I cannot stress the importance of getting the right match between your project and the individual or team you appoint. You are probably thinking that this is fairly obvious, however with a large dollop of creative marketing any novice interior designer can make themselves look far more competent than they actually are.

Anyone who has missed the trend for open plan interior design must have spent the last decade either in a wilderness hermitage or floating on a li lo round their own tropical island. I have lost count of the walls demolished, skips filled and steels installed. The interior design world has gone crazy for huge open plan kitchen living spaces but was all that wall removal a good idea or has open plan become broken plan?

 It doesn’t take much keyboard tapping to find a plethora of gorgeous basement inspiration. Most of us are comfortable with building upwards but is digging down in a quest for extra space just a step too far? Read on to see if it’s going to be upwards or downwards for your next interior design project.

Without stating the obvious, identifying both the annoying and impractical in your current space and noting them down is an exceedingly good start point. Then make sure they are never repeated.

Embarking on your building project can be such an exciting time. Unfortunately a project that starts full of hope, promise and expectation can soon become the stuff of nightmares.