Design Review
The true test of a home begins once you start living in it. Unfortunately, that's often when design flaws become apparent.
A kitchen that feels cramped despite being spacious on paper. Furniture that never quite fits. Awkward circulation. Missed storage. Lighting planned before the furniture.
Before walls are moved, kitchens are ordered or electrical plans are finalised, one thoughtful review can change the outcome of your entire project.
Whether you're renovating a period home, extending your family house or building from scratch, Design Review gives you the reassurance that your plans have been carefully considered before costly decisions become permanent.
In a focused one-to-one consultation, we'll review your drawings together, identify opportunities that may have been overlooked and refine the details that will have the greatest impact on how your home functions and feels.
Even beautifully drawn plans can miss how a home will actually feel to live in.
Over the years, I've reviewed layouts where kitchens lacked practical working space, furniture couldn't comfortably fit, lighting was planned before furniture layouts were considered, and circulation felt awkward despite generous room sizes.
None of these were construction problems.
They were design decisions that simply hadn't been questioned early enough.
What Is Included
Step 1
Once booked, you'll receive a short questionnaire and instructions for uploading your plans, inspiration imagery and any questions you'd like reviewed.
Louise will review everything in advance, identifying opportunities, potential issues and key areas for discussion during your consultation.
Step 2
We meet online via Google Meet to review your plans together.
During this focused working session, we'll discuss layouts, functionality, storage, circulation, lighting and kitchen planning, with honest, independent advice tailored to the way you live and use your home.
Step 3
Following the consultation, you'll receive marked-up PDF plans, a recording of the session and a written summary of the key recommendations discussed.
You'll leave with clear next steps, greater confidence in your decisions and practical guidance before construction begins.
Following the consultation you will receive
Who Is This For?
This service is ideal for:
This includes a pre-consultation review of your plans, a 90-minute Design Review, marked-up PDF drawings, a consultation recording and a written summary of recommendations.
Whether you're working from architectural drawings, engineer's plans or estate agent layouts, this review focuses on how your home will function in practice — ensuring room layouts, circulation, storage and everyday living have been fully considered before construction begins.
While reviews can be carried out at any stage, the greatest impact is often achieved before planning is submitted or construction begins, when changes are easier and more cost-effective to implement.
+€150
Lighting planning is one of the most common areas discussed during Design Reviews, helping homeowners avoid costly changes later in the build.
If you would like your proposed lighting layout reviewed as part of the Design Review, this can be added to your consultation.
We'll review your proposed lighting and electrical layout, assessing socket locations, switching, task lighting, feature lighting and how the scheme supports the way your home will be used.
This review is intended to help identify opportunities and potential issues before first fix begins.
Includes annotated recommendations on your existing drawings.
From €500
Following your Design Review, we can prepare revised floor plans incorporating the recommendations discussed during your consultation.
Whether it's refining room layouts, improving circulation, repositioning walls or developing your plans further, you'll receive professionally presented drawings ready to share with your architect, builder, designer or engineer.
Ideal for clients who would like the recommendations from their Design Review developed into professionally presented, to-scale drawings ready to share with their architect, builder or engineer.
*Need more than revised layouts? Our Studio Design service develops your project further with furniture layouts, lighting design, kitchen and bathroom design, joinery, materials and furniture specification.*
The Goal
The purpose of this review is not to redesign your home from scratch, but to identify opportunities, challenge assumptions and give you the confidence to move forward.
The earlier we're involved, the greater the opportunity to influence how your home functions and feels to live in.
A Design Review completed before construction to improve the functionality and flow of the ground floor.
The homeowner knew the proposed layout wasn't quite working but couldn't pinpoint exactly why. The kitchen felt compromised, the utility dominated the space, and the position of the WC directly beside the dining area never felt quite right.
Through a detailed Design Review, we identified a series of opportunities to improve privacy, circulation, functionality and everyday living.
✓ Increased the kitchen island to create a more generous workspace and social hub.
✓ Relocated the utility to create a cleaner, more functional kitchen.
✓ Repositioned the WC to provide greater privacy from the dining area.
✓ Introduced a dedicated bar area for entertaining.
✓ Improved circulation and increased storage throughout.