Interior Design in Rutland
Stone Does Not Forgive a Guess
Rutland is built from what was dug nearby, and it shows in every village. Warm ironstone in one, pale limestone in the next, Collyweston stone slate on the older roofs, and a mix of cottages, former farm buildings and proper country houses around Oakham, Uppingham and the water. Much of it is listed, and a stone building does not forgive a scheme that was drawn without understanding how it stands up.
Andy trained in architectural technology and spent over twenty years on the technical side of commercial buildings before moving to residential interiors. Thick walls, low openings and floors that have moved for two hundred years all change what a sensible plan looks like. He works out how the house behaves, where heat and damp are moving and what the structure will carry, before a single finish is chosen.
We do not work around a building's problems. We resolve them, then design.
Chapter Seven Design is Andy and Joe Smith. On a country house, often some distance from everything, Joe is the one who keeps it moving: the timeline, the right trades for stone and old timber, the order of works when nothing can be rushed. A long project can feel relentless or it can feel held, and that comes down to how it is run day to day.
We take on full home renovations in Rutland and focused work on single rooms done properly, with heating set discreetly into the right floors and joinery made for the house rather than ordered from a brochure. We are based just over in Leicestershire, so this is close to home and familiar ground.
If you have a house in Rutland and want it understood before it is designed, we would like to hear from you.