Ministry of the Interior

Sarah responded to my initial enquiry about help with lighting for my new kitchen, but in fact went on to join my refurbishment project as designer and project manager: I now wonder how I would have ever managed without her. Her eye for the beautiful is unerring and I trusted her implicitly with so many decisions, my constant refrain being "Oh I don't know Sarah -- you choose and I'll love it!" She works constantly and is always at the end of the phone or an e mail to deal with any small or big problem almost instantly. It is rare for her take more than a few hours to respond to any communication, and always with a helpful solution. She liaised fantastically well with all members of the building and gardening team, (who were on site for more than a year). This was a really invaluable service that helped keep everyone informed, on the ball and, crucially, on good terms. She is equally at home leaping nimbly up scaffolding to talk to the plasterers as she is leafing through ravishing silk and wallpaper samples. She is fair and transparent with fees and billing. You could not find a better person to help you with your project, be it small or large. I feel somewhat bereft now my house is finished because I'm not in daily communication with her! Thank you so much Sarah.

Over the last eighteen months Sarah has converted our Georgian townhouse into a beautiful and elegant family home. Sarah took our brief and really listened. We now have a home which gives us such joy. Sarah encouraged us to be brave and we are so proud of the result. Our home is beautifully lit, it reflects our taste and style, it feels contemporary and fun and yet cleverly incorporated the heirlooms which tell our family story. She is practical, fun, experienced, efficient and collaborative. She comes complete with a brigade of excellent craftspeople who have been instrumental in effecting the transformation. We highly recommend her.

I found Sarah Reed by searching Houzz when we were about to buy a large country house in Sussex and to relocate there from London. We didn't know any contractors in the area and thought that employing a local project manager will be wise. We were particularly intrigued by Sarah's profile because of her background in chartered surveying - though the house seemed in a good condition we knew that sooner or later we will have to do up the whole lot. In our heads we divided our project in 7 stages and in 12 months we have completed ourselves 6 out of the 7 stages but only used Sarah in phase 1 in the first 3 months, and then decided not to engage her any further. She helped us principally with the design and contract work on the master bedroom and bathroom, colour scheme and curtains for most of the house, procurement of furniture for the cinema room and drawing room, and replacing some of the heating and electrics. Sarah is a good interior designer and has a particularly good eye for colours, paints, fabrics but project management is her weakest link. When things started to get stressful with the continuous delays, she told us that she "doesn't believe in deadlines and timelines". How can a project manager say that! We went significantly over budget while working with her, paperwork was rather messy, Sarah wouldn't invoice us for ages and then would expect the payment immediately without giving us time to check the bills. We were so disappointed in most of her contractors that we started to bring our own people from London (I work in real estate and have good contacts). To our surprise many trades were happy to move from London for a few weeks/months to work down in Sussex, and therefore we took the project management into our own hands and finally finished everything ahead of schedule (including replacing about 40 windows and doors, repairing the roof, replacing floors, getting the planning and building a gym outbuilding, repainting the rest of the house top to bottom inside and outside). We only used Sarah for a relatively small part of the project in the early stages but the stress level of working with her and her trades was far greater than in any project we've been engaged either in the UK or abroad. In summary she is a very good interior designer but budgeting and project management are not her strong points.

I chose Sarah mainly because I needed much more than an interior designer. I simply wanted to start from scratch with a grade II listed appartent that would need heavy coordination of many different contractors and careful planning. Although, taking a little longer than I expected, the project was completed meticulously and the results outstanding. Sarah blends well her client's needs and preferences with her own wealth of expertise and was a pleasure to deal with throughout.

Sarah visited my house to give me practical advice on design and improvements. She listened and addressed exactly the issues I had imaginatively and practically. She gave clear guidance on things to keep, change and improve. She helped with some great recommendations on sources and gave me an offer of help on a project which needs doing. She tuned in brilliantly to the things I like doing myself and need less help and the things I don't like and needed her input - Thank you Sarah

We were involved in the development of The Sanctuary, Battersea with Hard Hat Property Ltd who were the Specifiers and Interior Designers. They chose our Drift Wood Oak Flooring and it was a real pleasure to see it laid as part of such an ambitious project. Hard Hat Property's design was incredibly professional and the completed building was outstanding. We very much look forward to working with them again soon, and would have no hesitation in recommending their services.

Porter Vanities have been lucky enough to work with Sarah from Hard Hat. She has been a fantastic client who is collaborative, professional and a joy to deal with. Her attention to detail and ability to communicate exactly what she wants the finish product to look like makes the creative process very straightforward and enjoyable. I would have no hesitation in recommending her to anyone on any side of the business and hope to continue working with her for many years to come.

We have worked with Sarah on a number of Hard Hat Property Ltd. projects, providing beds for her beautifully renovated properties. Sarah is a pleasure to work with with, always very easy to communicate with and has great attention to detail. Sarah has always come to us with her clients' exact needs in mind and works tirelessly to ensure projects are finished on time and on budget. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Hard Hat to anyone looking for an interior designer or consultant for residential refurbishment.

We had the absolute pleasure of working with Hard Hat Property Ltd. on the iconic conversion of a 19th Century Gothic Church in Battersea, hailed as "the most prestigious and ground-breaking development ever built South of the Thames”. The architectural icon now consists of four magnificent palatial apartments full of surprise that fully embrace the extraordinary. With meticulous attention to detail and effortless elegance, Sarah Reed has managed to create an inspiring interior with a truly immersive and ‘overarching sense of awe.’ We very much look forward to working with them again in the future and cannot rate their creativity, attention to detail and elegance of design highly enough.