Kitchen with dark wooden cabinets, a small countertop with appliances, a window seat with pillows, and a view of a dining area with a vase of flowers.

Architects for Refurbishment

& Interior Renovations

Reworking your home from the inside out

Refurbishing your home is an opportunity to rethink how it works - improving layout, upgrading performance, and creating spaces that feel more aligned with the way you live today.

At ReFrame Studio, we approach refurbishment and interior renovation as a careful process of transformation. Whether it’s a light-touch reconfiguration or a full-scale upgrade, we focus on unlocking the potential of your existing home - bringing clarity, cohesion, and long-term value. This might involve a comprehensive upgrade like our project at Vine Lane, where the house was fully reconfigured and its thermal performance significantly improved, or a more targeted intervention such as Withy Villa, where a new staircase and bespoke joinery transformed the flow and experience of the space.

A thoughtful approach to transformation

Existing homes often come with hidden constraints - but also untapped opportunities. We take time to understand how your home currently functions, where it falls short, and how it could be improved.

Our approach focuses on:

  • Reconfiguring layouts to improve flow and usability

  • Introducing natural light and visual connections between spaces

  • Upgrading thermal performance and energy efficiency

  • Creating a cohesive relationship between architecture and interiors

  • Designing spaces that feel calm, functional, and enduring

Rather than simply updating finishes, we look at the home as a whole—ensuring every intervention contributes to a better overall living environment.

From targeted interventions to full refurbishment

We work across a range of project types, from focused internal changes to comprehensive whole-house refurbishments.

At Vine Lane, we undertook an extensive refurbishment and reconfiguration of a detached house, including a full upgrade of the thermal fabric. Alongside a new glazed rear extension, the internal layout was completely rethought—introducing a double-height space, improving flow, and creating a more cohesive and energy-efficient home. A bespoke interior and furniture package ensured a consistent and refined outcome throughout.

At Withy Villa, the approach was more targeted. The project focused on improving circulation within the house through the introduction of a new staircase and carefully designed feature joinery. These interventions transformed how the home is experienced day to day, demonstrating how strategic design can have a significant impact without the need for large-scale extension.

Integrating architecture and interiors

We see refurbishment as an opportunity to bring architecture and interior design together. By considering layout, materials, lighting, and joinery as part of a single process, we create spaces that feel coherent and well-resolved.

This might include:

  • Bespoke joinery and storage solutions

  • Carefully considered material palettes

  • Integrated lighting strategies

  • Refined detailing throughout

The aim is to ensure that every element works together—resulting in a home that feels complete, rather than pieced together over time.

Improving performance as well as space

Many refurbishment projects offer the opportunity to significantly improve how a home performs. We consider upgrades to insulation, glazing, and overall thermal performance as part of the design process—helping reduce energy use and improve comfort.

Where appropriate, we can take a fabric-first approach, ensuring that improvements to performance are integrated seamlessly with the architectural design.

Navigating complexity in existing buildings

A collaborative and considered process

Working with existing buildings requires a different approach to new build. Unknown conditions, structural constraints, and the need to work around an occupied home all add complexity.

We manage this process carefully—coordinating with consultants and contractors, resolving issues as they arise, and ensuring the project progresses in a clear and controlled way.

We work closely with you throughout the project, helping you make informed decisions and ensuring the design reflects your priorities.

Clients value our:

  • Clear, straightforward advice

  • Attention to detail

  • Ability to unlock potential in existing spaces

  • Thoughtful integration of architecture and interiors

  • Calm, considered guidance throughout the process

Two people sitting at a table, smiling, with fabric and material samples in front of them.

Thinking about refurbishing your home?

Whether you’re planning a full renovation or a more focused internal project, we can help you understand what’s possible and how to achieve it.

Get in touch to discuss your project.

Modern dining room with a long table surrounded by chairs, large glass walls opening to a garden, and a ceiling window showing a partly cloudy sky.

“We instructed ReFrame for our renovation project. They were instructed for the full end-to-end service of concept, detailed design, tender, and contract administration.

The product of our collaboration has been a truly unique and special house. We absolutely love the house. It gives us a feeling of happiness and calm on a daily basis, and we feel lucky to be living in such a home. It is a feeling of being on holiday all the time!

The feedback from all our friends, family, as well as other trades and local estate agents has been the same, in that they’ve never encountered such a unique and well-designed home before.”

S. Sahota

Featured House Renovations

Modern dining room with black table, green chairs, sunflower centerpiece, indoor plants, and wooden wall panels with staircase.
Living room with wooden stairs, built-in shelves with decorative items, and a fireplace in the wall.

Vine Lane
Extensive Refurbishment

Our project at Vine Lane is an extensive retrofit, reconfiguration, and extension of an existing detached house. A new fully glazed rear box extension forms a key part of the design, creating a double-height dining space and gallery that brings light deep into the plan.

The complete rethinking of the internal layout improves flow, connection, and usability - transforming the house into a modern, cohesive living environment tailored to contemporary life. Alongside the architectural works, the project included a bespoke interior design and furniture package, ensuring every element works seamlessly together to create a home that feels both refined and timeless.

Withy Villa
Targeted Intervention

Withy Villa is a carefully considered refurbishment of an historic cottage, approached as a targeted intervention to elevate and refine the existing home. While the structure had recently been extended, the interiors lacked cohesion and detail. The project focused on reimagining the entrance hall, introducing a striking new oak staircase with a frameless glass balustrade. Creating a calm, elegant interior scheme supported by bespoke joinery and a full furniture package. Subtle references to the client’s time in the Far East informed the material palette, with warm tones, natural textures, and crafted details bringing depth and character. The result is a quietly confident home that balances rural warmth with a more contemporary, refined aesthetic -demonstrating how targeted design interventions can transform both the experience and quality of a space.

Refurbishment & Interior Renovation FAQs

  • If you are reconfiguring layouts, making structural changes, or want a cohesive design, working with an architect can make a significant difference. We help ensure your project is well thought through, coordinated, and delivers long-term value.

  • The terms are often used interchangeably, but refurbishment typically refers to upgrading and improving an existing space, while renovation can involve more extensive changes, including structural alterations. We can advise on the right approach for your home.

  • Yes. Many of our projects focus on reconfiguring internal spaces to improve flow, light, and usability—often achieving a significant transformation without increasing the footprint.

  • Absolutely. We can improve insulation, glazing, and overall thermal performance as part of the design, helping to reduce energy use and improve comfort.

  • Internal works often don’t require planning permission, but this depends on the scope and whether the property is listed or in a protected area. We can advise you early and manage any applications if needed.

  • Yes. We often integrate interior design into our refurbishment projects, including materials, lighting, and bespoke joinery, to create a cohesive and well-resolved result.

  • This depends on the scale of the project. Smaller refurbishments may allow you to remain in the house, but larger or more complex works are often easier if the property is temporarily vacated.

  • Timelines vary depending on complexity, but most projects take between 9–24 months from initial design to completion, including design development, technical work, and construction.