Coastal House: remodelling completed 2012

Contemporary House by the Sea

We bought a recently converted property at Bigbury on Sea overlooking  Burgh  Island, with the intention of eventually relocating here from  Kent. Realising that the property required a huge amount of improvement to maximise its true potential, my wife and I approached Anna at the end of 2011 for some initial ideas, and immediately liked her creative, yet common-sense approach. She very quickly understood what we wanted from the house, and she put forward some great ideas for internal and external improvements, which were very contemporary while being at the same time practical and cost effective. We decided to engage her to design and oversee the whole project, which we were only able to visit occasionally, and we have been delighted with the results. Her attention to detail is second to none, and she worked well with the main contractor to ensure that the project was completed on time and on budget.   

Anna gained all the necessary planning and building regulation approvals, including alterations to the external envelope, such as new frameless glazed balconies, colour-coated low profile windows and sliding/folding doors and a hard & soft landscaping scheme that included new lighting design, natural slate & reclaimed timber sleepers and new paving to the driveway with a sustainable drainage system. 

With a sympathetic internal design scheme, she has made the most of some spectacular views from the living areas, replacing solid areas of balustrade with bespoke frameless glazing, using natural oak in new stair treads, and designing a new kitchen/dining room which fits in perfectly with the modern minimalism of the building whilst being comfortable and robust enough to suit an active family with teenage children and dogs. Elsewhere, she has installed high quality new bathrooms, bedrooms, & activity rooms. We really liked her suggestions for fabrics, lighting, furniture and floor coverings, which she sources wherever possible from local suppliers and craftspeople. Her selection of colours has given us a very calm and beautiful scheme that flows throughout and also relates to the outer landscape.

Our house is now a real home, and we cannot thank Anna enough for her easy but professional approach to our project.     

 C. & V. Scorey, Kent

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Period Dartmouth villa: renovation completed 2011

Period family home, Dartmouth

Anna was referred to me by a family friend while we were living in Singapore and were only able to visit the UK every few months. We had initially thought about a small kitchen renovation, but, with Anna's help, ended up planning a complete refurbishment of our large period property, transforming it from a rambling, outdated bed and breakfast into a fabulous contemporary home for us to return to with our young family. During the two-year project, Anna played a major role in all aspects of the renovation which involved major alterations to the structure of the building as well as upgrading all the services, designing new bathrooms and bedrooms and creating an amazing open-plan kitchen & playroom area and some beautiful lighting schemes. Her eye for design and attention to detail was excellent throughout the project and she acted as a great project manager, liaising between the builders and myself to ensure everything got completed on time and to a very high standard. We have ended up with a beautiful home and I am very grateful for Anna’s input; she is extremely hard working and conscientious, and great to work with.

 Sarah Smither, Dartmouth

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Refurbishments: a new take on cottages & barns

We are now underway with a project to excavate our sloping garden, sink in a double garage and finish on top with an out door space incorporating a Jacuzzi, BBQ area, seating, vegetable patch, a Devon bank and children’s play area. Working with Andrew Lethbridge of ALA Architects, Anna has come up with some ingenious ideas and technical solutions and we are looking forward to turning the design plans into reality.

P & G Brandon, South Devon

Converted barn, South Milton

30 years living abroad in Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia had given my wife and myself a lot of ideas for how we wanted to live when we returned. We were bringing back favourite pieces of furniture from the Far East to use in our new home, a converted period barn in the South Hams. We were recommended to Anna to help us incorporate all our ideas into a new design for the interior. She really listened and interpreted the look and function we were trying to achieve, introducing some excellent new ideas to make it all work together.

The original barn conversion had been done some years ago, and had oppressive low, dark painted exposed rafters, which Anna succeeded in transforming by repainting them pale cream to 'lift' the ceiling. One particular design solution we really like is "the pod”, a walk-in utility area which is unobtrusive in our open plan kitchen/living area yet hides washers, driers and the like from sight and sound! Most visitors are not even aware of it. This is partly achieved by the sympathetic colour and lighting schemes that Anna designed.

As we were still living abroad when the project started, we relied on Anna to recommend some excellent local kitchen and lighting specialists as well as reliable builders to undertake the work. She prepared the drawings and specifications and managed the tender process so that contractors and specialists could be appointed ready for our return to the UK when I was able to project manage the work myself.

We are very happy with the outcome, particularly as all the work was finished on time and within budget!

Nick & Gill Townsend

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Health & Beauty Clinic

Health & Beauty Clinic 

In 2006 we approached Anna to design and style a new venture - a health and wellbeing clinic which we were planning to open in Kingsbridge.  The property had previously been used as a dental surgery and in the first instance it required the entire internal space to be re-organised with new rooms created and some complex technical issues to overcome with regards to plumbing, heating, air control and the lighting, as well as compliance with Building Regulations with access, use of materials, and so on.  The clinic was required to combine both beauty therapy with physiotherapy, acupuncture and podiatry, so it needed to work from a clinical point of view, but to have an aesthetic quality to suit both disciplines.  We were on a very limited time scale and budget to complete the work before we opened to the public, but Anna and the builders managed to complete the project on time and on budget.  We were delighted with Anna’s design and execution for the health & beauty clinic, which gave us an extremely effective use of space and styling, which far exceeded our own vision and expectations. This included a particularly beautiful welcoming reception with stunning lighting and some luxurious feeling treatment rooms. Anna gave us a superbly designed and practical clinic, which has stood the test of time and which staff and clients alike find peaceful and harmonious.

P Brandon & C Tucker, Kingsbridge

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Pub dining room, Salcombe

 Victoria Inn, Salcombe

Liz Hore, Licensee  

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