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View all our latest corporate news, top tips, advice and insights into the world of home and building architectural design!
Christmas and New Year opening hours
The festive season is here! For many, Christmas is going to be very different this year, especially for all our Beds/Bucks/Herts and London clients in Tier 4. We would like to extend our best wishes to you and your families at Christmas time.
Reset your home ready for 2021
As we all reflect on the challenges 2020 has brought us, it’s a good opportunity to take some time over the festive period to review how your house works for you and your family, especially if members of your family will continue to work from home into the new...
Space planning – why it’s important
As architectural designers, we create and transform spaces to meet the needs of the occupiers. This might be a residential home, retail shopping units, mixed use building developments, or industrial buildings.To achieve the optimum layout for your project and...
Boost Your Back Garden – Garden Rooms
The winter weather is closing in and this probably means you are spending even more time in the house. How good does your own little sanctuary away from the main house sound? Would having some extra space outside make day-to-day life a little easier for you and your family?
Business continuity statement in relation to 4-week lockdown period
With England’s second national lockdown now in force, we wanted to reassure our clients that all our services are continuing as usual in accordance with the Government’s ‘Working safely during coronavirus (Covid-19)’ guidelines. We can continue to carry out...
Hidden treasure: Cash in the attic space!
If you have unused space in the roof cavity of your home, you literally could have cash in the attic! Converting your attic into liveable space can increase the value of your home and give you that extra room in your house. A survey conducted by Zoopla last year,...
Could Coronavirus impact how homes are designed in the future?
The short answer to this is yes, and it already has. Life as we know it has been changed this year. In a survey conducted by the Institute of Directors in September, it showed that 74% of firms planned on maintaining the increase in home working. This, coupled with...
Think green when extending or building
We have had many enquiries over the last few months for home extensions in particular! It has been really interesting to hear the thought processes that have led our clients to the decision to extend. The most common, and relatable, is that when clients were used to...
The best of both worlds
Modern extensions to enhance old houses What do you love most about your period property? The original features - the high ceilings, the stained-glass windows, the large open fireplaces? It has charm and it has soul, which is why many older homes command higher prices...
Use your stamp duty savings to develop and extend!
We have taken many calls in the last month from people who are planning to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday that was introduced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on 8 July 2020. The stamp duty announcement (which was from immediate effect) states that anyone who...
Room with a view – improve your wellbeing with biophilic design
When you think about getting away from it all, where does you mind wander? Are you envisaging relaxing by the sea, having a walk in the countryside, or taking a bike ride through a forest? It’s probably not an indoor activity. Yet, a survey by renowned bicycle...
Our new and improved website has launched!
We love giving homes and buildings a fresh makeover, so we thought we would take some of that design inspiration and apply it to our website to showcase our projects and services much better! They say first impressions count, so we want ours to be a good one! Our new...
The big planning overhaul consultation gets started – and you’re invited!
In June, Boris Johnson promised to ‘Build, Build, Build’ to help Britain bounce back from the pandemic, which included the promise of a £5bn package to build homes and infrastructure. Then, on Sunday (2 August), Robert Hendrick, UK Housing Secretary, announced...
The home office is here to stay!
As the Government prepares its plans for sending staff back to offices from next month, a survey by the Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD) has found that home working is set to double compared to pre-pandemic numbers.
Build your own home!
Have you ever thought whether you should build your own home, or perhaps you are you part of a community group thinking about building? For years, large home building companies held the monopoly in the UK housing market, repeating the same style of house over and...
The smart move is to stay and improve
Last week, The Bank of England reported that the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to its lowest level in May since comparable records began, and this level is a huge 90% below the pre-lockdown levels in February.
Are you procrastinating over your home extension?
The decision to extend your home is a big one. You may have thought about it for a long time, years even! Perhaps you’ve often considered what your kitchen would look like if you just took that wall down? Or since spending a lot of time at home recently, you’ve...
‘Gran’ Designs
Bringing your family together This week, the introduction of the ‘support bubble’ for adults living alone, means that a lot of families can now see their elderly relatives who have had to endure lockdown, completely on their own. This unusual situation, where families...