Golden Design

We are long overdue in writing this review, probably because we've been enjoying our home so much since finishing our renovation project by Golden Design (see Classic Victorian). Ellen & Alice are masters of their craft. From day one of working together they blew us away with their knowledge, organisation & dedication to our project. Their eye for design & attention to detail really sets them apart, and this added so much value throughout the project, from the initial designs to working with the builders on specific details that ultimately made the look and feel of the space. They brought in the most highly skilled, highly professional contractors throughout every stage of the project as well. Special shout out to the inimitable Lawrence Goodwin & team who made the beautiful, bespoke joinery for our kitchen. When we hit snags along the way - we had *very* few but of course they happen in every renovation project - Ellen & Alice went above & beyond to find solutions quickly that kept the project on track, and kept us calm. The finished renovation has far surpassed all of our expectations and transformed our home. We can't thank Ellen & Alice enough for everything. Working with them was a total joy, both throughout the project and now as we continue to enjoy the final result.

A massive thank you to Ellen and Golden design for your kind help and support with the Be Aware campaign. On behalf of myself and everybody at Our next generation thank you for making a difference.

We first approached Golden Design when we were looking for help in renovating our home in late 2019. This was a fairly comprehensive project - including two new bathrooms, complete re-plumbing / new electrics, various other bits of fairly substantial building work, and a cosmetic refresh throughout. So the scope of the role that we asked Golden Design to play was to do all of the space planning & architectural drawing, project managing the build (including leading tender processes for other trades), all the way to softer design elements (from lighting planning to soft furnishing, including sourcing of all furniture), and cost planning & budgeting the whole project. Essentially they did everything that didn't require physically picking up tools! Ellen and Alice were outstanding throughout the design process: They were quick to understand our desires, sensitive to our tastes, and creative in their proposals. Their communication was first class - making it clear when they thought the project needed to go in a certain direction / there were 'optimal' design decisions, but always left us space to make up our own minds. They were sensitive to our budget, and never looked to over-engineer or spend extravagantly for its own sake. The attention to detail during the design phase was phenomenal - Decisions we could never have thought to even consider at this stage were made before a single builder had stepped on site, and that attention to detail was enormously beneficial during the more chaotic stages of the build process. Indeed, even soft furnishings were being ordered before any work had even begun to make sure the delivery schedule would be perfect! They were able to introduce us to a number of trades with whom they had worked previously (main contractor, joiner, electrician, plumber, flooring, etc) but all of whom tendered competitive quotes - that was a real plus as everyone on site had worked together on previous projects. With Ellen & Alice supervising closely (on site even more often than we were, and cracking the whip to keep the project moving ahead on time & and on budget - a pretty remarkable achievement). The end result is that we've ended up with a stunningly beautiful home. A comfortable and luxurious space, something far superior to what we have been able to achieve ourselves. I am 100% confident that had we tried to do this without their help, not only would we have something far less wonderful, but we would have comfortably spent at least what we saved on their fee (very reasonable) in cost overruns and poor decisions elsewhere in the project. They were the single best decision we made at any point through this build, and we are enormously grateful for the time, energy, and emotion they invested. And if you need any further endorsement, we've just paid to have them lead phase 2 of rear extension / new kitchen!

Ellen was really wonderful to work with. This is our first home and it needed a huge amount of love as it hadn't been touched since the 70s! We quickly realised what a daunting project renovating was going to be. Ellen and Alice were both deeply reassuring, professional and easy to work with. They offer a variety of ideas and are enthusiastic about finding options that are right for you. Their work is hugely detail oriented and they were able to truly transform our small space! We really love spending time in our new home.

We hired Ellen as an interior architect and designer for a large scale floor remodelling involving a new kitchen, playroom, laundry and bathroom. My husband and I had done up a house before and found it incredibly stressful, and had argued a lot and we were nervous about doing another project. Ellen took away all the stress from the project and actually made it exciting and fun. Decisions were made steadily over time which meant we weren't overwhelmed and she is FANTASTIC at sourcing beautiful, unusual things which don't break the bank. She handled all the budgets really well and project managed the whole thing, we had little to no contact with the builders, despite living on site, and we felt completely confident leaving everything in her capable hands. She is truly passionate about interiors and homes whilst also really caring about the smallest details - right down to where put a USB socket. We have now lived in our kitchen for 6 months and couldn't be happier with it. She also has a great network of builders, upholsters, joiners etc who were all talented, good to work with and good value for money. I really couldn't recommend Ellen highly enough - after we finished our ground floor we started straight away on our office which she did a super job with, and I can't wait to start phase 2 of our home with her next year.

