Designing the Rooms Before Anyone Starts Building

Fix Your House provides interior design and full interior refurbishment for homes across North West London — design, layout planning, and the trade team that carries the work out, from one company.

If we carry out the build, the design is free. Appoint us for the design and the refurbishment together and there is no separate design fee — you pay for the work, and the design comes with it. If you would rather take the drawings elsewhere, we do design and specification on its own as well.

Call 07777 759333  |  Request an interior design consultation

Based in Mill Hill, London NW7. Serving North West London and nearby areas.

Most interior design firms hand you a set of drawings and leave you to find a builder. Most builders will fit whatever you point at but won’t help you decide. Fix Your House sits in the middle: our design work is led by Niloofar Tootoonchi, our Head of Interior Design, and the trades we work with regularly do the joinery, plastering, decorating and second-fix work on site.

That matters because the expensive mistakes in an interior project are almost never aesthetic. They are a radiator that ends up behind the sofa, a kitchen island that blocks a door swing, sockets in the wrong wall, or a stud partition that turns out to be load-bearing. Those get caught by the people who will actually build it.

What Our Interior Design Service Covers

Design and Layout Planning

Measured survey of the existing space, then options for how the rooms could work. Layout and circulation, where walls and openings could move, kitchen and bathroom layout planning, storage positions, lighting and socket positions, and how one room flows into the next. Where a scheme needs visuals, we agree at the survey what will be produced for your particular project rather than selling a fixed package of drawings.

Finishes, Fittings and Specification

Choosing paint, tiling, flooring, worktops, sanitaryware, ironmongery, lighting and door furniture, then writing it into a schedule so nothing is decided in a panic on site. We can specify to a budget you set rather than pushing you towards a look you didn’t ask for.

Carpentry, Joinery and Storage

Fitted wardrobes, alcove units, understairs storage, shelving, media walls, internal doors, architrave, skirting and stair parts. Interior carpentry is where most North West London houses gain the most usable space, and it is work our team does directly.

Plastering, Decorating and Finishing

Skimming, patch repairs, cornice and coving repair, decorative plastering, and full redecoration. A refurbishment is judged on its finish, and the finish is plastering and painting.

Interior Designer or Interior Decorator — Which Do You Actually Need?

This is the question we get asked most, and almost nobody answers it straight.

If you’re not sure which side of that line your project falls on, ring us and describe it. If it’s a decorating job we’ll tell you it’s a decorating job — that’s a cheaper piece of work for you and a straightforward one for us.

Designing Around North West London’s Housing Stock

Generic interior advice does not survive contact with a real NW7 house. The area has four or five dominant property types and each one fails in a predictable way.

1930s Semi-Detached Houses — Mill Hill, Edgware, Burnt Oak, Colindale

The signature interwar suburban semi: bay-fronted front room, separate back reception, narrow galley kitchen at the rear, hall running to the stairs, three bedrooms and a small bathroom above. The recurring problems are a dark middle of the house, a kitchen cut off from the garden, a boxy hall eating floor area, and a bathroom laid out around 1930s pipe runs.

What usually works: opening the two receptions into one another (often a supported opening rather than full removal), reworking the rear to bring the kitchen and dining space together, re-planning the bathroom around a modern soil-stack position, and taking the eaves storage seriously with built-in joinery. Watch for original chimney breasts that are still doing structural work and for concrete floors in later rear additions. Where the bathroom is being re-planned, see our bathroom renovation service in North West London.

Victorian and Edwardian Terraces — Cricklewood and West Hampstead

Higher ceilings, original cornice and picture rails worth keeping, suspended timber floors, solid brick walls with no cavity, and a rear closet wing that eats light from the middle room. Designing here is mostly about light and damp: how much of the rear wall can open up, whether the side return is usable, and how to insulate and ventilate solid walls without trapping moisture behind them. Original mouldings can be matched and run in — we’d rather repair a cornice than lose it.

