


An Interior Design Company in London Reveals the Secrets of Outdoor Design - Schemes to Illuminate King-Sized Gardens


Some king-sized gardens feature pergolas, in which case there is one effect that you may absolutely adore. Talk to your interior design company about fibre optics or LED lighting solutions that can be installed in and among the trellises, visible from the pathway below. The idea is to create the illusion of tiny moons and planets in the nighttime blackness. As the wind gently moves the foliage, the illuminators will seem to twinkle .... a fabulous effect that I have seen deployed to great acclaim by some of London's most prestigious interior design companies.


An Interior Design Company in London Reveals the Secrets of Outdoor Design - Schemes to Illuminate King-Sized Gardens


Some king-sized gardens feature a pergola that leads up to a rockery or fountain. Sometimes extra definition is needed, and your interior design company may recommend a custom illumination design to achieve the desired effect. However, don't let your interior designers forget about the adjacent lawns! At our London based interior design company, we have a saying written on the wall of our studio that reminds all of us how vast rolling lawns are a forgotten treasure of so many king-sized gardens. We sometimes suggest to our clients the installation of elevated spotlights to cast focused pencils of light that shine out over the lawn for a high-interest designer feel.


An Interior Design Company in London Reveals the Secrets of Outdoor Design - Schemes to Illuminate King-Sized Gardens


Water features are delightful in every garden, but the sparkling, singing twinkle of moving water really comes into its own when you scale it up - as is only possible in a king-sized urban or rural garden! Our interior design company regularly consults with potential clients who crave more of the cascades, chutes, rock formations and ornamental bridges that are characteristic of water features in so many king-sized gardens today. We always respond that understated lighting effects can create a true "designer feel" in these types of gardens. Some of London's top interior design companies will focus on glare control for this purpose. Hardware options such as gel diffusers, or filters, can help ensure that guests at your garden party after dusk will not get blinded or suffer from headaches.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

London Renovation Company - Victorian Revivals

The Victorian era covers the period 1837-1901. During this time, Queen Victoria ruled England from her throne in London's celebrated Buckingham Palace. She was not known as an interior designer herself, but during her reign there was a revival of all sorts of design ideas from the past. Interior design companies of the time brought together an impressive collection of styles to create what came to be known as the Victorian aesthetic. These interior design companies borrowed ideas from Goth, Rococo, Baroque, and Neoclassic contexts. The Victorian style was the first to really bring the work of interior design companies into the mainstream. No longer just the domain of wealthy Londoners, the reach of the profession began to stretch throughout the empire - allowing even people with more modest incomes to get the elaborate interior decorations that they really craved.


It was the Victorian era that ushered in the age of mirrors and beautifully ornamented mahogany, oakwood and metal furniture. Many of London's best interior design companies during that time were asked to focus on design that was sturdy in appearance but high in comfort. Brass lamps were very fashionable, and homeowners craved the latest in etched glass window blinds. Dark colors were everywhere, and interior design companies would often respond to requests for rich royal reds and heavy greens.


London's most famous interior design companies in the Victorian era tended to focus on living rooms and front parlours. These needed to be very formal, with opulent fabric-ensconced sofas (see my article on the Chesterfield for more) and chaise longues with ridgebacked recliners. Luxurious velvets, silks and tapestry-style textiles featured intricate beadwork and knotted cords with tufted heads.


Victorian interior design companies often fielded requests for pretty and frilly lace curtains to serve as windowblinds. The Victorians prized modesty and, especially in London, it was necessary to cover windows completely to make sure that people on the streets outside could never look in.


Formal dining rooms in the Victorian era featured oversized dining tables and upright chairs. Interior design companies of those decades would often receive requests from clients who had huge collections of artwork, books or ornaments. Upper-class London gentlemen would crave fabulous display shelving in rich mahogany to show off their treasured possessions. Bedrooms would be replete with dense, ornamented beds in subdued varnished wood, together with weighty chests of drawers. For London ladies, powder rooms and cloakrooms were essential as the Victorians loved to spend time beautifying their appearances.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

London Renovation Company - The Shatafa: Islamic Douche

It's not often that we come across a completely new type of bathroom furniture. But recently that's what we've seen in some of the world's most prestigious hotels and resorts. Residents of London have never been hugely enthusiastic about the bidet, which many feel is more of a continental European invention. But today a fresh new alternative is considered highly sought-after among London's top interior design companies: the Shatafa (also known as the Islamic douche).


Your interior design company can discuss with you in person whether the Islamic douche is right for you as part of your next bathroom renovation project. With London's increasingly international population, the Shatafa can be a great addition if you regularly receive guests who are familiar with Islamic customs. But what is the Shatafa? Basically it is a rust-resistant steel hose together with a shower nozzle that is designed for use as a replacement for lavatory paper in many Islamic nations. Your interior design company can provide further details, but basically one depresses a button on the nozzle to activate a gentle stream of clean, warm water. It is most effective when the user is positioned either over or next to the lavatory. The personal irrigation system is designed to eliminate deposits, germs and odours immediately after use of the lavatory. Your interior design company will provide the necessary product care manuals following installation, but basically the steel structure is non-porous and may easily be cleaned with antibacterial sprays and scrubbing pads.


