Balance Design Ltd

I could not recommend Vicki more! As someone who does not consider themself creative, I was looking for the right designer to help me realise my vision. In Vicki, I found someone who easily approachable, a great listener and was able to collaborate with me to create the final product. From the first conversation the project was in the right hands. We set a time to view the flat together and hash out details. Vicki was able to tease out my style preferences, what I liked, disliked, and made the entire process as individualised to me as possible. I was extremely excited with the final design and was eager to get started. On the project management side, Vicki did all the legwork, so I didn't have to! She found reputable tradesman and competitive prices, consulted with them on my behalf and oversaw the creation from start to finish. I was completely calm and assured the project was in the right hands. I am eternally grateful for finding Vicki and her services, as I am sure you will be too!

I’ve had some problem flats rented out for some years, desperately needing some love. I felt paralyzed On my own, so I took the plunge, cried out for help and THANKFULLY I found Vicki. She saved me! The work has just finished and they look incredible - hotel standard. Unrecognisable. Walking around the place after the work was finished, I could have burst into song. Vicki listened to my brief, detected my stress(!) and was remarkably proactive and on a personal level, very patient and understanding. Once we had landed on designs, Vicki also stepped in to project manage the work & contractors, as I have a busy life with young kids and a busy job. This also turned out to be absolutely the right decision. In all, this was a big project that I was uncomfortable with, so I placed a good deal of trust into Vicki as my expert, and I’m so glad I did - it really paid off. She made things easy. She felt like a friend & partner in our engagement. She had my back, understood what was required and had my back at every step. I’ve recommended Vicki to others already and I will 100% contact again in future. I couldn’t recommend her enough.

I cannot recommend Vicki highly enough. Seeking first-time help designing and project-managing a refurb on a small flat, I spoke to lots of other designers before lighting upon Balance Design. One conversation was enough to convince me – Vicki explained her process lucidly, asked me methodically about my intentions and throughout was warm, friendly and patient. The three in-person meetings underpinning her design process were held at my flat, some considerable distance from Vicki’s base and all at weekends at my request – a first-rate service. In these meetings, her calm, undogmatic manner and great sense of humour made what I was very apprehensive about become a breeze. I should say that she hits the sweet-spot between too much and too little guidance: Vicki’s experience enabled her to guide me around ideas, possibilities and pitfalls, never imposing any preconceptions of her own on the style I wanted but moderating it to reality and taste. It felt truly supportive and collaborative. The brief was to spruce up a one-bed newish-build flat to my rather trad tastes while leaving it of sufficiently general appeal for onward sale in the medium term. I thought this was a pretty brutal brief, but Vicki seemed to get it so clearly and produced some amazing ideas I’d never even considered. The final sketches, pricings and floor plans were amazing. If you want a designer who will guide without leading, listen without slavishly obeying, help in all ways without fussing or surrendering her warmth and humour, go for Vicki.

I have used Vicki in the past and needed advice on tying in the colours in the areas of my home that were not part of her original work. I had a variety of different shades I was considering which she helped me review with regard to how much natural light was in each area, what colours were in adjoining areas and how to treat open plan sections. I find her incredibly easy and reassuring to work with as she gives real consideration to my preferences whilst explaining the rationale for why she thinks one shade works better than another. A very happy repeat customer!

Vicky is an absolute gem. I was looking for an interior designer to just help me with some paint colours as I'm looking to overhaul my house. I'm also having a new kitchen installed and wasn't quite sure of the design. I trawled through goggle and mistakenly called Vicky thinking it was someone else, After a few minutes conversation, I knew straight away she was the one I'm looking for. Vicky listens and work with you, She comes up with brilliant and different options for your project. She is incredible, always finding best ways in working with your budget without cutting corners on standards. She is very professional to the core. Vicky is extremely helpful and goes out of her way to assist in every possible way. I can't wait to see the finished product of my project. Thank you Vicky for lighting up my world again.

