Small, bespoke interior design company, 7 years as part of colour specialist Dulux's design service, 5 Houzz awards, specialising in working with people who may not have used an interior designer before. Offering a number of structured, fixed price design packages that keep costs under control and the client fully in charge of the design direction without being abandoned!
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28 customer reviews
Mathew Owen
I cannot recommend Vicki highly enough. Seeking first-time help designing and project-managing a refurb on a small flat, I spoke to lots of other designers before lighting upon Balance Design. One conversation was enough to convince me – Vicki explained her process lucidly, asked me methodically about my intentions and throughout was warm, friendly and patient. The three in-person meetings underpinning her design process were held at my flat, some considerable distance from Vicki’s base and all at weekends at my request – a first-rate service. In these meetings, her calm, undogmatic manner and great sense of humour made what I was very apprehensive about become a breeze. I should say that she hits the sweet-spot between too much and too little guidance: Vicki’s experience enabled her to guide me around ideas, possibilities and pitfalls, never imposing any preconceptions of her own on the style I wanted but moderating it to reality and taste. It felt truly supportive and collaborative. The brief was to spruce up a one-bed newish-build flat to my rather trad tastes while leaving it of sufficiently general appeal for onward sale in the medium term. I thought this was a pretty brutal brief, but Vicki seemed to get it so clearly and produced some amazing ideas I’d never even considered. The final sketches, pricings and floor plans were amazing. If you want a designer who will guide without leading, listen without slavishly obeying, help in all ways without fussing or surrendering her warmth and humour, go for Vicki. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
Tom B
I have used Vicki in the past and needed advice on tying in the colours in the areas of my home that were not part of her original work. I had a variety of different shades I was considering which she helped me review with regard to how much natural light was in each area, what colours were in adjoining areas and how to treat open plan sections. I find her incredibly easy and reassuring to work with as she gives real consideration to my preferences whilst explaining the rationale for why she thinks one shade works better than another. A very happy repeat customer! More...
Reviewed on Houzz
Sheila
Vicky is an absolute gem. I was looking for an interior designer to just help me with some paint colours as I'm looking to overhaul my house. I'm also having a new kitchen installed and wasn't quite sure of the design. I trawled through goggle and mistakenly called Vicky thinking it was someone else, After a few minutes conversation, I knew straight away she was the one I'm looking for. Vicky listens and work with you, She comes up with brilliant and different options for your project. She is incredible, always finding best ways in working with your budget without cutting corners on standards. She is very professional to the core. Vicky is extremely helpful and goes out of her way to assist in every possible way. I can't wait to see the finished product of my project. Thank you Vicky for lighting up my world again. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
Ricky Gondhia
Vicki is a complete lifesaver! My wife and I are having an outbuilding made at the bottom of our garden. We are self-confessed non-creative people and were worried that we’d spend a lot of money to end up with something that looked bland. Cue Vicki! We spoke to a range of interior designers but Vicki stood out and she really seemed to ‘get us’ from the outset. She first met us face to face to find out more about us as a family (ie how untidy and disorganised we are!), what we needed from the space, what life stage we were at as a family and how to future proof the area. Both myself and my wife had very different ideas about what we wanted – my wife wanted a Hamptons-style coastal room and I wanted a nightclub! Vicki managed to find the sweet spot and produce a design that worked for all of us as a family. What I really valued was the ongoing conversation. We had a whatsapp group where we could share ideas and then a ‘directional’ meeting where Vicki could show us what she was thinking (including examples of lighting, tile and fabric samples etc). This gave us the opportunity to change direction if we didn’t like where it was going. We felt this was a much better approach than getting a ‘big reveal’ a few weeks after an initial meeting – it gave us confidence throughout the process that we were definitely going to like the final design and feel. At the end of the process, we had professionally printed moodboards that showed us visual impressions of what the room would look like, the colour palette, and links for recommended items we could purchase. From initially being in a position where we were daunted and had no idea, we ended up confident that we knew what we needed to do. The only problem with the process is that we now want her to sort out the rest of our house!!! More...
