Ace Your Space

One of the main issues I have been having in my project was even knowing where to start and what I wanted to do with the rooms with it looking impossibly daunting and just being unable to even start thinking about it. I struggled even finding designers to work with because they were all about showing off the final results of a big project. I knew instantly that I wanted to work with Philippa because she presented herself as helping me work out how to understand and be able to better express the high level ideas of what I wanted. As a software engineer I understand complex problems by breaking them down into high level solvable pieces that I can then come back to and break down further and this was the first time I found someone explaining what they offer in a way that I get. Philippa also is all about helping you get to what you want rather than pushing how she would do things. We had a few rounds of iterating on the layouts where she would send videos discussing the options then took feedback and worked them back in. I found her approach incredibly insightful and now I have a good idea of the layout I'm after, why it works, and a toolkit to help me start planning moving on to the next steps. If you are struggling on figuring out where to start on a project, or just to get a better way to make your rooms function better I strongly recommend speaking to her about what your problems are.

After using the services of 1 planning consultant, 2 architects, 4 'experts' at the Ideal Home Show, I was still dissatisfied with my house layout and reached out to Philippa at the very last minute – literally the day before I was planning to submit my plans to the council. This was the best money I ever spent! Philippa took the time to listen to what I wanted to achieve and worked with me to produce an absolutely amazing different plan that met my requirements. This delayed my project a bit but it was so worth it because I love my new layout. Before contacting Philippa I had given up on my dream home, thinking it was impossible to fit in all my requirements, but Philippa came up with creative ideas to accomodate all I wanted and more. Unlike some of the others, she did not try to force her ideas on me but took the time to understand the effect and atmosphere I was trying to create and suggested solutions for me to consider. It was so refreshing to work with someone who was not stuck to any particular style but was creative, practical and thoughtful. She has a gentle and soothing manner which was immensely helpful because by this time I was so stressed out by the entire process and was going around in circles questioning my wish list and decisions. It was such a pleasure working with Philippa and I am looking forward to collaborating with her on the interior detail of my house as well. Thank you, Philippa!!!

My project was significant work, involving an extension, loft conversion and remodeling of the existing rooms and garden. It was not my first experience of re-configuring a home and although I didn’t do too badly in the past, I knew some things could have been done much better. As it can be too costly to change things afterwards, I decided this time to hire a designer and avoid similar regrets. I was late in the process hiring Philippa as I had already tried another designer who was rather slow to deliver delaying the start of my Project. Philippa was able to provide the ideas and tangible results pretty quickly which enabled me to set expectations with the builder from the start. Philippa challenged my assumptions and plans to make sure I was making the best use of the space, for now and in the longer term. This led to sensible, practical and lasting decisions in the design. She also brought practical knowledge that helped me save space using materials and techniques not familiar to the builder. Having Philippa on-board was the best decision I had made as she added huge value in the investment with her help in creating a home that my family and I will continue to enjoy. You will not regret hiring Philippa. She will challenge your assumptions respectfully to help you think outside the box. She will take time to understand your requirements, your lifestyle and taste as a unique customer and take you on a journey to achieve your dream.

I had never used a designer but would definitely work with Philippa again. I was worried that a designer would not be interested in my small bathroom space. Alas, the smaller the space, the more difficult it is to change, and I needed help. Philippa was up to the challenge and genuinely interested in the project. She produced several professional designs that allowed me to visualise what was realistically possible, and how the floor space could be maximised. This enabled me to choose a path and get on with the fun part of choosing the finishes. Gone is the never used bathtub and we now have the shower room we longed for, with a roomier feel than I ever thought possible. With so many online ideas to boggle the mind this is a great service to help narrow the choices and find the focus to move forward with your dream.

Basically my living room was a magpie nest mess. Every now and again I would buy something and shove it in a space. I felt that, with the best will in the world, interior design would never be my strength or my focus. But I did want to make my flat to be more of a home, and to make the most of limited space. Philippa was very concerned to understand what I wanted and my personal style, there was a strong sense of collaboration and working to a common goal. Philippa helped bring some order to the chaos immediately with a wholesale rethinking of the room layout and composition, but more importantly she helped to create a masterplan that my room can grow into in the long term. I'm much more open to thinking about design and interiors than before - a minor miracle on Philippa's part. Access to new ideas and suppliers also really helped to put meat on the bones of some of my vaguer ideas, moving us forward from concepts to results after many years of... well not results! I am delighted with the outcome - it was no mean feat to get me engaged personally, and the tangible results are great.