Purpose-Built and New-Build Flats — Colindale, Mill Hill East, Hendon, Golders Green

Flats have the tightest constraints and the least written about them. Concrete or block structure means very few walls can move. Soil-stack and riser positions fix where a bathroom or kitchen can go. Acoustic requirements between flats govern flooring build-ups, and most leases restrict hard flooring outright. Fire strategy governs door types and any change to a protected hallway. And almost all of it needs the freeholder’s written consent before a tool comes out of the van.

Detached and Period Houses — Mill Hill Village, Totteridge, Arkley, Hadley

Larger, often older, frequently in a conservation area, and usually needing several rooms designed as one coherent scheme rather than piecemeal. Here the constraints are as much heritage as structural — window and door detailing, joinery profiles, fireplace and staircase features, and materials that have to sit properly against an older fabric.

The Practical Side Nobody Puts on Their Website

We checked what other interior design firms in Barnet and North West London publish. Almost none of them mention any of the following, and every one of these has stopped a job on site.

Building Control and Structural Openings

Removing or widening an internal wall usually needs Building Control approval and, if it’s load-bearing, a structural engineer’s calculations and a steel. This is a Building Regulations matter and it is separate from planning permission. It applies even when nothing changes on the outside of the house.

Electrics and Part P

Certain electrical work in a dwelling is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations — new circuits, and work in areas such as bathrooms. It has to be done by a competent person registered with a scheme and certified, or notified to Building Control. Rewiring a room during a refurbishment is exactly the moment this arises, and it’s the certificate you’ll be asked for when you sell.

Ventilation, Insulation and Damp

Change a kitchen or bathroom and you engage Part F (ventilation); insulate a wall or replace glazing and you engage Part L (conservation of fuel and power). In older solid-wall terraces, insulating internally without designing the ventilation alongside it is one of the most common ways to create a mould problem that wasn’t there before. If damp turns out to be a plumbing issue rather than a ventilation one, our leak detection and repair service covers it.

Flats, Leases and Licence to Alter

If you own a leasehold flat, most leases require the freeholder’s written consent — a licence to alter — before structural work, changes to services, or removal of carpet in favour of hard flooring. Consent can take weeks. Start it early, before you commit to a design that depends on it.

Conservation Areas and Article 4 Directions

Parts of the borough — including areas around Mill Hill Village, The Burroughs in Hendon, Monken Hadley and Totteridge — carry conservation area designations, and Article 4 Directions can remove permitted development rights in specific streets. Purely internal work is usually unaffected, but anything reaching a window, door, roofline or external wall may need consent. You can check your address on Barnet Council’s planning and conservation mapping before you plan anything that touches the outside.

Party Wall Notices

Cutting into, or working on, a wall shared with a neighbour can bring the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 into play, which means serving notice on the adjoining owner in advance. In a terrace or a semi this comes up more often than people expect.

We raise all of this at the first visit, not halfway through. Where something needs a specialist — a structural engineer, a party wall surveyor — we’ll say so plainly. We arrange these directly and programme them into the job, so you are not chasing separate consultants yourself.

Full-Service or Just the Bit You’re Stuck On?

Not every project needs the whole thing.

• Full-service interior refurbishment — you want one company from first survey to snagging. We design the scheme, agree the specification, do the work, and manage the trades. One point of contact, one programme, one accountable party. Suits whole-house and multi-room projects, and anyone who doesn’t have the time to coordinate five trades.
• Design and specification only — you want the layout resolved, the finishes chosen and a proper schedule, then you’ll use your own builder. Fine by us. You get a scheme written to be built, not a mood board.
• Single-room or single-problem work — one room, one kitchen layout, one set of fitted wardrobes, one bathroom, or a full redecoration. Plenty of people arrive here needing a decorator and a bit of joinery, not a design practice.
• Design help partway through a project — a layout that isn’t working, a specification that’s gone off the rails, or a job you’ve inherited from someone else.

