Bluelime Home Design

Reviews

I came across Bluelime by chance last year when on a mission to do an ‘almost full rebuild’/extension project with all the bells and whistles. Initially we met in January 2022 and I insisted that I had to have this done during the summer this year. Bluelime have been honest and professional – it was almost mission impossible. However, we agreed to go ahead with the drawings and planning permissions, and I took the risk of it being approved, whole progressing with the selection, internals designs and planning. By April-May all the planning was approved and Bluelime have put forward a few trusted construction companies that might have availability for a last-minute project. Eventually I decided to go ahead with Alan Tutton and this was the best decision I made. Project begun in August and in November we are now moving in. It wasn’t cheap, but worth to have a builder/PM you can trust – not many left up there! Thanks Bluelime and Alan!
over 1 year ago
We are currently in the process of our drawings being submitted for planning permission. The service provided by Matt has been fast and efficient, and we are very pleased with the designs. Thank you.
about 2 years ago
We are at planning permission submission at the moment for a dormer loft conversion and other changes to the internal layout. There is a wealth of information provided which is very helpful, and they are ready to answer any queries that you could have. Having thought about works for a long time, we had watched many programs about home design. We expected to get a choice of architect as they may have different ideas on how to approach the project. We didn't get a choice however, Matt who has been our architect has met the brief fully and we are pleased with the design. We had the gold package and were provided with the VR Experience in the deal. It was very useful, giving us a good perspective on the space in the new rooms, we made a slight change following it, which we may not have otherwise. We are looking forward to the next stages.
about 2 years ago
We have got to the planning submission stage, Covid made design element harder than it could have been with discussions held over Zoom being difficult at times. Pleased to be moving onto the next stage.
about 2 years ago
So far the service has been professional, speedy , good quality and at a fair price. To date we have had a couple of visits, a video conference and a meeting to see the designs through 3D goggles. We have been able to make alterations as the plans have developed and these have been made clearly and quickly. Our architect Sigrid was bright, efficient and very helpful.
about 2 years ago
REVIEW REGARDING THE DARTFORD BRANCH: (Disclaimer - We have only just applied for planning permission, so I will update if this experience changes, we still have a long way to go) We had a compartmentalised house with small rooms and an awkward layout. After mulling over whether we needed an Architect or just a builder to follow our designs, we opted to go for a Professional Architect (rather than an architectural technologist + Interior designer). My wife and I had completely different ideas on how we should change the layout and eventually went for an architect to be able to agree on the final layout. We had Mark who came out and he was very well versed with designing (though not an architect himself) - this is the reason he has been sent out initially due to his impressive skills - very good way to attract a client. As pointed out in the last 2 reviews, by John & Jessica, we did not get a choice of an architect. Whilst we were not looking for something as radical in design (as those shown in TV serials like "your home made perfect") we were looking for some inspirational ideas but these were not forthcoming by our allocated architect. Eventually, we did arrive at the final layout, pretty much with a design constructed by us. To be fair with the architects, it probably is a difficult balance to achieve in getting the clients what they want; versus a design they they want to give us. I would also suggest to any prospective clients to ask for a second opinion from another architect in the firm, if you do not agree with your own architect's design. For example, we had to get Barry from Bluelime involved when our own Architect insisted on "fire-doors" in an unusual configuration, rather than a sprinkler system (Barry's idea), which was much more acceptable. It is not very apparent that you only get 3 goes at changing your plans and if you want to change them changed after this, you have to pay the Architect by the hour. Even if this was mentioned somewhere, it is not something we "heard" and found out the hard way that any further changes need to be paid for. It is not that expensive, however, to change the plans and I am happy that we decided to do some changes, albeit at an expense. (We got mis-directed by a review by T.D. 2 years ago, which mentions that they agreed on final plans after 10 changes - we assumed that one can change plans till these go to design submission). My advise to future customers - do not "provisionally" agree to a design for submission till you are entirely happy with the full layout. Clearly (& thankfully) we do not have another Architect to compare with and overall, I found this Company very professional so far. Designing a reconfiguration is very stressful business and it is comforting to note that there is a Professional Company looking after your back. Would I hire them again? - YES. In fact, I have recommended them to a colleague, who was going to go for a smaller firm and another 2 of my friends, who are looking to do similar work as us. Thanks Darren, Barry, Mark & Team.
over 2 years ago
Very impressed with BlueLime and especially Dionne who has patiently supported us through the planning process. Her experience and creativity have been such a help to us. Very professional - we can recommend BlueLime without hesitation.
almost 3 years ago
They were very professional and appeared to offer a complete service. Once we got to the building stage there were some unexpected events. This resulted in a number of discussions with the builders and Blue Lime. Eventually all parties came to an agreement to get the project completed.