Our house had lots of space taken by corridors. Philippa came to the house and spent half a day walking through it discussing ideas for making the most of the generous but unused space. She paid attention to keeping things flexible. There was a room that we wanted to use as a nursery in the short term but which would later become a dressing room. She suggested interesting ways of connecting this room with our bedroom to make the space more flexible and also turn wasted corridor space into a walk in wardrobe. Her advice was practical in terms of using our budget. We had been wondering how to find space for spare beds for when nieces & nephews visit. Philippa suggested that children are perfectly happy with a roll up futon mattress. Philippa helped me to see more possibilities for the spaces and to really consider each decision. She also introduced me to Houzz which really helped me to show my plumber what I meant by traditional style (he was obsessed with modern).

I used Ace Your Space to get ideas and options for redesigning my warehouse flat after several attempts with other designers in the past. The really good new is that Philippa listens to what you want : ) I received a number of really good ideas that I could implement. Well worth the money spent.

I thoroughly enjoyed Philippa's advice in redesigning our kitchen and I am extremely satisfied with the result. I came to Philippa with a design for our kitchen which she reworked with great competence. Philippa was very good at asking the right questions and took great care thinking through with me how we would actually use the kitchen and what we wanted to achieve. The result is a very harmonious kitchen design, with one part being hall/entrance with a desk, the rest for kitchen use as such. She has a wide array of design solutions and techniques and has a great sense of what works best and why. I am deeply satisfied and grateful.

Philippa has helped me find lots of ideas for making my new flat much more stylish and suited to my lifestyle. She has a gift for listening and then coming up with ideas that you should have thought of yourself! She knows all about products and tricks that use space to the maximum, and is brilliant at coming up with colour palettes, advising on furniture to suit the space, storage solutions, etc. I didn't come up with a problem she couldn't find a solution for. She has also saved me A LOT of money - for example I was going to spend thousands on bespoke shelving but she helped me find a great off the peg solution for a few hundred. 100% recommended.

In January 2015, my boyfriend and I decided to put our house on the market. We wanted to upgrade our house and sell quickly but we had one small problem: our entire house was a cluttery, disorganized mess! I knew that I needed to make better use of the space we have and stage the house to appear more spacious. I've known Philippa for almost a year and knew exactly who to turn to for assistance with my problem. Even though we are an ocean away, I knew that she could support me as I changed each of the rooms of my house. By simply taking pictures from multiple angles of each room, she was able to send me back a layout for each room including rearranging, comments, and directions for improvement which were tailored to our needs. Each blueprint provided me an opportunity to make the best use of space. You can see for yourself how much larger our guestroom appears now. She has the knack to envision the best ways to utilize your small space and the patience to help you do it. Philippa truly has a gift for transforming your home whether you want to be there for years to come or in my case if you're eager to stage it in a way that will be appealing for buyers!

Before using Philippa the thought of speaking with plumbers, electricians etc to change my problematic kitchen all seemed overwhelming. I was a bit worried that she would try to impose their opinion but she really listened to what plans I already had and gave her own views and thoughts without taking over. I was impressed by how knowledgeable and thorough she was. She looked not just at revamping the rooms but also the bigger picture such as thinking about resiting utilities if required, changing doorways and windows to make best use of space. By helping me to understand the options and what questions to ask workmen she has given me the confidence to know that my kitchen CAN and WILL look fabulous.

I wasn’t really sure I wanted a designer but knew we needed some help with the awkward spaces. I chose Philippa over the other designers because she seemed the most willing to listen to what we wanted and understood it. We had very clear ideas about what we wanted, some of them not realistic, and Philippa handled it all well by explaining why this or that might not work, or how it could be tweaked to make it work (if we were absolutely determined). I was surprised by the good ideas she suggested that seemed so simple and that tremendously improved the end result. She also worked hard to find suitable compromises between what I and my husband wanted; that solved the endless arguments. I found I actually really enjoyed the part of buying the materials and supervising the work and Philippa gave me the guidance and expertise exactly where I needed it so I had the confidence to really make the project mine. Philippa helped us to get our projects done in a way that worked for us, like a coach or parent, giving just as much support or guidance as was necessary.