How Our Interior Design Service Works

1. Tell us about the project. Phone or WhatsApp on 07777 759333 with the property type, which rooms, and what isn’t working. Photos and rough measurements help enormously at this stage.
2. We visit and survey. We look at the actual space — structure, services, ceiling heights, stack and riser positions, floor construction, damp, and anything that will constrain the layout. The first visit is free.
3. Options and layout. We come back with how the space could work, what’s realistic within your budget, and what would need consent.
4. Specification and quotation. Finishes, fittings and materials written into a schedule, priced against a defined scope, so you can see what you’re paying for and change it before it’s ordered.
5. We carry out the work. Our team does the strip-out, first fix, joinery, plastering, tiling, second fix and decorating, and coordinates the certified trades.
6. Snagging and handover. Walk the job with you, fix the list, hand over certificates and paperwork.

What It Costs and How We Quote

Interior work is priced by scope, not by the square metre, and anyone quoting you a firm figure before seeing the property is guessing. What drives the cost is the number of rooms, whether the layout changes, whether services move, the condition of what’s behind the plaster, and the level of the finishes you choose.

The first visit is free, and if you appoint us for the building work as well as the design, there is no separate design fee. Beyond that we do not publish a fixed figure for interior work, because a price quoted before seeing the property is a guess. We agree the price with you after the survey, against a written scope.

What we can commit to now: you get an itemised quotation against a written scope before any work starts, and we tell you what a decision costs before you make it.

What to Have Ready Before You Call

• Photos of each room — including the corners and the ceiling, not just the flattering angle.
• Rough measurements — room lengths and widths and ceiling height are enough to start.
• A floor plan if you have one — an estate agent’s plan from when you bought is fine.
• What isn’t working — “the kitchen is too dark”, “there’s nowhere to put anything”, “the bathroom layout is wrong”.
• Your budget range — not to spend it, but so we don’t design something you didn’t want to pay for.
• Whether you’re leasehold or freehold — and if leasehold, whether you’ve spoken to the freeholder.
• Your timing — especially if you’re working around a move-in date.

Areas We Cover in North West London

We’re based in Mill Hill, London NW7, and work across North West London and the neighbouring areas. See all the areas we cover.

Barnet borough: Mill Hill · Mill Hill Broadway · Mill Hill East · Mill Hill Village · Edgware · Burnt Oak · Colindale · Hendon · The Hyde · Golders Green · Childs Hill · Finchley · North Finchley · Church End · Whetstone · Totteridge · Woodside Park · High Barnet · New Barnet · Arkley · Monken Hadley

Neighbouring: Stanmore · Canons Park · Queensbury · Kingsbury · Borehamwood · Elstree · Cricklewood · West Hampstead · Brent Cross

If you’re close to Mill Hill or within North West London and your area isn’t listed, ring us and we’ll confirm availability.

Why Choose Fix Your House

• Design and build under one roof. The people planning the layout are the people who will build it. Nothing gets designed that can’t be delivered, and nothing gets lost in the handover between designer and contractor.
• Local, and actually local. Based in Mill Hill, London NW7. We know the housing stock in Edgware, Colindale and Hendon because we work in it every week — not because we read about the borough online.
• We tell you about the regulations before you spend money. Building Control, Part P, licence to alter, party wall. Raised at the first visit, not on week three.
• Written scope, itemised quote. You see what you’re paying for and can change it before anything is ordered.
• Whole trade coverage. Carpentry, joinery, plastering, decorating, tiling, plumbing and bathroom fitting through our regular trades, so a multi-trade refurbishment doesn’t become your project to manage.
• We’ll tell you when you don’t need us. If the job is a decorating job, we’ll say so.

Our design work is led by Niloofar Tootoonchi, our Head of Interior Design. Mohammad Reza Hosseini, our Founder, runs the build side. Both come from the same design background, which is why the drawings and the site work line up — most interior design studios in this area design only, then hand you on to a builder.

Related Services

Bathroom renovation · Bathroom services · Bathroom fitting · Shower installation · Toilet installation · Basin and tap installation · Plumbing services · Central heating & radiators · All services · BIM and 3D visualisation

Interior Design FAQs

Do you provide interior design services in North West London?

