Best High-End Interior Design and Build Companies in London: How to Choose for a Prime Home
The best high-end interior design and build company for a prime London home is the one that designs and prices at the same time, makes or controls its own joinery, and runs a quiet, tightly managed site that your neighbours barely notice. Beautiful drawings are common; drawings that get built to the millimetre, on budget, in a mansion block or a Knightsbridge terrace, are not.
This guide compares the ways you can buy a high-end interior in London, the seven criteria that matter, and where Craftex fits, including when you'd be better off with someone else.
Three ways to buy a high-end interior
- Designer, then contractor. You appoint an interior design studio, it completes the design, and the work is tendered to a fit-out contractor. You get design freedom and a competitive build price, but two firms and a gap between them.
- Contractor-led. You appoint a luxury fit-out contractor that builds to a design you already have.
- Design and build. One company designs and builds, so design and cost decisions are made together and one party is responsible for the result.
None of these is right for everyone. Our guide to design and build vs traditional procurement explains the trade-offs in contract terms.
The 7 criteria for a prime interior
1. Design that's priced as it's drawn
The most common failure in high-end work is a design that comes back from tender far over budget, followed by months of value engineering. Ask how the firm keeps cost in view during design, and when you'll see the first real price.
2. Joinery made, or tightly controlled, by the firm
Bespoke joinery defines a prime interior and is often the longest lead item. A firm that makes or directly manages its own joinery controls quality and timing; one that subcontracts it controls neither.
3. Specialist finishes done by trained hands
Polished plasters, decorative paints, stone, timber panelling and mirror work show every flaw. Ask who applies them and how those trades were trained.
4. Long-lead procurement planned up front
Stone, joinery, lighting and ironmongery can take months. Ask for a procurement schedule before work starts on site.
5. Discretion and neighbour protection
Prime addresses come with neighbours, managing agents, building rules and working-hour limits. Noise, access, deliveries and protection should be planned before day one.
6. One point of accountability
When the stone doesn't line up with the joinery, someone has to own it. Ask who.
7. A real handover and aftercare
At this level, the client inspects closely. Ask how snagging is handled and what happens in the first months of living in the home.
Interior design and build options compared
| Interior design studio (design only) | Architect-led practice | Luxury fit-out contractor (build only) | Project management company | Design and build with in-house joinery (Craftex) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design | Core strength | Strong, especially where layout or structure changes | No: builds your design | No: manages others | In-house design |
| Build | Tendered to a contractor | Tendered to a contractor | Core strength | Appoints others | In-house construction team |
| Joinery | Designed, then made by others | Designed, then made by others | Often subcontracted | Not applicable | Self-delivered: Craftex began in 2016 as a carpentry and joinery company |
| Cost certainty during design | Low until tender | Low until tender | Only once the design is complete | Depends on the team | Design and price developed together |
| Accountability | Split between designer and builder | Split | For the build only | For coordination | One team, design to handover |
| Best for | Owners who want a particular designer's style | Major remodelling, planning or listed building work | Owners who already have a finished design | Owners who want a representative on a large project | Owners who want design, cost and build decided together |
| Watch for | Tender coming back over budget | Fees and programme | Design gaps left to the site | An extra layer of fees | Check our work matches your taste and scale |
What our high-end work shows
- Herbert Crescent, Knightsbridge. A £1.5M prime residential refurbishment: 450 m² over a 32-week programme. We self-delivered the bespoke joinery, managed every specialist trade directly, controlled noise and access for the neighbours, checked finish quality continuously rather than at the end, and ran a defined aftercare period after handover.
- Kensington Olympia penthouse. A 400 m² penthouse designed and refurbished in 12 weeks as main contractor, from concept to completion. More than 1,000 m² of walls and ceilings were redecorated, including Italian decorative paint applied by decorators we trained for the finish, with bespoke wardrobes, a new dressing room and bevelled mirror cladding.
- Pan Peninsula penthouse, Canary Wharf. Interior design and reconstruction of a 290 m² penthouse in 10 weeks: walls removed for an open plan, all services reconfigured and tested, smart home features added, and the balcony restored.
- Drake's, Savile Row. Commercial rather than residential, but the same craft: a £410K refit of a flagship store with bespoke timber fixturing, 120 m² in 12 weeks with the shop trading throughout.
The team
- Rafael Porzycki, Head of Design & Planning: 15 years.
- Joe Crawford, Operations Director: 37 years in construction, on projects of up to £135M in previous roles, including the Dior flagship on Bond Street.
- Martin Hickey, Preconstruction Director: more than 50 years in construction.
- Konstantin Jegorovs, Projects Director: 16 years, Oxford Brookes construction management graduate.
- Sviatoslav (Sviat) Jerdetchii, CEO and Founder, mechanical engineering background. Founded Craftex in 2016 as a carpentry and joinery company, which is why joinery is still made and managed in-house.
Where Craftex is not the right fit
- Design budgets under £15,000. Our minimum design order is £15,000, and construction projects start from £100,000. If that's more than you plan to spend, a smaller studio or decorator will serve you better.
- Furnishing and styling only. If you don't need building work, a styling or furniture-led studio is the right choice.
- You've fallen for one designer's signature style. Hire that designer, then choose a build-only contractor to deliver the drawings.
- Major structural remodelling of a listed house where heritage consent drives everything may need an architect-led team from the start.
How to choose in five steps
- Decide which of the three buying routes suits you.
- Look at completed projects, in person if you can, not only renders.
- Ask who makes the joinery and who applies the specialist finishes.
- Ask when you'll get a real price, and how cost is controlled during design.
- Meet the people who will run your site, and ask about neighbours, building rules and aftercare.
See our high-end interior design service and high-end residential renovation, and our guide to luxury home design costs.