Vicki is a complete lifesaver! My wife and I are having an outbuilding made at the bottom of our garden. We are self-confessed non-creative people and were worried that we’d spend a lot of money to end up with something that looked bland. Cue Vicki! We spoke to a range of interior designers but Vicki stood out and she really seemed to ‘get us’ from the outset. She first met us face to face to find out more about us as a family (ie how untidy and disorganised we are!), what we needed from the space, what life stage we were at as a family and how to future proof the area. Both myself and my wife had very different ideas about what we wanted – my wife wanted a Hamptons-style coastal room and I wanted a nightclub! Vicki managed to find the sweet spot and produce a design that worked for all of us as a family. What I really valued was the ongoing conversation. We had a whatsapp group where we could share ideas and then a ‘directional’ meeting where Vicki could show us what she was thinking (including examples of lighting, tile and fabric samples etc). This gave us the opportunity to change direction if we didn’t like where it was going. We felt this was a much better approach than getting a ‘big reveal’ a few weeks after an initial meeting – it gave us confidence throughout the process that we were definitely going to like the final design and feel. At the end of the process, we had professionally printed moodboards that showed us visual impressions of what the room would look like, the colour palette, and links for recommended items we could purchase. From initially being in a position where we were daunted and had no idea, we ended up confident that we knew what we needed to do. The only problem with the process is that we now want her to sort out the rest of our house!!!

Vicki is absolutely amazing! This was my first home and I had an idea what I wanted in my head but I didn’t know how to clearly articulate this to someone else. Vicki’s approach was great, we went through several designs until we could clearly define what my style was. I enjoyed every bit of building my portfolio and so beautiful to see it all crystallise.

Vicki is an absolute pleasure to work with! I trawled through several profiles before I found Vicki. I called her and knew pretty much straight away she was the one I was going to go forward with for our house renovation. I needed help with a layout for the extension as well as the interior design and didn't want to hire an architect and she came up with some great suggestions which helped us arrange the room better. She listens and understands her clients and also she is very relatable and gets on with everyone involved. I would highly recommend Vicky if you are looking for some who is great at her job, professional, someone that will listen and understand your requirements. She made us think outside the box and that's what we continue to do going forward with our house renovation. Thank you Vicki! x

Very professional and gave some great suggestions to improve the overall asthethics. Not only did Vicky help with the interior designing aspects which was her main mandate but she also advised on a couple of architecture points and I am glad we took her advice. Highly recommended.

We wanted to update our home and put it on the holiday let market as we had decided to move to Ireland. We needed to update the kitchen, bathroom and rearrange the bedrooms. My husband and I have ideas of how we would like to decorate but sometimes we don’t agree and therefore don’t move forward with any changes. It was also important that the whole house flowed and would appeal to the market we are hoping to rent to. I thought a interior designer might be able to help us with this but I wasn’t sure as it is only a two bedroom property if this would be too small a project for a interior designer and if it would be totally out of our budget. The thing that really impressed me about Vicki was not only did she assure me that the project size was fine but it was the questions she asked me regarding what we were aiming for and the market we wanted to attract. She really listened and understood what we needed. Vicki totally took away our apprehension about using a interior designer. Vicki’s style is very collaborative and I never felt pushed into any design decisions. Her expertise is without question and she certainly guided us on what to spend on and what to save on. We were so impressed with the designs Vicki produced for us and her approach that we went on to engage her to project manage the renovation for us. Without Vicki I don’t believe we would have achieved the fabulous result we have within the time we have. The only problem we now have is that due to Vicki’s wonderful designs we now don’t want to leave the property:)

Selecting to work with Vicki from Balance Design on a complete top-to-bottom refurbishment was the best decision ever - the only regret is that I didn’t find her earlier! The selection process for identifying an Interior Designer was thorough and detailed, I was looking for someone that I felt I could connect with and as soon as I met Vicki the chemistry was spot on immediately. Her ability to make you feel understood and that you´re in total control of all the decisions being made is incredibly reassuring and empowering. It has been nothing but a joy and an absolutely brilliant experience. I have learnt a huge amount about myself as part of the process, in main because Vicki takes the time and invests enormously in understanding her clients with a lot of care & attention. At the start I refused to accept I knew anything about design or that I knew what it was I was looking for. Vicki was having none of it! She literally spent hours upon hours taking time to understand my likes, dislikes, what I wanted from my home, how I planned on using all the living space, and most importantly, things that mattered to me both culturally & personally. She spent an enormous amount of time researching and finding options that were both unique and felt personal to my design identity. It was all about listening, guiding and facilitating with Vicki, she never made a decision for me, ever. Her goal was always to provide choices and then to work with you to understand which ones appealed to you most whilst also challenging your decisions to make sure you were comfortable with the decisions being made. All the choices presented felt personal and unique and carefully considered. There were many times it was tough to make a choice as everything being presented was brilliant. Getting me to reach a decision took a huge amount of Vicki´s time but at no point did I ever feel rushed or that I was wasting her time. Her other super powers (one of many) are organisation and planning, which I had not realised how critical and essential these were for the success of the project. Not everything went to plan during the project, in fact some things were so bad it was like the project was cursed (none of this had ANYTHING to do with Vicki). However, instead of allowing me to freak out or lose my head she always found solutions and made sure all the stops were pulled out to get the project back on track. The full refurbishment of the apartment is absolutely incredible, in fact for the few weeks after moving in the apartment was unrecognisable and I have lived here on-and-off for 16 years. It has completely exceeded my expectations & aspirations of what I had hoped the end result would look like. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and making best use of the space for both living, working (as I work from home), and storage was a real challenge and the main goals of the project. I am delighted to say that this is no longer the case.

