Pantry Design Professionals in Leicester, Leicestershire

“Andrea worked on a complete house renovation for me under a tight budget. The house was for my 2 sons both in their early 20’s therefore needed to be modern & easy to maintain. I was delighted with the results which ticked all the boxes. Not only did Andrea work on the scheme & source all the products she also managed the whole project & trades involved. I would have no hesitation in recommending her or her work.”

“Lisa's energy and enthusiasm is amazing! Lovely to see people like her so passionate about their work. Friendly, professional and skilled designer - highly recommended!”

“I used Le Roi and his team for my extension project. Le Roi helped us with the overall design of our extension right down to the details of where sockets, spot lights and light switches would be located and took our project from the initial drawings and designs all the way through to managing the build and making sure that everything was signed off correctly in regards to planning permission, structural calculations and building control. I would recommend Le Roi and his team to anyone who is looking for a smooth and efficient building project. Thanks again Le Roi!!”

“Excellent professional service and beautiful plans created by Karl for a bungalow conversion into a house. Karl has great vision and has worked with me every step of the way to create exactly what I need from a home and gave great thought and attention to detail. Every question answered as I was new to all of the requirements needed for my renovation plans. Thanks to Karl's friendly and knowledgeable service, everything has run very smoothly, even the planning application stage through the Lake District Planning Board. Works are due to start soon and Karl has made sure everything needed is in place. I would highly recommend Karl Fox for any architectural needs.”

“James worked with us on plans for our extension. He has an intuitive approach to design, working with ideas flexibly and offers excellent solutions to problems. James has good communication skills, keeping us in the loop throughout the whole process. Plans were completed with innovative ideas and options that helped us to clearly visualise the completed build. We couldn't recommend his service any higher.”

“We commissioned a bespoke kitchen and, from inception to completion of the project, the service, quality and expertise were exemplary. Phil's input and suggestions in designing the final layout and unit combination were massively helpful. He was also able to source exactly the unusual granite worktops I had in mind. The company offer the extremely useful facility to view the units as a work in progress at their factory so that changes, if required, can be made prior to installation. Another massive advantage is that, if the building work is delayed the units can be stored at their premises so there's no pressure on the customer in terms of taking delivery. The hand painted finish is to an exceptionally high quality and any snagging requirements are dealt with quickly and without fuss. When the kitchen was finally installed we discovered that we had been given an additional floor unit as a 'gift' as Phil thought the base unit run on one of the walls would look incomplete without it. He was absolutely right and I can't imagine many companies who would provide that level of personal detail. We were so delighted with the kitchen that, in addition, we commissioned a bathroom vanity unit and will doubtless have other pieces made. I am truly more than happy to recommend Grand Union Designs.”

“Tracy is a competent, experienced professional who took the time to understand what we wanted and offered a flexibility in approach that was refreshing. She provided a detailed, fully costed staged plan allowing us to select the level of continued involvement which best suited our project and chosen builder. The finished house Is a delight.”

“We bought Willow Springs cottage in the summer of 2014 and have spent eighteen months making much-needed repairs to it, inside and out. We got in touch with Stephanie as we'd heard about her friendly and calm approach - calm was something we needed faced with a house desperately in need of some TLC! Built in the mid-1600s, the cottage underwent a major renovation in the late 1800s, when the timber-framed half of the cottage was rebuilt. An early photograph shows that this Victorian facsimile replaced a much older (we assume 17th Century) timber-framed structure, made up of twisted timber frame, a concoction of various infills and possibly a thatched roof. The cottage was then extended in the 1960s, when the scullery in the Victorian part was doubled in size to form a small kitchen, and the large inglenook fireplace in the living room was sadly removed to create the entrance to a single-storey extension. Stephanie was involved from the offset, advising on many aspects of the project, from preparing us for discussions with the conservation officer through to offering creative input on changes to the use of the space. Our main focus was on removing the inappropriate materials that had been used on the cottage over the previous decades. The main offender was the cement mix and gypsum plaster on around half of the internal walls. Fortunately, a good amount of the original lime plaster remained intact (or repairable) in the rest of the house, mostly on the upper floors. Similarly, on top of the earth floors on the ground floor, several layers of impermeable materials had been laid (such as roofing felt, concrete, plastic sheeting and carpeting) in an attempt to dry out and warm the house. Once removed, the house began to dry out beautifully, although the lower plasterwork was beyond repair where damp had been forced up the walls. Stephanie was a great help advising us before we made decisions about what we could save and what we would need to replace. For example, at one point (before we were fully read up on the best way to deal with heritage houses: "repair not replace!"), we had been advised to remove a cracked lime ash floor on the first floor. Thankfully Stephanie pointed out that aside from any structural problems this removal might cause, it would be a loss historically, so we went on to repair it, and we're so pleased we took her advice. She created 3D renderings to help us envision how we could make the layout better suit our needs and add a nice flow and cosiness. She placed an emphasis on this, encouraging us to think in a very ‘human’ way about the way we wanted to live, work and play in our home. Few structural changes were needed. We decided to demolish two items – the small extension to the living room and the two-storey bay windows, both structures added in the 1960s and in a poor state of repair; both changes prompting the conservation officer to comment “you’re the only people I’ve met who actually want to make their house smaller!” We also decided to move the bathroom from the ground floor to the room directly above, and to brick up a doorway which led from a small hallway/WC next to the bathroom into the Victorian dining room, making space for a downstairs WC. Following this stage of the project, the uPVC windows were replaced with timber double-glazed units and the cottage was rewired and re-plumbed. In the living room and kitchen, limecrete floors were laid over foamed glass insulation and underfloor heating, with reclaimed York stone flags to finish. A lime/hemp basecoat was applied thickly to the bare walls with a lime putty topcoat. In the dining room, we revealed a Victorian arched brick fireplace, which we went on to clean up and repoint. The cottage was painted throughout with clay paint. Work continues - I feel it may for a while yet as this little old house presents new challenges from time to time– but it is a lovely to place to live. Thank you to Stephanie for her calm and thoughtful guidance, expertise and know-how throughout the process.”

“Jon is a thoughtful and responsive architect, listens, understands and followed up with the exact results we wanted for our recent office new build plans.”