almost 3 years ago
Unfortunately our experience with bluelime did not meet the same standards as previous reviews. We contacted bluelime for a free design survey on a 2 bedroom detached bungalow with the view to extending to the rear and creating a loft conversion with 2 additional bedrooms. Early Design phase (Very impressed) 1. Met Mark on site who was very good. Provided ideas and most importantly a ballpark costing for the work. 2. On this basis purchased the bungalow which completed beginning of October 2019. 3. Provided a design report containing all relevant details Engaged bluelime for the project choosing their Gold package. Design options (Very unimpressed) 1. Met architect at property where he took measurements and we discussed the design report that Mark had created. 2. Discussed amendments to the design report that we felt would suit our living requirements better. 3. Expectation was to receive plans and elevations of existing bungalow and at least 3 or upto 7 design options for the project as outlined in their service package. 4. Architect sent through drawing which included the details for the existing property and 1 design option for the new project which mirrored Marks original design report and totally disregarded the feedback we provided during the 4 hour site meeting.(very underwhelmed) 5. Spoke to architect explained I was expecting other options , 1 including our feedback and potentially 1 blue sky option that we may not have thought of. (Presumed this is why you engage high end architect and their sales material indicate this) 6. Architect confirmed he would provide other options also confirmed planning details. Hip to gable and dormer loft conversion could be done under permitted development as under the 50 cubic metre volume however 4 metre rear extention would require full planning. I queried this as I thought you could do single storey rear extention upto 4 metres for a detached property. 7. Informed within 2 weeks that the architect had left the business and a new architect appointed.(not happy but these things happen) 8. New architect provideddrawings that were more detailed and met all of our requirements. These were turned around alot quicker than original architect. (Happy with this architect) 9. Architect confirmed we could do rear extention and hip to gable under permitted development however the dormer loft conversion would need full planning as it increased the size by 58 cubic metre. I queried the fact that architect number one had advised it was under 50 cubic metres. He showed me the calculation and explained he thought architect one had only included one of the hip to gable not two.(don't expect these type of basic errors when using a gold package architect) 10.In the new year we contacted our new architect to ascertain how the planning process was going. We received an immediate response but the response was not what we expected or wanted. The new architect had left the company on Xmas eve. 13. Obviously we were very concerned as our plans had not been agreed and our architect no longer worked for bluelime. We tried to contact the Head of sales who we had been dealing with. This was a lot harder than we would like with no calls being returned and an emphasis on dealing with us by e mail. We requested a meeting with him and the ceo but was advised this was not necessary although we felt it was. E mail was the only route. Construction and structural drawings 1. Only issue was the structural drawings did not include retaining wall. I had to provide site photos when I knew both architect had taken them. We really love our new upgraded property but when we look back at the process our only regret is using bluelime for the project. We paid for a gold service but in our opinion that is not what we received. If I had any advice for bluelime is speak to clients especially when there are issues. They might not consider these an issue but good customer service is dealing with clients when things don't go to plan.
over 3 years ago
Our overall experience with BlueLime to date has been satisfactory. They offer a package service, which makes it easier to navigate the processes involved with a build/house reconfiguration, especially if you have no prior experience. A drawback of this package service is the inability to pick the architect you wish to collaborate with ahead of the design phase, which caused significant delay to our planning submission. Since rectifying this, the level of service we have received from the team has been noticeably more positive.
over 3 years ago
From our first phone call, to our meeting to discuss our plans/ideas BlueLime have been great. Amar, our designer, listened to what we needed and wanted to achieve when drawing our potential double story extension. he gave us a timeline of when we could expect the drawings and what the process was. He delivered, however he exceeded in delivering what we wanted. Answered all our questions and has kept us updated in the process.
over 4 years ago
We would like to thank Bluelime Design for all their hard work, ideas and inspiration and for being so approachable and easy to deal with. After our initial free consultation and survey of our property by one of their surveyors we commissioned Bluelime to support us with our big project: build above the garage with rear extension and a dormer loft conversion. Our dedicated architect Aga offered us a great support and was always available for discussion and our questions. Furthermore, I must say that we were extremely satisfied with the design process and the final design submitted to a council. Working closely with the architect we came up with a very interesting proposal. We were able to see the design in 3d perspective views and it helped us to understand better how it will work. We were very impressed with the level of detail on the drawings and thinking behind it. We would happily recommend them to anyone thinking of starting a building project. Keep up the good work and we wish you all the best successes in the future.
over 5 years ago
We have been really impressed with the professionalism and customer care from Bluelime. They were very thorough with their evaluation of our project and offered 3 great initial designs. They have been very receptive to our feedback and efficient in making the various changes we requested. We have no experience at all in these matters and so really appreciate that Bluelime is a one stop shop and are able to advise us on all elements of the planning/build process and put us in touch with trusted industry experts for various aspects of the project. The presentation of the plans are really professional looking and offer a number of different views which helps to give a clear picture of how finished project will look. We are really happy with our design are very excited about getting started on our project.
almost 6 years ago
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