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Red-brick mansion blocks and shopfronts on a street corner

Surveys and design

Interior layout design for London homes

A good layout decides how a house feels long before any finish goes on. We survey the property, then draw furnished options that fit rooms, doors and stairs to the way you live or let, from £439 with the measured survey included. The result is a plan a builder or lender can read.

From £239 drawings + £200 survey (£439 total), no VAT to add

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, no VAT to add

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We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
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    The fixed fee for interior layout design

    Drawings
    from £239
    Measured survey
    £200
    Total you pay
    from £439

    No VAT to add. The fee is fixed in writing after a free constraints check of your address.

    What you get

    • A measured survey of the existing layout
    • Two furnished layout options drawn to scale
    • Circulation, door swings and clear floor shown
    • A check against the national bedroom benchmark
    • A short note on what each option gains and loses
    • One round of revisions
    Request your fixed quoteCall 020 7131 9703
    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on interior layout design

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    What space planning does

    It answers practical questions before money is spent. Does a double bed fit with the wardrobe door open? Can the kitchen take a table? Does moving a wall gain a room or lose a corridor?

    We draw each option to scale with real furniture sizes, and show circulation so doors, stairs and clear floor are all visible. That finds the awkward corner on paper rather than on site.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    A yardstick for bedroom sizes

    Government publishes a national benchmark for new homes. Where a council has adopted it in its local plan, it is a planning test; the standard itself calls it "A means of classification for assessment purposes when designing new homes and seeking planning approval, if a local authority has adopted the space standard in its Local Plan." Elsewhere it is simply a sensible reference.

    For bedrooms it asks for a single room of at least 7.5 square metres and 2.15 metres wide, and a double or twin of at least 11.5 square metres, with one double room 2.75 metres wide. It also asks for a floor to ceiling height of 2.3 metres over most of the floor area.

    We use these numbers as a check, not a straitjacket. In an older London house the plan often keeps character and gets close; we tell you where it falls short and by how much.

    For owners and for lettings

    Owners use a layout to test a knock-through, a new bathroom or a loft room before a builder is called. The plan can go on to become floor plans for a sale or planning drawings if the scheme needs permission.

    Landlords and investors use it to make each room earn its place. A shared house needs rooms that suit tenants and meet the licensing rules, so our plans sit comfortably beside an HMO conversion scheme. The same drawings help a lender or agent see what you are offering.

    What you receive

    A measured survey of the existing layout, then two furnished layout options on one sheet each, with dimensions where they matter and a short note on what each gains and loses.

    If you choose one, we can take it forward. Choosing is yours; we do not push the most expensive route, and a layout that needs no structural work will say so on the page.

    How it works

    Tell us the address and what you want the house to do. We survey, draw and send the options, then revise once after your comments.

    If the survey shows the idea does not fit, we say so before drawing a second option. A feasibility study is the better tool if you are weighing an extension against a re-plan.

    The national rules in figures

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Nationally Described Space Standard, paragraph 10(c): single bedroom floor area for one bedspace7.5 square metres—assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Nationally Described Space Standard, paragraph 10(c): minimum width of a single bedroom2.15 metres—assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Nationally Described Space Standard, paragraph 10(d): double or twin bedroom floor area for two bedspaces11.5 square metres—assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Nationally Described Space Standard, paragraph 10(e): width of one double or twin bedroom2.75 metres—assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Nationally Described Space Standard, paragraph 10(i): minimum floor to ceiling height for at least 75 per cent of the gross internal area2.3 metres—assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Nationally Described Space Standard, paragraph 6: when the standard is usedA means of classification for assessment purposes when designing new homes and seeking planning approval, if a local authority has adopted the space standard in its Local Plan—assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Building regulations, layer by layerPart A: structure: Approved Document A: Structure, 2004 edition incorporating 2004, 2010 and 2013 amendments. Part B: fire safety: All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604. Part L: insulation: New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4. Part K: stairs: 2.0 m clear headroom over stairs. Full plans application: Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writingPart A: structurePart B: fire safetyPart L: insulationPart K: stairsFull plans applicationABCDE

    Building regulations, layer by layer

    The Approved Documents that shape most house projects, from structure to the application itself.

    A · Part A: structure
    Approved Document A: Structure, 2004 edition incorporating 2004, 2010 and 2013 amendments
    B · Part B: fire safety
    All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604
    C · Part L: insulation
    New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4
    D · Part K: stairs
    2.0 m clear headroom over stairs
    E · Full plans application
    Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writing

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London
    Points, not guesses
    Paint across the grid with the pointer.

    Questions

    Is this interior design with finishes and colours?

    No. It is space planning: where walls, doors, furniture and fittings go. Finishes are a separate decision.

    Do you check planning and building regulations?

    We flag where a layout would need either. Moving a stair or opening a wall often triggers building regulations, and we tell you.

    Does the national bedroom benchmark apply to my house?

    Only if your council has adopted it in its local plan. We use it as a reference either way and say which case applies.

    Can I use the plan to get quotes?

    Yes. A scaled plan with dimensions helps builders price the same thing.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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