Reviewed on Houzz
Design bedrooms and living rooms
Vicki is absolutely amazing! This was my first home and I had an idea what I wanted in my head but I didn’t know how to clearly articulate this to someone else. Vicki’s approach was great, we went through several designs until we could clearly define what my style was. I enjoyed every bit of building my portfolio and so beautiful to see it all crystallise. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
Jay Kang
Vicki is an absolute pleasure to work with! I trawled through several profiles before I found Vicki. I called her and knew pretty much straight away she was the one I was going to go forward with for our house renovation. I needed help with a layout for the extension as well as the interior design and didn't want to hire an architect and she came up with some great suggestions which helped us arrange the room better. She listens and understands her clients and also she is very relatable and gets on with everyone involved. I would highly recommend Vicky if you are looking for some who is great at her job, professional, someone that will listen and understand your requirements. She made us think outside the box and that's what we continue to do going forward with our house renovation. Thank you Vicki! x More...
Reviewed on Houzz
Keyur Shah
Very professional and gave some great suggestions to improve the overall asthethics. Not only did Vicky help with the interior designing aspects which was her main mandate but she also advised on a couple of architecture points and I am glad we took her advice. Highly recommended.
Reviewed on Houzz
Builders Team
Builders Team. As a contractor, we are always looking to work with designers who know their craft. We completed several projects with Vicki and each project was a pleasure to work on. Key points: professionalism, great communications skills, project time management, and great teamwork towards the completion of the projects. We will definitely work together in the future and recommend her to our clients. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
Joanne Whitehead
Vicki has been hugely helpful in formulating ideas for a kitchen, lounge and bedroom in a new extension. We had not used an interior designer before and were a bit apprehensive about the process. She talked to us at length to find out what we wanted to achieve, rather than imposing her style on us, but also challenged us to ‘think outside the box’. I’m really looking forward to implementing her exciting ideas - bold colour blocking, here we come! More...
Reviewed on Houzz
HU-65404639
Vicki has been invaluable in helping us progress our ground floor remodel. We would still be stuck 'discussing' kitchen door colours without her.
Her delivery is very professional and I feel she has listened to all opinions throughout the process and then guided us to make the best choices so we will achieve our desired result.
She also encouraged us to be confident with our colour choices and taken a lot of time and effort away from us having to research finishes. Making this process so much easier and quicker with her vast knowledge of products and styles.
I would recommend to anyone who is hesitant in using a designer to book a consultation with Vicki before getting too far into your project. You will not be disappointed in the help and guidance you receive.
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Reviewed on Houzz
mandy_mahon
I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Vicki on what had been a rather stressful loft conversion. I contacted her quite late in the process because we realised that the head height we were getting wasn’t as high as we had expected and the space was much more awkward than it looked on paper. Immediately, Vicki spotted the issues in our plans and helped us to rearrange the space to get the most that we could from it. Then she worked with me to chose a beautiful colour palette and proposed design ideas that I would never have thought of. Even her help choosing paint colours has meant that we won’t need to go through the 20+ samples we might usually try!! I am now really excited about getting her design completed and moving into our new room. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
Michael Jelloe
Excellent and outstanding planning and completely outside the box thinking and delivery .. always willing to listen with a balance perspective between client and contractor and supports well . .. excellent choice and will commission again ! More...
Reply from Balance Design Ltd
Thank you so much Michael, really appreciate your kind words. Looking forward to enjoying a cocktail at Escape bar in Crystal Palace!! Shameless plug there! ;-)
Tomoko
I can’t say enough great things about Vicki! She listened to my concerns and was able to bring creative ideas to solve my design dilemmas! Working with Vicki was such a wonderful experience. The consultation with Vicki was like a lesson on colour, fabric or design. I enjoyed ever consulation. We have more rooms to finish and I am looking forward to finishing with Vicki. More...
Reply from Balance Design Ltd
You're very kind Tomoko! It was a bit of a puzzle sorting out what needed to stay and what to be replaced, but once we had that worked out, then everything began to fall into place. Onwards!
Tomoko B
I can’t say enough great things about Vicki! She listened to my concerns and was able to bring creative ideas to solve my design dilemmas! Working with Vicki was such a wonderful experience. The consultation with Vicki was like a lesson on colour, fabric or design. I enjoyed every consulation. We have more rooms to finish and I am looking forward to finishing with Vicki. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
Samantha Beere
I hired Vicki to refurbish my entire house to bring it together with a common style and theme - I've lived here for 22 years but had only decorated each room in a piecemeal fashion as I went along over the years and therefore nothing matched.
Vicki understood what I was trying to achieve and came up with some fantastic suggestions; I learned a huge amount from her.
