oakbydesign
01423 593 794
Evie contacted Oak By Design via Instagram in September. Together with her husband Charlie, they had recently bought a 4-bedroom detached house in a village in Nottinghamshire, near the River Trent.
The house had a red brick finish and dark wood leaded windows. It wasn’t the prettiest house but Evie said “she could see what it could look like!”
They had a number of plans to renovate and extend the house, and an oak porch on the front of the property was high on Evie’s wish list!
She had been following our Instagram page @oakporches for some time and knew exactly what she wanted.
After sending photos of the existing house, and where the porch would be sited, Joanne and Evie chatted about her ideas, designs and plans on the phone, and Evie gave Joanne the measurements for the porch. A quotation and drawing were arranged and sent to Evie.
The position of the main door into the house was to be moved and the porch had to fit exactly against an existing sloping roof. The whole of the house was to be rendered and as itchy footed as Evie was to get the ball rolling with the porch, she had to wait until the scaffolding was down for her builder, Richard, to build the walls required for the porch.
The oak porch was ordered and she expected to need delivery in January or February of the following year.
By paying a deposit, the porch was booked into our production calendar, so the space was reserved, but we couldn't start making it until all measurements were finalised.
Once the scaffolding came down, the walls for the porch were built. Measurements were then re done and a tweaked drawing was sent for approval by Evie and Charlie and the builder. These were approved at the end of January and the porch went into production.
During this time Evie had bought a reclaimed door and was in the process of refurbishing it. She painted this in Farrow and Ball’s Treron and used Jim Lawrence door Yale Lock Surround and Melton door knocker on the front.
The windows of the property were repainted too and the front of the house was starting to come together.
Once the porch was ready, the delivery was arranged for February, just within Evie's expected timescale.
She couldn’t wait to see the porch installed and neither could we!
Evie had been nervous about the roof of the porch. It needed to be exactly the same pitch as the existing sloped roof that it was sitting against. She needn’t have worried. Charlie and Richard had made the perfect job of measuring and ensuring all the details were correct.
The overall porch width was just short of 2200mm, the depth was 1300mm and the overall porch height, including the 600mm high walls was 3360mm.
The pitch of the roof was 40° and Evie chose to have kiln dried oak tongue and grooved boards installed above the oak rafters, prior to installing the roof.
Evie had chosen a design with 2 diagonal brackets within the oak truss, and chose 2 curved brackets to the front elevation, and 2 curved brackets to each side elevation.
She also chose to have the name of the house, HYDRANGEA COTTAGE, engraved on the tie beam of the oak porch.
The main timbers were finished with a stop chamfer to the edges, and the whole oak porch and the oak tongue and groove boards for the underside of the roof were finished in Osmo’s Protection Oil in Natural.
As can be expected from the name of the house, Evie loves hydrangeas and the porch has created a fabulous space for her to show off her pots of the beautiful flowers.
Evie was kind enough to provide us with a 5 star review:
“5 stars for this company. Both Jo (whom I liaised extensively with) and the team gave us faultless service. It was a complicated design, interlocking the porch roof with the main build. Even when we (by that I mean me) worried about how it would all come together.
This included several drawings and measurements till we got everything exactly right, right down to the inscription on the beam which for us made the porch even more special. You really won't be disappointed. My many questions were always answered in a timely and friendly manner. I couldn't recommend them enough and I think the evidence is there in the pictures. My vision, and their skill, along with our other contractors did an amazing job of bringing my dream to life. Many thanks once again”.
Since installing the porch, Evie has kept in touch, sharing photos of the porch as they celebrated the Queens Jubilee and her daughters prom. Our oak porches are the perfect place for memorable family photos to be taken.
Speaking to Evie recently, we asked her of her memory of dealing with the Oak By Design and how the porch was, a few years down the line. She said,
“ I found Oak By Design through Instagram and another client that had an oak porch. I knew I wanted this beautiful product as a feature to the front of our home.
Many people compliment us on it. I couldn’t have one I saw online the same size as I needed something bespoke that fitted the unusual design of the house.
I liaised with Joanne throughout the whole process of measuring as our joiner was going to fit the porch, as we are based in Nottinghamshire. Joanne was very patient with our constant questions and queries, and guided us with some design ideas.
We have oiled the porch once in the last couple of years, and I think next summer we will give it a thorough oiling, but I quite like the faded effect of the ageing on the oak.
The oak boarding on the inside of the roof is beautiful and I’m really glad we went for that addition. I always recommend Oak By Design and have been asked for their details by people who have seen the porch.”