Builders Team. As a contractor, we are always looking to work with designers who know their craft. We completed several projects with Vicki and each project was a pleasure to work on. Key points: professionalism, great communications skills, project time management, and great teamwork towards the completion of the projects. We will definitely work together in the future and recommend her to our clients.

Vicki has been hugely helpful in formulating ideas for a kitchen, lounge and bedroom in a new extension. We had not used an interior designer before and were a bit apprehensive about the process. She talked to us at length to find out what we wanted to achieve, rather than imposing her style on us, but also challenged us to ‘think outside the box’. I’m really looking forward to implementing her exciting ideas - bold colour blocking, here we come!

Vicki has been invaluable in helping us progress our ground floor remodel. We would still be stuck 'discussing' kitchen door colours without her. Her delivery is very professional and I feel she has listened to all opinions throughout the process and then guided us to make the best choices so we will achieve our desired result. She also encouraged us to be confident with our colour choices and taken a lot of time and effort away from us having to research finishes. Making this process so much easier and quicker with her vast knowledge of products and styles. I would recommend to anyone who is hesitant in using a designer to book a consultation with Vicki before getting too far into your project. You will not be disappointed in the help and guidance you receive.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Vicki on what had been a rather stressful loft conversion. I contacted her quite late in the process because we realised that the head height we were getting wasn’t as high as we had expected and the space was much more awkward than it looked on paper. Immediately, Vicki spotted the issues in our plans and helped us to rearrange the space to get the most that we could from it. Then she worked with me to chose a beautiful colour palette and proposed design ideas that I would never have thought of. Even her help choosing paint colours has meant that we won’t need to go through the 20+ samples we might usually try!! I am now really excited about getting her design completed and moving into our new room.

I can’t say enough great things about Vicki! She listened to my concerns and was able to bring creative ideas to solve my design dilemmas! Working with Vicki was such a wonderful experience. The consultation with Vicki was like a lesson on colour, fabric or design. I enjoyed every consulation. We have more rooms to finish and I am looking forward to finishing with Vicki.

I hired Vicki to refurbish my entire house to bring it together with a common style and theme - I've lived here for 22 years but had only decorated each room in a piecemeal fashion as I went along over the years and therefore nothing matched. Vicki understood what I was trying to achieve and came up with some fantastic suggestions; I learned a huge amount from her. She took some of the boring legwork out of the project by sourcing furnishings for me to choose from - all of which fitted the overall design theme. This was a hugely enjoyable part of the process. It's also where her knowledge and expertise was invaluable and saved me enormous amounts of time and money. Vicki also project managed it for me, sourcing and dealing with the builders and negotiating various discounts for me along the way. This was a huge relief for me as I didn't want to deal with this side of it. Vicki also helped with the garden - she brought the themes of the house into the garden, toning down a bright yellow wall to a more calming pale pink and replacing orange decking with a more classy grey. This also helped bring the house and garden together. I asked Vicki to find me some unusual items - a bidet loo for example, which has turned out to be a terrific buy! And a 'cat tower' for the cats to sit on in the garden. She had ideas for things I'd never heard of - an LED strip in the living room totally transformed the space by adding a soft uplight for example. She also focussed my love of colour into bright 'splashes' amidst calming neutral backdrops. She was always reliable and did her job brilliantly well - she was very easy to work with and we got on well. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending her.

