Client Testimonials
Kate worked for us between 2014 and 2016. Together we planned a very significant redevelopment and extension of our Surrey property.
We found Kate was very easy to communicate with, trustworthy, organized, well connected and efficient, and she knew the rules. She encouraged us not to do the first simplest thing and helped us to mix old and new styles. Our house is 1930s with a complex roof and it was a big challenge to extend and renovate without losing the character. She did this superbly well.
We had a critical time window and she put us in touch with a very good and reliable builder. She put a contract in place between us and the builder and although we chose not to use all of her services she is fully willing and able to supervise. The relationship between the architect and the builder is essential.
It is never easy to do these things from a distance – we were living overseas through all of the planning and most of the build – but it went as smoothly as we could have expected and we had no issues with Kate at all.
Kate has plenty of work – friends of ours cannot access her – so if she is thinking of taking a job for you then it must probably be of interest to her for some reason!
Innovative and practical, Kate exceeded our expectations in terms of contemporary design, managing a complicated planning process in a conservation area, appointing the right builder and was always on hand to offer advice throughout the build. Thoroughly recommended. Thank you Kate.
Kate was very helpful and knowledgeable throughout my project and would definitely recommend her.
We wanted to build a garden room to give us a comfortable space from which we could enjoy views of our garden. We looked at the websites of various architects and decided we liked Kate’s style, as we wanted something modern. She offered to come over for a meeting and explored all our wants, needs, likes and dislikes in detail. She quickly understood that we wanted warmth, light, simplicity and height and went away to work up some options for us. We chose a mono pitch design with huge windows and a bifold door onto the terrace which she redesigned to provide the right setting and better access to the garden. She helped us to select a builder, who was excellent, and she worked well with him. The whole project has been a huge success and we spend more time in our new room than any other. We can now use the terrace as entertaining space, linked to the new room. Kate dealt with every stage most competently and professionally, bringing in surveyors or structural engineers as needed and briefing them. She is extremely capable and a pleasure to work with.
An aging extension and a growing family was the challenge given to reinvent the space to get the best out of it. The whole process from meeting to discuss the project with Kate, to reviewing preliminary ideas and layouts, followed by a tender pack of drawings to obtain planning consent and quotations from builders was a joy to be involved with. The sensitivity of the design and materials specified has upheld the integrity of the original house and the new spaces work fantastically. The design has maximum flexibility built in, enabling us to convert the extension from being an integral part of a large family house into a one bedroom adjoining flat further down the road if required. We would recommend working with Kates’ practice without any hesitation.
Kate worked with us to redesign our very tired 1970s house, both reconfiguring and modernising it. Our initial brief and resulting design (which we loved!) proved too expensive, so she went back to the drawing board and came up with a brilliant alternative layout, which has absolutely delivered what we needed and within budget. She also had to deal with a frustrating TPO issue, but was able to overcome the challenges it presented. Kate was great to work with, bringing fresh ideas and a real creative flair to the design, whilst also being available to answer questions that arose mid-build. We’d very happily work again with Kate and can thoroughly recommend her services.
Kate Stoddart provided us with architectural services for our house extension. She is very professional and thorough, seeing things from the family perspective, with the very useful ability to predict problems before they arise. This means that her services provide good value for money in the long run, saving on costly changes and re-designs during the build process.
In 2012 we purchased a tired 1930’s bungalow in a Surrey Village. Initially our plan was to remodel and add a second storey to accommodate the needs of a family of four. We started working with Kate in 2013 who helped us explore various options. In the end, we decided that demolishing the existing structure and putting a new build on the site was going to give us a far better space as well as making economic sense. Kate was great in helping us shape our thinking, she immediately understood the priorities for us and the internal contemporary feel we wanted to achieve. She didn’t impose a design on us but listened and, through her experience and expertise, came up with great suggestions that has given us a great family space, one that has proven to work as well in practice as it did in design. I would highly recommend Kate’s services to anyone that wants a progressive architect to take them through such an important process.
Kate helped us every step of the way, with great ideas, plans and drawings, obtaining planning permission and directed us on finding the right builder. Many thanks.
We couldn’t be happier with Kate’s architectural vision for the conversion of our house from a tired 70’s bungalow into a wonderful, award winning, modern building, bathed in light and blessed with beautiful views from it’s floor to ceiling windows. Kate’s ingenuity and creativity at the design stage of our house are something we feel grateful for every day because we absolutely love where we live!