It’s always lovely to hear how our products are faring years down the line. Although the oak porches look lovely when they are first installed, the oil is fresh and bright, they do seem to settle in as they become weathered, and people who thought they would be quite pedantic about keeping the porch in tip top condition, do enjoy seeing the oak age and weather.
Telephone: 01423 593 794
Locksley Park
Blind Lane
Tockwith
YORK YO26 7QJ
Opening Times:
Mon to Fri - 9.00am to 5.00pm
Bank Holidays - Closed
Christmas 2025- TBC
Oak By Design is the trading name of:
Oak By Design Ltd.
Reg Number: 04384416
VAT Number: 664 8012 33
Left us a star review
As the owner of a local joinery business, Robert Davis Joinery, I have had the pleasure of using Oak by Design on several occasions over the last 8 years. They have produced bespoke interior products for me including Oak doors and timber moldings. The staff in the office and the workshop are always very helpful and friendly and the standard of the workmanship and materials are always of a very high quality.
What can I say, Oak By Design have been the most fantastic company to deal with. Joanne was so helpful, friendly and professional. She really seemed to care about our project, which made such a difference. We had 4 oak RSJ covers made and 2 fireplace mantles. The finish is outstanding. Everyone believes they are solid beams, which was just what we wanted. The care and attention this company will give you is 2nd to none and I would highly recommend them. Pictures will follow when we complete our project, thanks again Oak By Design. x
Posting on behalf of my Mother in Law, Shirley Abbott "Having planned to shop around, Oak By Design was my first stop. I had no need to look any further. Joanne patiently and professionally guiding me through the confusion of choosing the right flooring. The service and support from the staff was exceptional, efficient and helpful. And - my floor looks amazing!"
A first rate service from start to finish. We've used this company in the past for our floor - 40 foot of solid oak! 2 beams and 2 RSJ covers. This time a beam for our new kitchen inglenook and another RSJ cover. More than impressed with the products which more than met our spec. A very friendly and helpful team who I'd recommend to anyone.
Thank you Jo for your assistance and detailed guide every step of the way with my new porch. Very pleased with the finished product, I would highly recommend Jack and his team for installation
From start to finish Oak By Design have been incredible, nothing was too much trouble. Our new Oak doors are beautifully made and have really been the icing on the cake to finish our house renovations off. We have also had a fabulous outdoor oak structure with heating and we are very much looking forward to making the most of it in the months ahead. Thank you to the whole team I would throughly recommend.
A great company to deal with. Professional from start to finish and always there to assist with any queries. Highly recommended.
I first used Oak by Design in 2021 for a oak porch, I used them again 2023 for an oak pergola. Both times my clients have been Delighted with the finished product. Both times the product was delivered when stated, everything i needed was on the delivery. Oak by design listened to what I required for both jobs. The quality of the oak is excellent, all joints fit correctly & if I had a problem I only had to ring and speak to them. R Brown Carpentry always recommends Oak by Design when asked about oak structures.
I was sourcing an oak RSJ cover (circa 5m length) for my extension and found Oak by Design on the internet. All of the reviews I could were glowing and so I contacted them......And I'm so glad that I did. Joanne Fisher answered my initial call and she looked after my order from beginning to end - in terms of ensuring that I got exactly what I wanted she/they provided a superb service - everything on time - delivery in to the Peak District to suit when I wanted. The quality of the the RSJ cover is fantastic thick solid oak that matches my oak floor - looks amazing. If you want anything oak I can thoroughly recommend Oak By Design.
We worked with the team who designed a wonderful porch for our house near Harrogate. It has been an amazing addition. Simple but effective - excellent craftsmanship using authentic materials. We are absolutely delighted with the transformation and everyone who sees the porch says how great it looks. Thanks to all the team at Oak By Design.
Very impressed with Oak By Design. Customer service is fantastic and they were very patient in helping me ensure what I needed was the right size. Photos sent of oak cover before it was sent to me and end product was great. It was also not the most expensive either. Would definitely recommend.
Spectacular service from start to finish! great design work and support from concept to installation. The builders were amazing! So pleased with the outcome! Thankyou so so much !
I could not recommend Oak By Design more highly. Joanne and the team worked tirelessly to resolve an issue that was the result of my mistake when I ordered the porch. Great customer service.
