Space Alchemy Interior Design

Davina and her company, Space Alchemy, were recommended to us. The remit was to bring some warmth and personality into a newly acquired apartment overlooking the Thames that we had purchased following a move back to the UK from overseas. As well as organising some decorating and electrical works, Davina also designed some lovely soft furnishings for us which married well with the pieces we brought back over from our previous home. Additionally, we have a long curved wall of floor-to-ceiling glazing in the sitting room which required some careful thought with regards to window treatments that would not block the river views. We were extremely happy with the solutions that Davina came up with. We also needed to turn one of our rooms into a multi-functional space that would serve us as a home office as well as an extra sleeping area. However, we didn’t want the space to look utilitarian in any way but have a softer, stylish feel which, again, Davina achieved beautifully and this was tailored to our exact needs in terms of custom joinery, furnishings and lighting. Davina is a great listener and we were extremely happy with her design ideas, which have worked very well. We enjoyed her advice and - may I say now – friendship. Davina introduced us to very competent and capable workmen who carried out her instructions perfectly. We would have no hesitation recommending Davina and Space Alchemy.

I have worked with Davina over many years and I must say I cannot recommend her enough. She is a complete professional from design, specification through to complete project management. I feel her projects are always beautifully refined yet with a hint of quirkiness that I love. More than this though she is a lovely person to work with. She is structured and precise but also very happy accepting opinions from other professionals, such as myself. I would have no hesitation in working with her on my own home so can very happily recommend her.

We gave Space Alchemy a brief to totally renovate and bring up to date our home in Hertfordshire. We wanted to create a space that our family could live in and feel comfortable with the added bonus of looking fantastic too. Davina managed the 7 month 1st phase project which included installing underfloor heating, a lighting & home-automation system and designed a home cinema, kitchen and multi-use living space. Davina listened to our likes and dislikes and came up with a contemporary family living space cleverly combining the old and the new. The attention to detail and knowledge when sourcing materials and tradesmen was invaluable. Working with Davina was a pleasure, she kept us informed every step of the way. The project stayed on budget and the end result was an outstanding success. We would be only too happy to recommend Space Alchemy and are looking forward to starting on the 2nd phase of works soon.

I have known Davina for approximately three years and came to know her in her professional capacity as an Interior Designer. Davina worked with my husband and I to refurbish our new home in Richmond. At the time I recall that we were a little bit lost about the look and feel that we wanted for our house albeit that we had some ideas about the things that we were not entirely keen on. Davina was extremely patient and listened carefully to what we had to say and was able to elicit our likes and dislikes and then skilfully translate that into something that was tangible and visual. The result was a really fabulous design scheme for our four bedroom home which we both absolutely love. Davina then organised and oversaw the refurbishment which took place over the coming months. Before deciding to work with Davina I undertook quite a lot of research on a number of Interior Designers that I had short listed, based on my own enquiries and on recommendations that had been provided by friends. The reason for choosing Davina was because she stood out for a number of reasons such as her meticulous attention to detail: her creative flair; her ability to come up with amazing design solutions when a particular part of the project was difficult to solve; her ability to find and source really beautiful and distinctive pieces so that your home feels unique; her intuitive sense of what will and will not work in a given space; her organisational skills, efficiency and cost effectiveness; and the extremely high level of customer service that she provides. Davina is a consummate professional and in my view she is absolutely first class. I would therefore have no hesitate whatsoever in recommending her to anyone.

Space Alchemy organised the complete refurbishment of our London flat including the audio visual, lighting, boiler/central heating, bathrooms and kitchen in 2009. From the start Davina took careful note of what we wanted to achieve, paid heed to our budget and organised the builders with a keen eye to detail and a thorough understanding of the work involved. Both she and her assistant were a pleasure to work with, were meticulous in their planning and had wide ranging knowledge. We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Davina and Space Alchemy.

I completely renovated my 4-storey period town house in Notting Hill to provide a modern London base for my family. Davina and her team at Space Alchemy provided superb creative design input to transform the property into a luxurious and highly engaging home. Space Alchemy's involvement was invaluable in achieving the look and feel required to meet our exacting standards. We had tremendous confidence in Davina and her team throughout the project as they demonstrated an attention to design, research and detail that is rare to find.

We engaged Davina at Space Alchemy to work with us and our architect on our UK family home in 2011/12. We are based in Dubai and therefore much of the design and space-planning work was able to be conducted remotely with regular communications via email and Skype and we just had a couple of site meetings in the UK. This worked extremely well and Davina was able to source furnishings and finishes for us, sending any samples over to us in Dubai for our consideration. She also liaised with the architect and kitchen company to ensure a seamless installation. We were extremely happy with the service provided and would certainly recommend Davina and her team to others without hesitation.

Davina is a treasure trove of knowledge and ideas. She is delightful to work with. I trust her judgement and expertise in all aspects of design

Working with Davina Merola was a real pleasure as she always made it her business to understand my wishes, my likes and dislikes and any concerns I had about the choices that I made. She was an endless source of suggestions and ideas about what would suit my home.. She was always patient and I particularly appreciated the fact that I did not have to visit endless showrooms or read inexhaustible catalogues to find what I wanted. Having been through a frustrating and difficult experience with the kitchen fitters previously, I did not want to take on more unhelpful builders. Her choice of builders has been a very different experience and even with the inevitable niggles along the way, she was always there to resolve them. Her project management of the process was such a relief, especially when there were questions or concerns about the building work. I cannot emphasise enough just how delghted I am with the finished results in the house.

I worked with Davina at Space Alchemy on the total refurbishment of our Chelsea penthouse, a project that took about nine months. Space Alchemy and the main contractor had worked together previously and we had an extremely effective relationship from the outset. Davina and her team demonstrated a range of skills, creative and technical, all of which were tested on this somewhat complex and demanding project. Davina is highly focussed on detail and has a strong cost-conscious approach to budgeting. Her creative style is very consultative and she found no difficulty in my needing to be involved in all decisions. The final result of our project exceeded all our expectations and we were extremely delighted. I can highly recommend Davina and Space Alchemy without hesitation. Davina’s stylish creativity is combined with a warm personality and sense of humour, which is an ideal combination. It was a very happy experience.

Space Alchemy led by Davina Merola completely furnished our London flat including assistance with art acquisitions and incorporation of our existing furnishings and artworks. Davina and team are incredibly responsive and flexible, and after several less positive experiences with Interior Designers, are a refreshing group to engage in what should be a fun experience - decorating your home! Davina readily mixed expensive and moderate pieces, and quickly picked up on our style. Deadlines were always met and the team were always clear on budgets, allowing us to decide if we felt strongly about certain aspects and features where we wanted to spend more. Davina also has a great eye for color and our home reflected our personalities and interests through her work. Their unique relationships allowed us to have custom items made that we will keep for a lifetime - such as a one-of-a-kind armoire that regularly receives compliments. She organized tickets to many events such as the Affordable Art Fair allowing us to scout for items of interest - along with the tickets she'd provide a list of items she had prescreened at the various events so we could quickly find things we might like. Given our hectic work schedules, a designer who is "tech-savvy" was a priority, and Davina can readily communicate through all mediums - including great portfolios through email that kept our project moving forward regardless of our availability for live meetings. We can't recommend Space Alchemy and Davina highly enough!!