Space Planning Services in Richmond, Victoria

“We first met Jo-Anne in 2001 as a recommendation from the director at the company I worked for. With my new house plans complete and a kitchen designed by a builder/draftsman (it was horrendous). My first conversation with her was about budget. I didn't have his budget, heck, I had next to nothing to work with and she agreed to work with what we had to spend and the space provided in the plans. Jo-Anne managed to increase our overall bench space for prep, our storage and the overall workability of our kitchen. We loved the narrow cupboard next to the fridge to store the mugs/cups/wine glasses - it made the flow so much easier. An additional glass door cabinet was included external of the kitchen which made perfect sense for my inherited crystal & china. It was more than we could imagine and her chosen colour palette in 2001, still looks current and modern today. Move forward to 2008, we downsized after children to a smaller modest house and on a budget, we were going to renovate the kitchen. A call to Jo-Anne and she changed the U shaped design to an L shape with an island bench with storage on 3 sides and additional banquette seating which our family love!!! The kitchen is a dream to entertain in and feed a young family. Such smart advice on layout, appliances and palette again. Now its 2013, we are building again - a townhouse closer to the city. First port of call after the "new" builder designed our plans was Jo-Anne. She has done the unbelievable again. As an added bonus, she has redesigned my laundry as it sits behind the kitchen - storage queen and appliance brains trust are what comes to mind when I think of Jo-Anne. We hope to start the build in the new year, I can't wait to see her plans come to life. What I love about this new design is that we have a narrow townhouse 6.5 metres wide and Jo-Anne has managed to construct a hidden wall of storage in the kitchen including study, an enormous pantry suitable for my war cupboard supply of canned & staple goods... just in case... an appliance cupboard that will hide my husbands coffee/breakfast mess and smart storage throughout the kitchen & laundry - all of this is hidden and our townhouse still looks large and open - I just close the doors and don't have to look at the mess created minutes before. Love it. I would say that I am an easy client, I think she reads people well from your conversations, but I would probably say that I have a high list of what I want, but I don't have a budget to pay for what I want. Jo-Anne has smart ideas that save your budget, but don't cheapen the end product. Spend wisely on what works. All that and she is also a great cook - oh your muffins were amazing - I have never been offered freshly baked muffins by my builder when I go in for a planning discussion... I just wish Jo-Anne designed entire houses... well I have never asked - she may? Thank you for everything to do with my kitchens. Wendy”

“We contacted Emmy after meeting with other designers who weren’t quite what we were looking for. From our first meeting we were comfortable that Emmy was listening to us and had plenty of ideas to offer. We had a house that hadn’t been touched since it was built in the early 80s. It was in need of a major update, including some changes to internal walls to make more efficient use of space. We had a layout sketch and a list of ideas, but that was about it. After consultation, Emmy came to us with a presentation which included detailed plans, room concepts, finish and accessory ideas and material samples. This gave our project a tangible end-result which excited us. Emmy arranged a builder and tradesmen who were easy to work with and did a great job. She kept us regularly updated about the project, including the schedule and the work behind the scenes. Unforseen problems are inevitable in a project of this scale, and the few that arose were dealt with quickly and without fuss. The whole project took around 12 months as we chose to live in the house while the work went on around us. Thanks to the friendly and understanding builder together with Emmy’s enthusiastic encouragement, the time spent “living in a building site” seemed to pass quickly. The end result exceeded our expectations… the house is liveable, comfortable and a delight to look at. It is a year since the project was completed, and still every day I look around the house and smile. I have no hesitation in recommending Emmy for a major house update. John - Mitcham”

“After having moved into a Unit I tried to arrange the furniture in pretty much the default position. To make matters worse I unpacked all my items from my previous unit and placed them wherever they fitted (or so I thought) . Unfortunately the furniture didn't look like it "belonged" and the rest of the place looked cluttered. Not happy with my choices I engaged the services of Lewisham Interiors in order to help me bring out the best of my new place and right my wrongs. Larissa arrived and effortlessly transformed the place making use of the space better than I could have imagined. The clutter was gone, I had room to move, and everything was arranged in a manner that was perfect. Not only did Larissa make this process look easy but she also made me feel at ease and not embarrassed about my original choices. Thanks Larissa. You have a gift.”