Superb! Fantastic! I can’t recommend enough. If you want gorgeous oak use this company. Oak by design made a porch for us and we couldn’t be more happier with it! It’s beautiful! The quality is first rate. Throughout the build Jo kept us informed as to the process of having the oak cut to size and installed. Jo and the team even sent us a lovely oak chopping board! Jack and his team who built it are fabulous! They go the extra mile. We have decided to use oak by design for a kitchen extension project in the future. Thank you oak by design for giving me a gorgeous porch! Charlie x
Ordered an oak mantle beam from Oak by Design and they quickly called to check the finer details. Unfortunatly, the beam was slightly damaged on arrival by the courier company. Oak by Design immediately arranged to have it picked by DHL, transferred back to Yorkshire from Kent, repaired and sent back within 2 days, with no quibbles. The beam is beautiful, as is the high quality customer service by these people. Fully recommend using this company. Anthony Slater, Tonbridge. Tonbridge.
Really delighted with the new porch by Oak by Design. It adds a super feature to my converted barn. Thanks to Joanne and the team.
Excellent customer service. Very friendly. Explained in detail. Product is beautiful. Would recommend. Company sent photos of finished product prior to dispatch to confirm our happiness with their work.
My wife and I recently purchased an oak porch from Oak By Design. We are delighted with the porch and it has been much admired. We did get some help assembling it but everything fitted together perfectly.
We worked with Jamie from Oak By Design on a super project near Wetherby. There was plenty of oak in this design for the team to really show their worth - and they did. The attention to detail was excellent. If anything was not quite how the client wanted it, they were straight back to attend to this. The customer care was superb. We look forward to working with Oak By Design on another project soon.
Thank you Oak by Design for my gorgeous… Thank you Oak by Design for my gorgeous oak porch. From my first contact with your company and speaking with Amanda the service has been first class. The quality of the oak and the design of the porch was just what I wanted. Manufacture and delivery were well communicated and delivered to site for our builder on time and to fit in with the building works. Your finishing touches and added extras made our porch very unique to our home. I have had lots of compliments on the enhanced look it has made to our property and our builder is full of praise about the quality and the ease of construction on-site. Thank you so much Amanda & all the team at Oak by design.
A fabulous service and supportive through the design and delivery process. Highly recommended
Exceptional service and beautiful flooring. Absolutely delighted with every aspect. Went above and beyond great customer service to meet our needs and timescales.
Great personal service to ensure we got what we needed specific to our personal requirements. Quality is outstanding and there was a helping hand there all the way. The porch we ended up with was not cheap but having looked at others the quality of the Oak by design product shines through. Very pleased with the result and the complements from both neighbours and our builders keep coming.
Working with Oak By Design on our project was a pleasure and we were delighted with the results. Joanne was extremely helpful, quick to answer any questions and generally a great person to deal with! The quality and finish of the products - RSJ covers and Oak Windows & Doors were superb and look great. Would highly recommend working with Oak By Design and would not hesitate to use their services again for future projects!
We got a fantastic garden structure from Oak by Design. It is a very handsome building and the design process was very patient, to say the least. We didn’t really know what we wanted, so we had to be guided through it. And we are delighted.
We ordered two bespoke doors and two bespoke porches for our house build from Joanne at OByD. We were specifically delighted with Joanne's attention to detail (and patience! lol) making the overall customer experience excellent. The product was equally fantastic, the product quality was truly beyond our expectations. Joanne is super helpful and knowledgeable, and kept my spirits up throughout our project. We would 100% recommend OByD, and specifically Joanne, for all your standard and bespoke oak requirements. H&D
Great service from start to finish, Joanne was great help. Designs were spot on and so happy with the porch. 10/10. Fully recommend.
Firstly, the product quality was superb, a beautiful oak mantle piece for my fire place, gorgeous. The installation was quick, efficient and fitter very friendly. The price was very reasonable, actually very good value. But what makes it all SIX STAR, ( but we I can only give 5!), was the customer service. When walking in the shop I was perfectly attended to, I was given samples to take home and they remembered to call soma days later to see what I thought. Order to install time was very fast for such a bespoke service. My experience was world class, great to deal with a brilliant local/small business, I totally recommend.
This is the second time that we have used Oak By Design for oak products and once again we weren’t disappointed. We recently ordered some internal oak doors and from the very start they were a pleasure to deal with. Joanne especially was extremely helpful and friendly, nothing was too much trouble. We were kept updated about the progress of our order. Unfortunately we needed to delay acceptance of the doors for a few weeks and Oak By Design happily agreed to store them in their workshop until we were ready for them. The quality of the doors is very high, they are very well made and finished, far better than any oak doors that you will buy “ off the shelf. “ They are all installed now and look fantastic. I would highly recommend Oak By Design and we will certainly use them again in the future if we require any more oak products. A huge thank you to Joanne and the whole team for a great service and a great product.
