oakbydesign
01423 593 794
As an interior designer and owner of VA Heritage, I am often asked for advice on where to start when embarking on a project. If all you are changing is the colour of your walls it can feel easy and logical but if you are looking to completely transform a room or your entire home it can feel overwhelming.
Knowing where to start is key so if you are about to start your project hopefully these top tips will help make the process easier and more enjoyable.
This may not be an obvious one but understanding the building, its location and the neighbourhood is important.
Considering its history and what made the building special, especially if it is a traditional building, will ensure that you create a design which works with the building and does not stand out for the wrong reasons.
VA Heritage believes it is even more important if you are planning on selling on your property at any point in the near future to ensure it appeals to prospective buyers.
The way in which you move around your space is fundamental.
VA Heritage thinks that if you do not understand how the space flows, the way you interact with the space and what you need from it then basics such as where a plug socket is positioned and where you need a table lamp will be wrong.
If you are remodelling and doing any serious alteration work, this needs to be understood so that your home works for you and you are not forced to make compromises. It would be so frustrating to have to go without or locate a cosy reading area in space just because of where the plug socket is.
VA Heritage says, when you first start thinking about reworking your space, whether that is reconfiguring a room in its entirety, adding an extension or simply moving the master bedroom into what was the guest bedroom you need to engage with your Interior Designer, and Architect if required, as soon as possible.
They will help you to formalise your thoughts into concepts, review and establish a budget and a timescale for the work to be completed. You will have a clearer more cohesive idea of what you are trying to achieve and they will work with you to help you realise your dreams.
You will also have a better idea on lead times on any bespoke items and can make sure everything is ordered in time and in the right order so you are not left with missing pieces or storing furniture for weeks on end.
Doing all this work up front and on paper allows for revisions and amendments to be made with little, if any, cost implications in comparison to making changes when walls are erected and you are needing to make decisions quickly or the schedule will be held up.
VA Heritage says, making decision under pressure is never a good thing. It should be a fun process not a stressful one.
Stunning lighting will elevate a space. Combining floor, table, wall and ceiling lights will help create different moods in the same space.
You will be able to layer lighting to create subdued moods. VA Heritage understands that using different heights will also add textural interest to a space. Dimmer switches are a great investment so that on an evening the lights can be dimmed to allow for a more intimate and cosy space.
Don’t be afraid to mix and match.
Creating your sense of style need not mean it has to come from the same design era. Introducing contemporary elements into a more period setting can still look cohesive. Similarly, introducing a vintage piece in a contemporary home can help create a more lived in feel and be less of a show home.
Display artwork in every space.
Artwork should not be reserved for the main rooms in your home. Bathrooms, kitchens and even downstairs WC’s should also have artwork in them. Your personality should extend to every room.
Mood is a must. When entering a room it is important to be able to identify what the mood is. This could be bright and reflective, soft and elegant or plush and opulent. If you cannot identify the mood then something is missing.
Identifying your style. If you are struggling to identify what your style is, VA Heritage can help. Look at what you like to wear, this can give you a better clue than looking at wallpaper samples. Do you gravitate towards stripes, bold colours but only on your socks, are you all about layering different fabrics but always in beige? Once you have identified your style, think about how you can introduce this into your rooms.
Rooms don’t have to match. Rooms should have function, purpose and personality. A room that has none of these is a room that is lacking. A room does not need to match or be mirrored throughout the property, but it should have an identity and a common theme or thread. This could be an accent colour which is you use in every room to a greater or lesser degree or the same flooring that runs throughout. What you don’t want is to feel like every room could belong to a different person and be in someone else’s home.
Get inspired. Magazines are great to help present ideas but go and visit gorgeous shops, hotels, art galleries, museums, restaurants and anywhere else you can take inspiration from. Look at how they have played with the scale of items and the colours they have introduced. What are you drawn to and what leaves you uncomfortable? Use your initial reactions to guide you when it comes to selecting what to introduce into your home.
Be pragmatic. When it comes to placing items in a room consider what you are trying to achieve. It could be that you are wanting to draw attention away from an ugly corner of the room or make something the focal point. Alternatively you may want to create the illusion of scale and make the space appear bigger. Using lighting and reflective materials such as mirrors can help with this.
Create an element of surprise. VA Heritage understands adding a pop of colour that is unexpected or a piece of artwork which is slightly controversial is a great way of lifting the mood in a space whilst also injecting your personality.
It is vital that you work out the costs for each room you want to work on. Include everything from the structural work if you are having to underpin or move walls to the finishing touches to make it shine.
Add it all up and then determine if you can afford it. It is recommended that you have a contingency of 10-20% to help cover any unexpended expenses that can arise on projects. This may need to be more when renovating older properties as they can often lead to additional and unexpected work.
It might be easier to have a budget for the structural work and a separate budget for the decorating and furnishings so that you can see exactly where your money is going and on what. Splashing out £1,000 on a kitchen tap might seem like a great idea but not when you put it into context of the other costs involved and the need to not go over budget. Desire is one thing but being practical and mindful is what will make your project a success and minimise stress levels.
In summary, there is a lot to consider when making your property work for you and I hope this has given you food for thought, and even the confidence to undertake your project. If it has made you think that you need some help, then VA Heritage would encourage you to speak to a professional. They will not only get you the results you need, they will also make it an enjoyable experience.