We are electrical contractors who have recently completed a project for Golden Design . Ellen is very professional , precise and with huge design vision . She is very easy to work with and provided us with correct and easy to read electrical drawing . We will be very happy to work with her on future projects...

Having moved out of our house and in with my parents, after a couple of months of trying to manage the house project whilst both working full time, as well as having a toddler and being pregnant, I decided we needed some help. I had so many ideas going round in my head (and photos saved!) that it was overwhelming me. I searched and searched on Houzz for a professional and deliberated over whether it would be worth spending the money on someone when I came across Golden Design. Seeing photos of previous projects I knew that I’d found the right fit. Despite coming late to the project, Ellen quickly got up to speed and from then on didn’t stop. Along with a wealth of experience, she is proactive, vibrant, has great taste and a keen eye for detail. She is passionate, determined and fun to work with. Having her on board massively eased the pressure and I no longer felt like my brain was going to pop! If you are wondering whether or not to get some help with your project then I'd say do it; it is well worth the money. And I'd definitely recommend Golden Design. Thanks again for everything, Ellen.

We are a firm of building contractors and have worked with Ellen at Golden Design on several renovation / design & build projects in London. Working together has been a positive experience all round as Ellen supplies us with clear and concise drawings and schedules, and is heavily involved from start to finish with project management, programming, site visits and problem solving. She is engaging and easy to work with and we find that she always goes the extra mile.

I hired Ellen for help with a bathroom redesign. She produced lots of alternative designs after an initial site visit, and was very responsive to my questions and changes throughout the process. Ellen also made excellent recommendations, including a bathroom supplier. Once I had a design I was happy with, I continued on with the rest of the project (sourcing items, build, etc). Ellen was friendly and professional throughout, and a pleasure to work with. I'd definitely recommend her!

We were the main contractor who worked alongside Ellen of Golden Design on a large refurbishment and extension project in The Tonsleys, Wandsworth. Ellen worked with the client to define his brief and executed it beautifully. The end result is a stylish, relaxed home which reflects the client's personality and lifestyle. Ellen was responsible for choosing all aspects of the interior design including the paint colours, finishes, decorative lighting and furniture. She sourced unique pieces which give the home character and flair. For example, as part of the kitchen design Ellen found some beautiful stitched leather and metal bar stools which give the kitchen an industrial meets gentlemen's club feel, totally in keeping with the client. She went the extra mile with all the decisions and choices and it all hangs together wonderfully. Ellen was an absolute pleasure to work with. She has endless energy and drive and accomplishes a huge amount in a short space of time. She is super organised and fabulously creative. We thoroughly enjoyed working with her and wouldn't hesitate to recommend her services.

Ellen worked with us to renovate our house that was desperately in need of updating. We were very keen to be sympathetic to the 1920s era of the house and Ellen's vision helped us combine this with modern living to create a beautiful family home. Ellen's experience helped us with the layout of some tricky shaped rooms, in particular the bathrooms - which are now my favourite spaces. Her knowledge of suppliers helped us source beautiful finishes which make the extra difference to the feel of every room. On top of this we made the project tricky by living in the property and she was able to work with us to schedule the work to enable it to happen. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her services.

Ellen is an angel! We hired her to help completely overhaul our Victorian three-bed, which hadn't been touched in over 35 years. It was a big undertaking and my husband and I had never done anything like this, but Ellen took our layman's vision and turned it into a beautiful family home. Guidance was given from the very basics of "how should this room be laid out' to dealing with the technicalities of planning permission (which was secured first time) and conversation officers. We always said the kitchen was the most important room and Ellen worked really hard with us and the joiners to design a bespoke kitchen we are absolutely thrilled with. And all this was done with us living off site with Ellen closely project managing through a lot of site visits. I just can't recommend her highly enough.