She took some of the boring legwork out of the project by sourcing furnishings for me to choose from - all of which fitted the overall design theme. This was a hugely enjoyable part of the process. It's also where her knowledge and expertise was invaluable and saved me enormous amounts of time and money.
Vicki also project managed it for me, sourcing and dealing with the builders and negotiating various discounts for me along the way. This was a huge relief for me as I didn't want to deal with this side of it.
Vicki also helped with the garden - she brought the themes of the house into the garden, toning down a bright yellow wall to a more calming pale pink and replacing orange decking with a more classy grey. This also helped bring the house and garden together.
I asked Vicki to find me some unusual items - a bidet loo for example, which has turned out to be a terrific buy! And a 'cat tower' for the cats to sit on in the garden. She had ideas for things I'd never heard of - an LED strip in the living room totally transformed the space by adding a soft uplight for example. She also focussed my love of colour into bright 'splashes' amidst calming neutral backdrops.
She was always reliable and did her job brilliantly well - she was very easy to work with and we got on well. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending her.
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Reviewed on Houzz
susan_shaughnessy6
Vicki's brief was very broad. We are renovating our large semi-detached house and wanted some professional advice regarding colour schemes, lighting and flooring options.
Vicki was happy to tailor her service to our needs and spent over 4 hours going over the house. She had an answer to virtually everything we asked and I was really surprised to be able to choose colours with Vicki's help by the end of her visit. We won't necessarily stick to those exact colours but is is really helpful to have a good starting point.
She is also prepared to be a sounding board for additional queries and has already responded to a couple of questions I forgot to ask while she was here. It's the first time I've ever paid for design advice and I think it was money well-spent.
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Reviewed on Houzz
waldianni
Vicki truly is very in touch with her clients' needs. I am so pleased with the design, selection of furniture and décor. She managed to find all furniture etc in a small budget. She proofs once and for all that interior designers are not just for the rich and famous! And as a bonus she explained the concepts so well, that I was able to use it through out our house. Now that is what I would call extreme value for money. Thanks Vicki! More...
Reviewed on Houzz
hpembe
I wanted Vicki Wharton to prepare a design pack for my kitchen sitting room
The style I requested was for a non fussy modern ,plain furniture,but with a sumptuous feel over all.
Vicki listened attentively to my ideas and showed a passionate ,positive and honest attitude for the design process. Throughout the process Vicki was always very accommodating and adaptable
I was excited to see how the chosen paint pallet ,along with the different textures and shapes were expertly pulled together to meet all my requirements . A very happy customer
Highly recommended
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Reviewed on Houzz
olga_v_adam
We invited Vicky because we wanted to renovate the house but did not exactly know what we wanted :). And had no idea about the colour scheme we wanted. She exactly understood our style and implemented it through our house. Even though as it was done i had my doubts i am really happy i trusted her. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
nixxi72
I was very pleased with the contemporary art deco design, that Balance Design created for the bedrooms in my 1930s home. The colour scheme, furniture, and fabrics chosen, work very well together, and definitely provide the 'wow' factor that I was looking for. Vicki often went out of her way to accommodate me, as I couldn't always meet with her to discuss ideas within working hours. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
d_dadds
Vicki worked with us on from the start of our 12 month 6 bedroom house renovation project. From the start she patiently worked with us through the seemingly daunting process of agreeing a theme and colour schedules through out all areas of the house and then put into action where we needed souring the various materials including paint, wallpaper and curtains. Would highly recommenced Vicki to anyone who is looking for a professional interior designer More...
Reviewed on Houzz
john_f_hughes
Vicky is very good indeed. Her designs are very good a skilful and she does not force them on you, allowing you to amend them as you wish. Her project management is excellent and she takes all the strain of running a big project off your hands. I used her both for my mother's flat and for my own house and she was excellent. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
annestordy
Vicki helped us to achieve a lovely colour scheme and furnishing design for the open plan living area in our converted stables. Her ability to inspire us with new ideas as well as to build on our own has been an invaluable asset. She has sourced some excellent furnishing items with an eye for good value for money. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
petravic32
We received a very personal service. Vicki listen and cared about our wishes. She was aware of our budget and was sticking to it and at times even was under. As a result we are able to have much nice home then expected. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
bhachus
I contacted Vicki a few months ago after moving into a our first home. We were both stuck for ideas, whilst we knew what we didn't like we were not sure on what we did like.