VA Heritage can help with all the above.
If you have any design questions for Alexis at VA Heritage, call 07776 358 475 or visit vaheritage.co.uk
If you wish to appear in our newsletters please contact us here
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
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 were delighted with our new porch. Right from our initial contact with Joanne at ObD, through the design and the installation by Jack and his team the service has been excellent. We would have no hesitation in recommending ObD and Jack to anyone thinking of a high quality oak porch. Thank you to all involved.
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.
Exceptional service and beautiful flooring. Absolutely delighted with every aspect. Went above and beyond great customer service to meet our needs and timescales.
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.
On behalf of Shears PHG Our customer was looking at having an oak porch built for their property in the West Midlands we got in contact with Joanne at Oak by Design and she was really helpful, always friendly on the phone and polite nothing was too much trouble. Joanne kept us up to date through every stage and our customer is really pleased with the results of the Porch it looks great and we wouldn’t hesitate to use them again in the future
Four years ago we took the decision to completely gut an old farmhouse and start again with it, we started looking for a supplier of oak to refit all of the internal doors, door casings, skirting and flooring. Our carpenter recommended Oak By Design. He wasn't wrong! All of the oak has been completely top notch. As the old house has settled into it's new skin it has moved and cracked in various places, the only thing that has been stable and unwavering is the oak. The customer service has been superb, with them continuing to supply exactly the same items, with the same quality over the course of 4 years. They even indulged our designs for furniture for our "boot room", with Shoe pigeon holes and a bench which we could store wellies under (as pictured). The doors supplied by them are reassuringly heavy and sturdy, with a proper "thunk" as you close them, cutting off sound from the rest of the house. There may be other, cheaper suppliers of oak out there, but none with the same level of quality, longevity and customer service as Oak By Design. If you want to do it right (& once!) use these guys.
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
From the beginning the customer service has been superb, excellent help and advice when choosing the flooring, delivery arriving when promised and a product which is extremely high quality. We have replaced the majority of our flooring downstairs and we are so pleased with the result that we would have paid more. Fantastic.
I wish I could give more starts!! We looked at many companies before finally choosing Oak by Design. We are so glad we chose them. They were excellent from start to finish. They worked with us to find a workable design that was to our liking. Our door looks amazing (despite the building site that still surrounds it!). Their customer service is of the highest standard, Joanne could not do enough to help us. I would not hesitate to recommend them.
We were looking to have a bespoke oak and glass atrium for the front of our new house renovation. We wanted to find a company we trusted, who clearly understood our brief and could manufacture and install a high quality product at a competitive price. A big ask, but OakByDesign ticked all our boxes. Jamie and the team from the initial discovery meeting to completion of the installation were fantastic. The design, material quality and installation were first class and I would highly recommend you to include them within your project plans. Thank you all. Ben and Lindsay.
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.
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.
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.
Great company. Awesome flooring, we are very, very happy with the outcome. And great price which is always a bonus. Staff knowledgable & efficient.
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
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.
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.
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.
Oak by design were a fantastic company to deal with. They made us some treads for a bespoke stair case from large pieces of air dried oak. They were very thorough in making sure that they understood exactly what we wanted. They made excellent suggestions for small changes to our own design in order to produce a better finished product and to manage the cost. We were very happy with the treads when they were delivered. They look fantastic and fitted perfectly to the steel frame which was made by a third party. I could not recommend them more highly.
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
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 !
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.
Fantastic service and quality of product. I couldn’t be happier with my Oak porch, which was designed to my specification with the minimum of fuss. Joanne was so helpful and nothing was too much trouble. Incredibly well engineered and looks fantastic. Thank you so much.
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.
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.
First class service and product . Our car port and steps look fantastic and blends in with the existing buildings beautifully. Would definitely recommend them.
We can thoroughly recommend Oak by Design. Not only did they provide the best of oak floors and oak staircase to suit our new, contemporary home, but they returned to make good a problem which was not their fault. Going the extra mile separates great companies from ordinary firms. Thank you Jamie & Billy. From Mike & Barbara, York.
Oak by Design have made 2 oak framed rooms for us, sunroom at the front and and "moonroom" (photo) at the back which encompasses a shower room, work area and storage. They have been helpful at every stage and the outcome is simply brilliant. They make the whole house feel roomier and brighter and are beautiful places to be. GE North Yorkshire
From the initial quotation right through to the delivery and after service Joanne has been brilliant and given me an excellent product. I have just ordered another porch for another project from them and I will continue to do so for future projects . Thomas and Bell Building Contractors Ltd
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
We have been impressed from the first contact with Oak By Design, first class customer service and the product speaks for itself. We found it straight forward to install and the support was always there if we needed it. Brilliant, we could not recommend enough and will use them again.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
We are ‘over the moon’ with our beautiful oak porch made by Oakbydesign .From our initial enquiry to delivery and installation the service and attention to detail has been outstanding! A very big thank you to Joanne who was so helpful and friendly from start to finish which made the whole process such a pleasure. Highly recommend anyone looking for an oak porch to choose Oakbydesign . Yvonne Grant.
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
My company has ordered 2 porches with Joanne from oak by design, and have more planned in the future. They've been brilliant from start to finnish. Great communication right through. And the quality of the product is exceptional. Do not hesitate to order.
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.
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 fabulous service and supportive through the design and delivery process. Highly recommended