Yes. Fix Your House provides interior design, interior decorating and full interior refurbishment across North West London, including Mill Hill, Edgware, Hendon, Colindale, Golders Green, Finchley and Barnet. We’re based in Mill Hill, London NW7.

What’s the difference between an interior designer and an interior decorator?

Decorating changes the surfaces — paint, wallpaper, flooring, furnishings. Design changes the space itself — layout, openings, kitchen and bathroom positions, lighting and electrical design, and built-in joinery. Design work usually brings Building Regulations into play; decorating usually doesn’t. If you’re unsure which you need, describe the project on the phone and we’ll tell you honestly.

Do you offer an interior design consultation?

Yes. We visit the property, survey the space and discuss what’s realistic before anything is designed. The first visit is free, and if you go ahead with us for both the design and the build, there is no separate design fee.

How much does interior design cost?

It depends on the number of rooms, whether the layout changes, whether services move, and the level of finish. We quote against a written scope after a site visit rather than giving a figure over the phone. The first visit is free, and where we carry out the building work the design is included rather than charged separately. We agree the price with you after the survey, against a written scope.

Do you offer a full-service interior design and refurbishment?

Yes. We can take a project from first survey through layout, specification, the building work itself and snagging, with one point of contact throughout. We can also do design and specification only if you’d rather use your own builder.

Can I hire you for just one room?

Often, yes. Plenty of projects are a single kitchen, bathroom, living room or set of fitted wardrobes. There’s no minimum requiring you to redesign the whole house.

Can you help with kitchen layout planning?

Kitchen layout is one of the most common reasons people call us. We look at where the services can realistically go, how the space is used day to day, appliance and door clearances, and how the kitchen connects to the dining and garden space — then design around it.

Do you carry out the building work, or design only?

Both. We take on carpentry, joinery, plastering, decorating, tiling and bathroom work, and we coordinate the certified trades for electrics and gas.

Do you work on flats?

We do, though flats need extra care: soil stack and riser positions restrict where kitchens and bathrooms can go, most leases restrict hard flooring, acoustic requirements govern floor build-ups, and structural work usually needs the freeholder’s written consent. We’ll flag all of that before you commit to a design.

Do I need planning permission for interior work?

Purely internal alterations usually don’t need planning permission, but they often do need Building Control approval — particularly structural openings and notifiable electrical work. If the property is listed, or the work affects windows, doors, the roofline or an external wall in a conservation area, consent may be required. We’ll tell you which applies at the first visit.

My house is in a conservation area — does that affect an interior project?

Usually only where the work reaches the outside of the building. Areas including Mill Hill Village, The Burroughs in Hendon, Monken Hadley and Totteridge carry conservation designations, and Article 4 Directions can remove permitted development rights on specific streets. You can check your address on Barnet Council’s planning and conservation mapping.

Can you work from drawings I already have?

That happens more often than you would think. If you’ve already had a scheme designed, or you’re partway through a project that’s stalled, send us the drawings and we’ll price the work against them and flag anything that we think won’t build as drawn.

Which areas do you cover?

North West London and the surrounding areas: Mill Hill, Edgware, Burnt Oak, Colindale, Hendon, Golders Green, Finchley, Whetstone, Totteridge, High Barnet, New Barnet, Stanmore, Kingsbury, Cricklewood, West Hampstead and Borehamwood. If you’re nearby and not listed, ring and ask.

How do I get started?

Call or WhatsApp 07777 759333, or use the contact form. Tell us the property type, which rooms, and what isn’t working. Photos and rough measurements at that stage will save you a week.

Start Your Interior Design Project in North West London

Whether it’s a single room that never worked, a kitchen layout that needs rethinking, or a whole-house refurbishment you’d rather hand to one company — talk to Fix Your House.

Call 07777 759333 · info@fixyourhouse.co.uk

Mon–Fri 9:00–18:00 · Sat 10:00–16:00 · Sunday closed
, London NW7

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