Vickie has been amazing helping us with ideas colour schemes and bringing our home to life in a style that suits us. In addition to that Vicki has an amazing eye for detail and has found amazing products and furniture for our home. She will work at your pace so no rush ( I am planning a wedding and trying to get the house done at the same time), she has taken away the house stress so I'm happily focusing on wedding planning.
We are still happily working with Vicki would recommend her in a heart beat.
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Reviewed on Houzz
alexh_public_hz
Friendly and polite service. Took into account all my tastes and opinions. and gave accurate estimates for the length of time each stage would take. Very pleased with the design.
Reviewed on Houzz
arek piotrowski
I have worked with Balance Design Ltd for the past 6 years, installing Vicki's designs with a number of clients. She is easy to work with, organised and professional in her approach to both clients and trades people. Before a design installation is costed by myself, Vicki walks me and the client through the design so that we can assess any difficulties and work through solutions before the quotes are produced so that costings are accurate and time scales understood and agreed before work is begun. Time and budget plans and an order of work are agreed at the beginning of a project so that the client knows what is happening and when at each stage of the job. Sites are cleaned at the end of each day and together we strive to create an atmosphere of friendly cooperation on site so that any unforeseen problems can be quickly and efficiently resolved with minimum stress to everyone. We are fully insured, as is Balance Design and have been professionally assessed by Dulux, as well as additionally by Check A Trade and Trust Mark on Balance Design's side. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
sarah_fells
I am a Senior Property Manager, working for the second largest managing agents in the UK. I first hired Balance Design Ltd in 2013 through a recommendation and have since this time worked with Vicki Wharton on a further 4-5 interior design projects. I have always been extremely satisfied with the service and with their designs, as have my clients. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking for high quality interior design services. More...
Reviewed on Houzz
What’s your interior design process?
I normally start by phoning the client and outlining how I work and talking through what the client wants so that I can work out the best package for them. This is followed up by a briefing meeting on site where we work out a colour palette,a list of items the design should incorporate, an overall design style, room measurements and any other issues that need to be noted. This brief is then confirmed in writing and approximately two weeks later three design concepts are presented to the client for their input and preferences. The outcome of this directional meeting usually forms the backbone of the final design scheme, which is presented approximately two weeks later via electronic mood boards and hard copies with prices, samples and room layout attached.
At this stage the client can either decide to install the design themselves or commission part or all of it to be supplied and installed by Balance Design Ltd.
Which interior design styles can you cater for?
Anything the client can describe and that I can imagine!
What do you love most about your job?
Every job is different and what I love is seeing a design emerge from the directional meeting. It's very satisfying seeing a client move from being confused and unsure to feeling confident and happy in the choices they are making for their home.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I've always wanted to be an interior designer and have dabbled in property renovation whilst working in public relations in the interiors sector. Having a child and looking to develop a career where I could work from home gave me the push I needed to retrain in interior design and then work with Dulux as part of their interior design service for seven years before branching out on my own.
Why should our clients choose you?
I'm a great listener and really work to ensure I'm using my skills to create the interior you will love. You won't get any theatrics, attitude or ego with me - I work in partnership with my clients to make the whole process of creating their home as hassle free as possible.
Can you provide your services online or remotely? If so, please add details.
I am happy to provide on line services via Zoom apart from directional meeting where clients need to see/feel fabrics.
What changes have you made to keep your customers safe from Covid-19?
I am fully vaccinated, wear a mask and hand wash on arrival when visiting clients' homes. I can do most of the work via Zoom or phone where necessary, however, certain parts of the design process such as measuring up and clients selecting fabrics really needs to be done face to face for accurate colour/texture choice - but social distancing and good ventilation is perfectly possible for these meetings.
Interior Design
Fixed price interior design service helping clients to select a style, colour palette, fabrics, furnishings, flooring, artwork and other items to make their house a home.
Project Management
Experienced project management service helping clients plan work schedule, staged payments, work delivery and overall quality on site
Product sourcing and installation
Experienced at product sourcing and installation including furniture, flooring, carpets, furnishing, interior and exterior lighting kitchens, bathrooms and window treatments
Estate Agent Viewing assessments
On site consultations available in visiting potential properties prior to purchase to assess change in layout, use and permitted development opportunities
