What's included in an interior architecture service?

Material and finish selection, bespoke joinery design, lighting layout, and coordination with fixed architectural elements like structural openings and services. That's different from furnishing or styling an already finished space.

Can you work on just the interiors of a project someone else designed the architecture for?

Yes, though an integrated approach delivers the most value when we're involved from the earlier architectural stages. Worth discussing your situation with us.

Interior Architecture & Design

Q: Do I need an architect for interior design, or just an interior designer?

It depends on the scope. If the project involves moving walls, altering services or structural changes, you need an architect regardless of how the interiors are styled. When one practice handles architecture and interiors, the two stay coordinated instead of being designed in isolation from each other.

Based in Oxford, we design interiors across Oxfordshire, the Cotswolds, Buckinghamshire and London.

A successful interior should do more than look good. It should make your home easier to use, reflect how you want to live and feel coherent from the architecture through to the smallest detail.

We develop the architecture and interiors together from the outset, rather than treating finishes, lighting and joinery as decisions to make once the building has already been designed. This allows the layout, material palette, furniture, storage and services to support one another, creating spaces that feel resolved rather than simply decorated.

At LM Apartment, a complete refurbishment of a Victorian mansion-block apartment, walnut joinery, herringbone flooring and the wider material palette were developed as part of the design from the beginning. South Kensington Penthouse and ER Residence follow the same principle at different scales, using travertine, timber and bespoke cabinetry to create calm, consistent interiors rather than a collection of unrelated features.

Designing the whole interior

When interiors are considered early, practical decisions can be resolved before they become expensive problems on site.

We consider how furniture will sit within a room, where lighting and sockets are needed, how fitted joinery meets the architecture and where storage can be incorporated without compromising the space. In kitchens and bathrooms, we coordinate layouts, materials, appliances and services alongside the building work rather than trying to make them fit later.

This gives you a clearer understanding of the finished space before construction begins and helps maintain a consistent design, specification and budget throughout the project.

Working with existing buildings

Much of our interior design work takes place within period properties and existing buildings, where the challenge is often to improve how the spaces work without removing the character that made the property appealing in the first place.

We begin by identifying which original features are worth retaining, where previous alterations have weakened the plan and where carefully placed new interventions can make the greatest difference. New materials and joinery are then designed to sit comfortably alongside the existing fabric without attempting to imitate it.

The result should feel personal, practical and connected to the building, with old and new working together as one considered interior.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an architect for interior design, or just an interior designer? It depends on the scope. If the project involves changing layouts, removing walls, altering services or coordinating structural work, an architect or interior architect can help bring those decisions together. Where architecture and interiors are handled by one practice, the design remains coordinated from the overall plan down to the lighting, joinery and finishes.

What is included in an interior architecture service? Typically, this includes space planning, material and finish selection, bespoke joinery, kitchen and bathroom design, lighting layouts and coordination with structure and building services. It focuses on the permanent elements of the interior, rather than furnishing or styling a completed space.

Can you work on the interiors of a project designed by another architect? Yes. We can develop the interiors of an existing scheme, although the greatest value often comes when we are involved early enough to influence layouts, services, lighting and joinery before those decisions become fixed. We can review the information already prepared and advise on the most useful point for us to become involved.

Next Step

If you're planning a project in the Cotswolds, book a consultation to talk through your site and what the local planning context means for your options.