We purchased some engineered oak flooring and oak covers from Oak By Design and couldn't be happier with the finish and quality. They are spot on. Joanne was extremely helpful throughout the whole process and provided plenty of advice when necessary. Thank you
Amazing customer service from beginning to end . My builder was in awe at the quality of the oak porch components. Call them and ask for Joanne - what she doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing! It’s not every day you invest in a “proper” porch so do it right. You’ll definitely be delighted!
Oak by Design were extremely helpful at all stages of my project from helping and advising me to choose the most appropriate beam through to advice on fixing the beam. They were extremely patient with changes to my beam dimension requirements finally providing a solution to suit my project. They provided photographs on completion of the beam prior to dispatch to ensure that my requirements had been met. I was extremely impressed by the quality and finish of the beam which has become the focal point for my fireplace project. Oak by Design provided customer care of the highest quality and I would highly recommend their services.
Found this company by accident whilst passing through Harrogate, but well worth a visit.Great products choice with helpful friendly service. The wooden flooring and beams look great in situ and we are very pleased with the transformed room. Would recommend and use again.
Great service by a friendly professional team, a pleasure to work with. The end result of our oak glazed leisure spa and outdoor kitchen looks fantastic. Great job
I firstly used oak by design a couple of years ago for an open oak porch. They were extremely helpful and everything was delivered on time to the highest quality. The porch went together with the oak dowels provided and looked great when it was all slated in. They have also supplied me with a oak beam for a fireplace natural random finish and it looks good.
Fantastic staff with fantastic craftsmanship. Great communication and always on the ball. I would highly recommend oak by design, I don’t think you could get a better quality oak porch anywhere. Extremely pleased with ours , always getting compliments from fellow villagers
My client was looking for ways in which to make his conversion (of an early seventies house into a period family farmhouse) “stand out from the crowd”. whilst maintaining a commercial eye on his expenditure, as the house was being converted for resale profit. Making the choice to meet with Richard and explore possibilities for incorporating some Real solid Oak features into his plans proved to be the making of the project. By taking lots of advice from Richard on both the size and structure of the components we were able to incorporate three key features. The beautiful and bold roof trusses and purlins for the open plan kitchen are simply a joy to behold. The stunning full height gable window which is directly glazed into the large framework can be appreciated from both the the kerbside and of course from within the cosy snug on the ground floor or the amazing first floor main bedroom where we incorporated some additional exposed roof beams just purely for effect. All in all it is fair to say that these significant choices certainly created the wow factor my client was looking for. Having managed to pre sell the property well before completion it in itself demonstrates the benefits of keeping these sorts of real oak features as part of a modern build. I have no hesitation whatsoever is saying that if anyone is looking to get advice and is serious about investing in quality oak products they should have no need to look further than Oak by Design. Thanks again Richard for all your help , guidance and continued support which is a credit to you and the craftsmen you employ.
From the moment we visited the Oak Design showroom, we knew that we were dealing with a top quality local company. Richard the owner, showed us around his design works with real pride of his product and service offering. Jamie as sales executive has discussed and agreed the options & design with costs to us and we have now implemented the first phase of our home improvement, with more work to follow. We are highly delighted with the finished product and would strongly recommend Oak Design to other interested clients. I also suggest that you pay them a personal visit at the Home Building & Renovation exhibition in Harrogate, as well as their wonderful showroom of Oak Solutions in Tockwith to get a personal guided tour.
Oak by design provided our engineered oak flooring. From our initial meeting and supply of samples to the final delivery we have been provided with excellent service. Carl has been in touch throughout the process and provided updates about the lead time and expected delivery dates. We are delighted with the flooring. Very happy to recommend Oak by design.
From the start of our enquiry, the service provided was excellent. Joanne was a great help and the oak porch structure looks fantastic on our new build. It completely changed the look of the house. Very quick delivery could not recommend enough.
Outstanding customer service from a company that truly cares. I’ve only dealt with a small amount of companies where buying experience totally outstrips the monetary value & this is one of them.
We decided to get an oak porch to make our home more attractive and we are so glad we did as it really is beautiful ! Joanne and the Team have been professional, friendly and just a pleasure to deal with ! Thank you so much !!
Fantastic service from start to finish, I would have no hesitation in recommending this company or using them again. Very professional and helpful. Joanne was great in assisting us with choosing both styles and colours of the beams and cladding.
Excellent quality workmanship and materials. Very easy and friendly to deal with on the phone. Everything done on time and no problems at all. Will definitely use again next time I need an oak porch or any other oak structures.
Having lived with our porch for over 2 years I can honestly say it’s the best addition to our house we ever made. Not only does it look fantastic the quality is outstanding. I love that it keeps the mud out of the hall and provides a seating area to remove muddy boots.
