Karen is a rarity in the design business; she is gifted with great design ability and style and she is an excellent businesswoman. So, she will design to your wishes and budget and then carry out the work as agreed. She pays close attention to detail, meets deadlines, handles follow up with suppliers; she will not leave any loose ends. I learned about Karen's business on the Best of Richmond website. We are now empty nesters who have always lived in period properties and have 20 years of accumulated treasures from our travels around the world. We moved to a contemporary home. I asked Karen to help me integrate important pieces and to locate some accent pieces to make this house our home. Karen was able to guide us to think about ways to place, display, and use our pieces; this is really the first time that we have really been able to see and use many of the items that are precious to us. Karen's creativity shone through in re-hanging artwork and fabrics that had just been in storage and also in how she was able to find just the perfect accent pieces to pull together our new look. We wanted comfort not a museum. Our home reflects our taste, likes and dislikes with Karen's lovely touch and it is finished on time and on budget.
Date Added:
February 2009
We asked Karen to turn our 3 bed roomed terraced Victorian house into an elegant and spacious family home. The house needed extending to create additional space and redecorating throughout. We wanted a contemporary feel, whilst maintaining the original features of the house.
Karen designed a loft space, which incorporated our needs perfectly through careful planning and by determining how and when we use these new rooms. The same was true for the side extension to the kitchen downstairs, which she cleverly turned into an area that is now the main family hub and which, in the summer, extends into the garden. Karen then redecorated the whole house, incorporating the old with the new, to produce a light, contemporary feeling throughout. She found us beautiful furniture, wall finishes and accessories from specialist suppliers, which blend together perfectly, that we would never have found by ourselves.
We were not surprised by the end result as Karen proved to be fastidious and detailed about every part of the project. This included the pricing side, which was important for our budget. If you are looking for a designer to help you create something unique and right for you, we would highly recommend karenoliverdesign.
Date Added:
February 2009
I cannot recommend Karen highly enough. She is the ultimate professional, with great attention to detail along with a passion for good design. She listened very carefully to what we wanted and translated our ramblings into a well thought out design that was both imaginative and realistic. She is knowledgeable and confident about what will and won't work, but was always flexible in terms of accomodating any particular requests. Not only is she talented at what she does, she's also a pleasure to work with. I always felt Karen had everything under control at all times which is reassuring. She has created a beautiful room and has transformed it from the least-used room in the house into the most-used room. My advice to anyone thinking of getting an interior designer is to hire Karen - now!
Date Added:
February 2009
I contacted Karen to get some advice on updating my master bedroom. Karen immediately challenged our perceptions by suggesting we not only change the bedroom we were using as our master bedroom, but knock through into another bedroom to create a master bedroom and dressing room to impress. Karen has the ability to visualise your space in a totally different way to the way you look at it yourself. She will ensure that your thoughts and ideas are at the heart of the project, but she will then build on that to create something completely new for you. Karen worked her magic on our master bedroom and turned it from a dull and outdated bedroom into a living space that lifts me up every time I walk into it. I love every minute I spend in my new room and I'm glad we made the changes we did.