Vicki's brief was very broad. We are renovating our large semi-detached house and wanted some professional advice regarding colour schemes, lighting and flooring options. Vicki was happy to tailor her service to our needs and spent over 4 hours going over the house. She had an answer to virtually everything we asked and I was really surprised to be able to choose colours with Vicki's help by the end of her visit. We won't necessarily stick to those exact colours but is is really helpful to have a good starting point. She is also prepared to be a sounding board for additional queries and has already responded to a couple of questions I forgot to ask while she was here. It's the first time I've ever paid for design advice and I think it was money well-spent.

Vicki truly is very in touch with her clients' needs. I am so pleased with the design, selection of furniture and décor. She managed to find all furniture etc in a small budget. She proofs once and for all that interior designers are not just for the rich and famous! And as a bonus she explained the concepts so well, that I was able to use it through out our house. Now that is what I would call extreme value for money. Thanks Vicki!

I wanted Vicki Wharton to prepare a design pack for my kitchen sitting room The style I requested was for a non fussy modern ,plain furniture,but with a sumptuous feel over all. Vicki listened attentively to my ideas and showed a passionate ,positive and honest attitude for the design process. Throughout the process Vicki was always very accommodating and adaptable I was excited to see how the chosen paint pallet ,along with the different textures and shapes were expertly pulled together to meet all my requirements . A very happy customer Highly recommended

We invited Vicky because we wanted to renovate the house but did not exactly know what we wanted :). And had no idea about the colour scheme we wanted. She exactly understood our style and implemented it through our house. Even though as it was done i had my doubts i am really happy i trusted her.

I was very pleased with the contemporary art deco design, that Balance Design created for the bedrooms in my 1930s home. The colour scheme, furniture, and fabrics chosen, work very well together, and definitely provide the 'wow' factor that I was looking for. Vicki often went out of her way to accommodate me, as I couldn't always meet with her to discuss ideas within working hours.

Vicki worked with us on from the start of our 12 month 6 bedroom house renovation project. From the start she patiently worked with us through the seemingly daunting process of agreeing a theme and colour schedules through out all areas of the house and then put into action where we needed souring the various materials including paint, wallpaper and curtains. Would highly recommenced Vicki to anyone who is looking for a professional interior designer

Vicky is very good indeed. Her designs are very good a skilful and she does not force them on you, allowing you to amend them as you wish. Her project management is excellent and she takes all the strain of running a big project off your hands. I used her both for my mother's flat and for my own house and she was excellent.

Vicki helped us to achieve a lovely colour scheme and furnishing design for the open plan living area in our converted stables. Her ability to inspire us with new ideas as well as to build on our own has been an invaluable asset. She has sourced some excellent furnishing items with an eye for good value for money.

Friendly and polite service. Took into account all my tastes and opinions. and gave accurate estimates for the length of time each stage would take. Very pleased with the design.

We received a very personal service. Vicki listen and cared about our wishes. She was aware of our budget and was sticking to it and at times even was under. As a result we are able to have much nice home then expected.

I contacted Vicki a few months ago after moving into a our first home. We were both stuck for ideas, whilst we knew what we didn't like we were not sure on what we did like. Vickie has been amazing helping us with ideas colour schemes and bringing our home to life in a style that suits us. In addition to that Vicki has an amazing eye for detail and has found amazing products and furniture for our home. She will work at your pace so no rush ( I am planning a wedding and trying to get the house done at the same time), she has taken away the house stress so I'm happily focusing on wedding planning. We are still happily working with Vicki would recommend her in a heart beat.

I have worked with Balance Design Ltd for the past 6 years, installing Vicki's designs with a number of clients. She is easy to work with, organised and professional in her approach to both clients and trades people. Before a design installation is costed by myself, Vicki walks me and the client through the design so that we can assess any difficulties and work through solutions before the quotes are produced so that costings are accurate and time scales understood and agreed before work is begun. Time and budget plans and an order of work are agreed at the beginning of a project so that the client knows what is happening and when at each stage of the job. Sites are cleaned at the end of each day and together we strive to create an atmosphere of friendly cooperation on site so that any unforeseen problems can be quickly and efficiently resolved with minimum stress to everyone. We are fully insured, as is Balance Design and have been professionally assessed by Dulux, as well as additionally by Check A Trade and Trust Mark on Balance Design's side.

I am a Senior Property Manager, working for the second largest managing agents in the UK. I first hired Balance Design Ltd in 2013 through a recommendation and have since this time worked with Vicki Wharton on a further 4-5 interior design projects. I have always been extremely satisfied with the service and with their designs, as have my clients. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking for high quality interior design services.