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A & R Design

4.8

45 Reviews

About

We launched A & R Design as a small, local, family business back in 1996, building on the experience we both already had in design and decoration, to offer a high quality service to our clients, encompassing all aspects of property refurbishment and renovation – see what we do.

This original ethos remains at the heart of our business, and we have built on these firm foundations and have gone from strength to strength, by offering only the highest quality service and craftsmanship to all our customers.

We are now a well-established firm, with over 40 years’ combined experience in all aspects of the trade, and we work with a hand-picked team of 30 trusted and fully accredited professionals, each with specialist expertise.

We believe that word of mouth is the best advertising a business can get and the very fact that over 85% of our custom comes from referrals proves to us that we are doing our job right. We have an excellent success rate for finishing our work to the highest standard within budget.

What we do

  • Builders

    • Extensions
    • Loft conversions
    • Garage conversions
    • Building services
    • Plastering
  • Kitchen fitters

    • Kitchen design
    • Kitchen installation
    • Kitchen refurbishment
  • Bathroom fitters

    • Bathroom refurbishment
  • More Services

    • architectural
    • liaising with local authority
    • project manage

Customer reviews

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4.8
45 reviews
Customer Service
4.9
Quality
4.8
Value
4.8
Sort by
Roof leak investigation and repair
Customer Service
Quality
Value
After investigation Bryn Cook went straight to the problem. Stripped the section of roof as required. Repaired and replaced rotted battens and felt and replaced back as new. Job done no more water through our ceiling
Customer in Greater London Posted on 07/11/2024 , work completed 16/10/2024
Excellent quality and professionalism
Customer Service
Quality
Value
I needed a company who could co-ordinate and offer project management for a variety of elements that I wanted undertaken. A & R were recommended by a friend who had used them. I wanted someone whom I could trust and who could guarantee to do what I needed. The work they did was excellent and they were willing go the extra mile when a few changes were needed. They did exterior painting and re-rendering and built an interior downstairs shower room and WC , redecorated the room from which it was created including remoulding the ceiling and liased with flooring and window companies. The workmen who did the work were very considerate and professional I am very pleased with the outcome now it is all finished.
Customer in Greater London Posted on 29/07/2024 , work completed 23/07/2024
Great building work
Customer Service
Quality
Value
Great building work and really helpful advice when re-modelling the rear of our terraced house, via a side return & extension, with assistance on the design of the kitchen. From the moment we met Robert from A&R we had a sense that we were in good hands, and that was the case with everyone who worked on our project. They were honest about the fact things may come up once the work started especially as ours is an older property but there were always helpful and practical choices of solutions offered for the couple of unforeseen things that arose We had some ideas of our kitchen design but Allison was extremely supportive with ideas to help us make decisions We would highly recommend A&R design - Thank you
Customer in Greater London Posted on 30/06/2024 , work completed 14/06/2024
Professional Building Company Offering Excellent Service.
Customer Service
Quality
Value
A&R carried out a kitchen extension for us which included a separate utility room. Rob and Allison were completely professional in their approach to the project. They were responsive to our queries, they offered advice and guidance and were very well organised in keeping to schedule. Everyone who worked on the build - construction, carpenters, plumbing, electrical, plasterers and decorators etc - all were professional, tidy and did excellent work. They were also considerate of our needs as we were living at the property while the work was being carried out. I am extremely happy with the finished product and have received so many compliments from family and friends but also other trades who have been to the property since the work finished. I would definitely use A&R again and would not hesitate to recommend them to others.
Customer in Greater London Posted on 19/01/2024 , work completed 08/12/2023
Refurbishment of bedroom/office
Customer Service
Quality
Value
I was pleased to be able to have A&R Design complete the work upstairs in my house as I had heard only good feedback from others about their work. The flooring repairs were done perfectly and all in one day. They were careful with some items of furniture that could not be moved elsewhere throughout the work and cleaned up everything as they went along. I was particularly impressed with the painting and the attention to detail. The decorator went beyond the call of duty and helped me sort out some things that had not been planned in at the start such as replacing door handles and moving some power points. Despite all that the decorating was done early and I got a fee reduction as a result. Once the work started Allison and the others were quick to help me choosing colours and fabrics as I had little experience and no other help available to me. She also found a new light fitting in lightening quick time which was very thoughtfully chosen. At the end their recommended cleaner came to do a final clean. Overall I was very impressed with what I realise was perhaps a small job for A&R Design but I felt despite that it was given full attention and I would definitely recommend them.
Customer in Greater London Posted on 10/11/2023 , work completed 26/10/2023
Reception room and hallway/landing
Customer Service
Quality
Value
We used A & R Design at the start of this year to complete an over hall to a reception room and hallway / landing. We knew that there was a lot of work that would need doing and wanted a complete team of people who could carry out every aspect of the work including managing it all. We had underfloor heating installed, new flooring and walls plastered. Every member of their team who worked on our house was polite, professional and obviously took great pride in their work. As with any period house, there was some work that needed doing that involved extra costs. This was explained to us clearly and Robert came round to talk us through a variety of options. We always felt that the work was progressing and moving forward. The finished work is amazing. There are a lot of original features and woodwork and Todd the decorator painstakingly painted all of these to a really high standard. He also was great at giving us advice on which paints and colours to use. We are now loving our new space. We would not hesitate to recommend A & R Design and will definitely use them again in the future.
