Julius Interiors

Expert Guide : 9 golden rules to consider when designing a space

I'm Petina Julius and I am a qualified interior designer with a first-class honours degree in Spatial Design. I have enjoyed working in the industry for over 10 years, on residential projects as well as on some exciting projects in the care home industry. My skills span from project managing complete refurbishments, to home staging to updating a single room.

Having grown up in South Africa, my love for the outdoors and natural surroundings has always been my inspiration. My love for nature (Biophilia) has influenced my focus in creating well designed spaces and environments that connect people with nature in order for them to experience that 'feel good' factor. Biophilic design can be applied through natural lighting, plants, views onto nature including the use of products, materials, textures and patterns that mimic and/or relate to nature.

My experience in refurbishing care homes has developed this passion and interest in creating well designed spaces and environments that connect people with nature to promote a sense of well-being. This is an element of design which I would love to encourage and incorporate in all future projects. I believe that our homes should be sanctuaries: a peaceful oasis of escape from the hectic schedules of our modern world.

I am passionate about design and enjoy the process of working with clients to thoughtfully transform their spaces into beautiful, functional, inspiring and healthy places.

Additionally, my focus is to create places that reflect the spirit, life and tastes of my clients. The result is a scheme that is personal with each element of design defining the overall look, creating a perfect balance between beauty and functionality.

I offer a full interior design service ranging from initial space planning and conceptual design, to final installation, tailored to each individual client's needs.

I can appoint trusted tradesmen and specialists depending on the scope of work needed but would gladly work alongside your own appointed contractors to ensure the interior design is considered and well planned from the outset.

During an initial visit at your home (with no obligation), we will discuss the services that I can offer. This will be my opportunity to gain a better insight into your lifestyle and needs with the vision that you want to achieve. From this, I will assess the creative potential of the space and take into consideration the architectural context of the given space. I will prepare a detailed proposal which will be tailored specifically to your project and outline the scope of work and services to be performed. This will also include the associated fees for the project.

After consideration and approval of the brief, I will arrange a visit to conduct a site survey to measure the space. This is a key part of the phase as I would take into consideration, scale and proportion to creatively optimize every area of the given space.

During this phase, I will develop and present initial ideas and design concepts which will include all aspects of the project. This will be presented in the form of plan drawings and mood boards containing a variety of images and samples. I will work with you to refine the scheme until a definitive concept is agreed upon. A few visits may be necessary to complete this phase but this is a collaborative fun process.

Once we have agreed the final design scheme, I will provide a set of final drawing plans which will include the design information and an estimate for any work to be undertaken by the relevant contractors. This will be accompanied by a document including specifications and an itemised costing of every individual element within the design, from the carpentry to the little cactus placed on the windowsill.

This is the exciting stage where we bring the project to life and your vision is realised. If commissioned, I will coordinate, schedule and project manage your design to completion. With regular visits and meetings with the appointed contractors, I will ensure a seamless process so that all the work executed and the design implemented meets your expectations.

Few things are more satisfying than transforming a space into a beautiful place that delight, inspire and reflect the spirit of the people who live in it.

I work with clients primarily in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the surrounding areas but not limited to these areas.

For more information or to discuss an upcoming project, please get in touch, look forward to hearing from you.