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[claire1985]

Hello!

I have recently moved in to Clapham Common with my family. I see that I can get a lot of ideas from this website and I believe that I can get some help from you as I don't really know the area well yet! I have two questions and I believe you can give me some recommendations

The house which we bought needs some refurbishment, renovation, maybe kitchen extension. Next year we expect a new member of our family so it would be great if we could get it done by the end of this year! I don't really like working with huge companies that treat me as just one of many clients, could you recommend a local building company which offers those services? I would be really grateful!

Additionally, we want to go with my husband for a lovely dinner next week, could you recommend a good restaurant in the area? Preferably French cuisine but I can experiment too! Do I need to book a table in advance?

Thank you!

Claire

[tooposhtopush]

What a lovely idea.

Velvet Orange are a great local building and design firm.

For dinner Chez Bruce on the Common is one of the best as is Trinity in the Old Town.

Brinkleys on Wandsworth is a little cheaper but still great food.

Good luck

[Wheresmyschool?]

Second vote for Velvet Orange, also Design by ASQ also good.

[claire1985]

Thank you for the ideas! The romantic dinner in Chez Bruce booked for this weekend


I will call both companies today, is Design by ASQ the same company as Lifestyle Design and Build? We really need to start to get quotes as soon as possible.

Claire

[Wheresmyschool?]

yes, these people

http://www.lifestylebyasq.co.uk/

[claire1985]

Thank you so much for your recommendations. I have already received a quote from Lifestyle Design and Build. Really professional and friendly company, exactly what I was looking for.

Claire

[KrishanthiPhoto]

This is great to follow, we are also thinking of doing something similar in the long term - have you generally found using designers/PMs worth the cost rather than sourcing builders and managing it yourself?

[honeygranola]

Welcome! Looks like you have dinner sorted (and chez Bruce is lovely), would also recommend Gastronhome on lavender hill for french cuisine. Couldn't believe how good the food was for a place just down the road, and check out the tripadvisor reviews also. Enjoy!

[claire1985]

KrishanthiPhoto, it was useful for me to deal just with one company, rather than managing the project with builders as I have heard some horror stories from family and friends, I don't have enough knowledge to oversee the work and I didn't want the stress either. It may have cost me less but in the log run, time is also important and I don't want to drag the project. We really need it to be finished by Christmas.

Additionally, Lifestyle gave me a few advices on small things such as tanking the shower area, I was guided that it's better in order to avoid the leaks going forward over the years. It cost me a bit more, but i think it's worth it.

Honeygranola, thank you for the recommendation! We actually live very close to Lavender Hill, need to check this place

[annadoran]

Hi, I share your opinion about Lifestyle, we have had a very good experience with them. What I found very convenient was the fact that they offer all the appliances and products in their on-line shop http://www.lifestylebyasq.co.uk/shop-online.php so we basically had everything arranged by them. That was a relief!