Helen in Greater London Posted on 31/03/2023 , work completed 06/03/2023
Excellent work
Customer Service
Quality
Value
I had an old conservatory replaced with a single storey rear extension and found the team at A&R a pleasure to deal with at every stage. Rob, Allison and Jo were very approachable and efficient, keeping me updated on progress, sourcing and dealing with suppliers and providing a clear and accurate schedule of works and payment schedule. The onsite teams were unfailingly friendly, skilled and considerate which made living with the build far easier than I was expecting. Some time was lost waiting for the glass for windows and doors - a supply chain issue beyond the control of A&R - but once this was resolved, the team worked really hard to ensure that the job was completed on time and on budget. I am delighted with the result - the new space is beautiful inside and out, and has transformed my house.
Customer in Greater London Posted on 29/07/2022 , work completed 15/07/2022
Fantastic work
Customer Service
Quality
Value
A&R Design did a fantastic job. Complete replacement roof, fascias, guttering and painting the pebbledash. The work was completed in the time estimated and I was kept informed all the way through. All the guys worked hard and cleaned up after themselves. I can really recommend Todd who completed the painting meticulously. Whenever I had a query Robert would immediately pop by to discuss. So I would definitely recommend for anyone needing building work.
Customer in Greater London Posted on 04/07/2022 , work completed 29/06/2022
Extension and extensive redevelopment work
Customer Service
Quality
Value
Through the later stages of the pandemic we had extensive work done at a newly occupied bungalow. We worked with an architect from December 2020 and work started in May 2021 We had a new first floor installed consisting of a bathroom, a sitting room with kitchenette and two bedrooms. We lived in the property, downstairs the whole time this was carried out with little inconvenience to us. Stairs were put in in July 2021 ready for us to move upstairs in September2021 for a complete refurbishment of the downstairs of an extension of a new kitchen, replastering of all the walls to the required insulation standards, complete renewal of all electricity, and double glazing and installation of downstairs toilet, utility room and ensuite to main bedroom. The main work was completed by December 2021Only two days were lost when steels were not available. The highlight of the work was the ease with which suggestions and changes to the architects design was made by the builders, the help and suggestions made for all the fittings and finishes which we had. The quality of the work is excellent and the foreman in charge was really helpful to us with his own suggestions and keeping us informed of the next steps being undertaken and anticipating any decisions we needed to make. We were always kept informed and any ideas we had were considered and incorporated as far as possible and little extras were accommodated. Customer care was paramount
Customer in Greater London Posted on 21/06/2022 , work completed 21/12/2021
Started well but went very wrong
Customer Service
Quality
Value
We engaged A&R to undertake a project to renovate out home, whilst we remained living there. The scope included removal of a chimney stack, replacing several ceilings and floors, replacement of hot water and heating systems, a rewire, and a bathroom refit, with a project budget in excess of one hundred thousand pounds. Work started well and A&R contractors were polite and professional, with work largely progressing in line with the expected two and a half month duration. However, it was clear that there was a resource shortfall which caused the plumbing to fall steadily behind. In order to help the plumbers catch up, we agreed to have the old boiler removed before the new boiler was installed, on a promise that we would have heat again in a few days. A&R’s plumbers walked away from the job a day later which left us with no heating for two months; just after a large part of the house had been plastered. The cold weather and the humidity from the plaster made life very unpleasant. After this, we received inflated invoices with duplicate and, in some cases, concealed charges. Although the charges were removed when challenged, A&R were remarkably unapologetic about the more than eighteen thousand pounds they tried to add incorrectly. The rewire was only partially completed with dangerous wiring left in-situ. Ultimately, after over six months, A&R abandoned site leaving us with a substantially unusable home which we are having to have remedied by others. We have since discovered other customers with similar experiences.
Customer in Greater London Posted on 11/03/2022 , work completed 24/02/2022
The trader replied (on 15/03/2022)
Thank you for your feedback. We are very saddened your experience with us has made you feel this way. We always try to accommodate changes relating to the original scope of works regardless of how these changes may affect our timescales and the impact on our future project start dates. When project changes are taking place daily, it is a challenging task keeping on top of costs. This has highlighted an area of improvement that we will be focusing on going forward and how we can manage these changes effectively. These areas of improvement will directly relate to communicating quickly and efficiently with our clients providing the exact details along with any cost adjustments. The key element of this improvement and the most challenging one is to do this quickly whilst keeping the project moving. Unfortunately, we did make some costing errors and have put tighter procedures in place to prevent that from happening again. We once again sincerely apologise for this and the distress this caused. We always work very hard to be as transparent as possible with our clients, trust is a very important part of a healthy working relationship. We are sorry you felt abandoned, we feel we did our very best to work with you towards a satisfactory close. We never walk away from projects unfinished and certainly not with any dangerous wiring remaining. We would have preferred to have been given the opportunity to complete and are still very happy to do so.