London's prestigious Landmark hotel has recently opened over a hundred renovated bathrooms that feature Shatafa units for its international clientele. To install such a device, all that is needed is an additional water source (ideally with a temperature control valve) and in some cases extra provision for drainage in the unlikely event of a misdirected spray nozzle activation by those who are inexperienced with correct Shatafa usage techniques. Talk to your interior design company about how to incorporate the Shatafa into any size of bathroom.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

London Renovation Company Secrets of the Profession - Entrances, Exits and Gardens

"Pleased to Meet You.... Welcome to My Designer Home and Garden!" A London Interior Design Consultancy Shares Secrets of the Profession. Part III: Entrances, Exits and Gardens


When interior design consultancies promote their services in "garden design", they are branching out from internal spaces to the outdoors. In the olden days, interior design consultancies were 100% about the "indoors" side of things. But now in 2010 several of London’s most acclaimed interior design consultancies routinely deploy their unique know-how and expertise towards the design of cutting-edge garden concepts. The result: top interior design consultancies can now offer residents a full and all-inclusive design framework that meets every client need. London is a fabulous city in which to work as part of an interior design consultancy that also focuses on gardens because it is so easy to find amazing garden furniture, rockeries and exterior lighting solutions from the many well-appointed garden centres and suppliers across the capital.


In addition to lighting up foliage, your interior design consultancy will help you illuminate lighting paths and steps in gardens both large and small. There are several extra possibilities that work well on a large scale. Some very prestigious London interior design consultancies will suggest a small spotlight, located in a tree and directed downwards, to provide sufficient dappled light to illuminate a path in a fake woodland setting. If localized light is required, this could be in the form of a small copper mushroom-style fixture or a bollard light. Some types can be modified by the lighting team from your interior design consultancy to create a pathway of flickering light, which provides a touch of theatre for special occasions – perfect for London’s popular summer garden parties.


Entrances, exists and paths that link the spaces between need to be well illuminated for purely functional reasons. All the best-known London interior design consultancies are familiar with all the relevant safety codes and regulations. But there are aesthetic benefits as well. In the daytime, windows create a visual link between the rooms of a house and garden beyond. A professional interior design consultancy will recommend suitable exterior lighting at night to help re-establish the idea of the garden as an extension of the home, while enhancing architectural nuances and revealing surface textures that may not be apparent by day. Whether your home is old or new, whether in London or in the countryside, a successful lighting scheme is all about establishing harmony between a building and its surroundings, which can intrigue as much during the hours of darkness as by daylight.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

London Renovation Company Shares Secrets of the Profession - Trees and Canopies

"Pleased to Meet You.... Welcome to My Designer Home and Garden!" A London Interior Design Consultancy Shares Secrets of the Profession. Part II: Trees and Canopies


When interior design consultancies promote their services in "garden design", they are branching out from internal spaces to the outdoors. In the olden days, interior design consultancies were 100% about the "indoors" side of things. But now in 2010 several of London's most acclaimed interior design consultancies routinely deploy their unique know-how and expertise towards the design of cutting-edge garden concepts. The result: top interior design consultancies can now offer residents a full and all-inclusive design framework that meets every client need. London is a fabulous city in which to work as part of an interior design consultancy that also focuses on gardens because it is so easy to find amazing garden furniture, rockeries and exterior lighting solutions from the many well-appointed garden centres and suppliers across the capital.


Trees can be absolutely spectacular when properly lit, their canopies illuminated by uplighters from below. If your garden is in the countryside outside London, you may have a few exceedingly large trees – in this case, your interior design consultancy may suggest a powerful light source, such as sodium. This solution provides a yellow autumnal effect, spectacular when used on a copper beech, while a metal halide will deliver a pure white light which is particularly beautiful for illuminating silver birch, spruce, pines, conifers or cedar trees. It is normally sufficient simply to uplight trees from below, especially if your garden is in London or another UK urban centre. If your trees are growing in a lawn, your interior design consultancy may recommend a fully buried uplighter as the best solution.


Regardless of the exact choices that you make in the garden, it is important that your garden and home be designed in a complementary fashion. A very traditional indoors design would simply not fit very well with a sleek modern exterior garden with colourful illumination. Your interior design consultancy should have experience creating unified design schemes that beautifully harmonise both inside and outside. There are many great London interior design consultancies and most will offer a free consultation if your residence is in the home counties.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.

London Renovation Company Shares Secrets of the Profession - Garden Illumination

"Pleased to Meet You.... Welcome to My Designer Home and Garden!" A London Interior Design Consultancy Shares Secrets of the Profession. Part I: Garden Illumination


When interior design consultancies promote their services in "garden design", they are branching out from internal spaces to the outdoors. In the olden days, interior design consultancies were 100% about the "indoors"side of things. But now in 2010 several of London's most acclaimed interior design consultancies routinely deploy their unique know-how and expertise towards the design of cutting-edge garden concepts. The result: top interior design consultancies can now offer residents a full and all-inclusive design workflow that meets every client need. London is a fabulous city in which to work as part of an interior design consultancy that also focuses on gardens because it is so easy to find amazing garden furniture, rockeries and exterior lighting solutions from the many well-appointed garden centres and suppliers across the capital.


One of the secrets of the interior design profession is how to use lighting in diverse garden situations. If the foliage is dense, with low planting to the front, a general flood of light will work best. Miniature flood fixtures, fitted with shutters known as "barn door' attachments, are discreet and your interior design consultancy can use such fittings to cast light exactly where it is needed. If the plants themselves have large, dense leaves - such as London rocket or Lobelia - they will restrict the path of light and create hot spots. Your London interior design consultancy may suggest an alternative solution such as offset lighting, where the light source is remote from the object and floods it from a distance.


For small trees or feathery bushes, your interior design consultancy may prefer a spiked spotlight instead of a floodlight. When installed below a birch tree or hedgerow, it can serve as a subtle uplighter, shining through the foliage. In a formal London garden, a box hedge looks elegant if lit with an offset spotlight, which will define its geometric shape. Your interior design consultancy may recommend placing it in silhouette as another effective treatment.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.