A fully integrated service – architecture, planning consents and design

Architectural DesignInterior DesignPlanning Services

Our pre-construction service at OLBC combines the numerous elements of design and consents involved in getting a project live on site. This frees our clients from the time and responsibility for individually appointing an architect, structural engineer, interior designer, mechanical and electrical engineer etc. etc. With OLBC, all these aspects are handled under one roof to maximise efficiency and cost savings. We can also recommend party wall surveyors with a reputation for delivering complex awards swiftly – one of the areas that can cause some of the greatest delays in starting work.

Our pre-construction service is led by Design Director Rosie Caley, who graduated from the Architectural Association in the Conservation of Historic Buildings. Her team manage each step of the process systematically through a procedure honed over many years of experience. Whether you’re undertaking a major renovation to your property, or a basement conversion, our integrated pre-construction service will avoid the common oversights and errors that occur all too frequently in this process.

We also work with clients’ existing architects and interior designers, taking on concept schemes or planning stage drawings to deliver complete construction packages. Our service is not to be compared with a “design & build” company that subcontracts all the various stages out to other companies. We offer a thoroughly pragmatic approach to renovation where both design and construction work together hand-in-hand, minimising delays and administrative costs.

Click through to read more about our Architectural, Interior Design and Planning services and how we work with our clients to realise the dream home. We’d be delighted to guide you through what’s involved in our pre-construction service with an initial consultation. Please get in touch or fill out this short contact form.

OLBC Interior Design Studio

Architectural DesignInterior DesignPlanning Services

A well-designed home is a successful blend of architectural and interior design which answers its inhabitants’ tastes and needs. We are not interior designers with a specific style or ‘look’. Our work is defined both by the differences in our clients’ tastes and needs, as well as the unique features of each property we work with. 

Design Director Rosie Caley believes a home should reflect the interests and personality of its owners, incorporating their cherished art, books, furniture and other objects collected over the years. Curating a clients’ life into an interior scheme, combining the old and the new in a way that perfectly complements the existing home, is the instinct behind her approach. “Interiors have always mattered a great deal to me. The general wear, imperfection and patina found in older buildings that arise from years of use, settlement or alteration bring something which cannot be manufactured, it imbues a building with a sense of immutability and tranquility. Working with older buildings give us a wonderful historic canvas to create interiors of great individuality and personality.” 

Beyond the aesthetic, Rosie finds reward in helping her clients ‘space planning’ their busy homes, achieving the best possible arrangement of internal space, delivering highly-functional, organised homes for modern lifestyles. Rosie and her team are a multi-disciplinary design studio offering a complete interior design, specification and delivery service. Not just concerned with finishes and furnishings, we bring comprehensive technical knowledge that underpins a successful interior, from detailed lighting and bathroom design to glazing, bespoke kitchen design – every element that makes a home work for our busy modern lives.

In many areas of décor and specialist finishes we work with skilled craftspeople, from furniture makes, to decorators, conservators, guilders and decorative plaster fabricators, to name a few.  Our projects are largely within London, although commissions from a wider area are welcomed.  Our guiding purpose is to deliver a practical and beautiful home our clients can unwind and recharge in, entertain in, and enjoy together for years to come.

Planning Services 

Trusted to gain complex planning permissions for London homes

OLBC have an enviable 100% record for attaining planning consents for basements throughout London. This is where our expertise in planning consultancy comes to the fore: we know what can be done and understand the art of the possible. We are contacted by clients, architects and designers to advise on or assist with basement planning consents, which increasingly require a significant amount of knowledge and expertise to deliver results. The rejection of a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) is the single largest reason for basement planning applications to be withdrawn or refused in RBKC. We have the insider knowledge to draft successful CTMPs, securing planning consents for our clients.

Proven expertise throughout London

We have previously worked with the local authorities below to achieve Planning Permissions and Certificates of Lawfulness under Permitted Development. Please click on the local authority for some sample consents we have obtained (this is not an exhaustive list):

• City of Westminster
• The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
• London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
• London Borough of Merton
• London Borough of Wandsworth

Significant changes to basement planning policy have been introduced within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and Westminster in the last ten years. OLBC has the expertise to derisk and steer our clients to the best possible outcomes. 

Read about these Basement Planning Changes here.

Considered architectural design for London homes

We do not have a ‘house style’. Our designs are simply tailored to the client’s requirements, and to the key architectural elements of the property. This allows us to consider how best to maintain the character of the building whilst maximising its potential value both as an asset and as a home. Whether you are concerned about maximising space and light when renovating your home; fitting in a diverse range of requirements; or respecting or transforming the period character of your home, we can ensure you do not have to compromise on a beautiful, functional living space. Our portfolio of residential work spans London’s most historic boroughs with thoughtful architectural design for properties in Conservation Areas and for listed buildings.

Specialist Planning & Design Advice for Basement Schemes

We frequently work with leading architects to assist with specific design issues relating to the engineering and construction of basements. Basement conversions require complex engineering schemes that can have unexpected implications for ceiling heights and level changes, particularly for basements under gardens. We are also experienced in taking on stalled projects, either at planning consent stage or just outline schemes, re-developing them to achieve planning consent, or simply to deliver on client requirements. If you’re a residential architect, surveyor or a homeowner requiring specialist guidance on basements properties, please do contact us either by using the green WhatsApp button or by using the form.