Elizabeth Bee Interior Design - Hassocks

Carolyn G.

Highly recommended.

Liz managed an update to our mid 70s property very competently.
She listened to our initial brief and came up with an up-to-date, eclectic design that fully met our expectations.
This included new furniture, lighting, carpeting and soft furnishings.

She has a terrific contacts list for local tradesmen and project managed a complete redecoration which saved us enormous hassle, as we are new the area. She was very patient in responding to any questions or indecisiveness on our part and called regularly in person to oversee progress.

Karen K.

Elizabeth Bee is everything you want in an interior designer. From creating the design concept to implementing it in practice and finishing it off, Elizabeth provided us with indispensable support at every stage of the redevelopment and extension of our (now) 7 bedroom detached Sussex residence.
At the design stage, Elizabeth took care to listen to our thoughts, ideas and wishes. Detailed room layouts and mood boards, for kitchens and laundry rooms, bathrooms and ensuites, living spaces and bedrooms, accompanied by lighting and electrical drawings, helped us to envisage what might be and make the most of our space.
Elizabeth was able to recommend many gifted craftsmen, including builders, cabinetmakers and furniture upholsterers, as well as reliable suppliers of kitchen appliances, bathroom fittings, tiles and much more. At the build stage, she liaised effectively with all chosen contributors to help keep our project on track and resolve any issues that arose.
At the finishing stage, Elizabeth helped us to choose paint colours, light fittings, curtains and blinds, and soft furnishings. The breadth of her knowledge and ability to source precisely the right items for the right price is testament to her experience and expertise.
To put it shortly, Elizabeth is enormously impressive and we would have no hesitation in recommending her for your project, however big or small.

diane D.

Elizabeth is my “ go to “ and I would recommend her without hesitation.
Her knowledge of interior design is extensive.
She has proven herself to be a top quality professional, with an extensive set of contacts.
Elizabeth is always able to source and work with trusted traders to deliver the brief.
Not only does she have a real passion for her work, her biggest assets are her honesty and genuine sincere personality. She is a pleasure to work with.

Elaine

Highly recommended!

Before commissioning Elizabeth to design a large extension and refurbishment project we ‘cut our teeth’ using her services to design and project management an en-suite and family bathroom. So thrilled with her professionalism and most Importantly, the results and adherence to budget, we immediately commissioned her to design the extension and refurb.

This work is currently underway and again Elizabeth has exceeded our expectations. Elizabeth’s product, technical and design knowledge plus patience has removed the stress of ‘having the builders in’. Elizabeth oversees her remit to an exacting standard, dedicated to achieving the highest of standards through knowledge, creativity, attention to detail and due diligence.

Elizabeth has a little black book of quality, well priced suppliers - highly recommend you take full advantage! I took the designs elsewhere for comparable quotes, none could match those obtained by Elizabeth in both quality and cost. On the mention of cost, Elizabeth is very aware of this element and will always supply the most cost efficient option without compromising your chosen design.

Didem D.

We asked for a guesstimate for work based on a floorplan and some photos. Elizabeth's 22k guesstimate was good value compared to other interior designers (quoting 30k+). Through a subsequent £150 consultation, Elizabeth enabled us to understand our expectations were not realistic for our budget and the work would cost 30-40k. We would even struggle with the basics such as painting (which went from the 6k guesstimate to 16k once Elizabeth's trades contact provided a quote). We considered finding affordable tradespeople to work with Elizabeth but decided we're too busy to manage a multiple-element project. Instead we're focussing on only the painting for now using affordable tradespeople and online design websites (which has given us ideas on colour schemes etc). We had expected some tangible design ideas during the consultation with Elizabeth but did 90% of the talking. A 4-5 star experience would be more design input because this was the main expertise we sought from the consultation (not to just cover someone's time as the customer's time can be equally as important, for example, in our case we are key workers and do not have much spare time). The 3 stars is because Elizabeth responded to emails promptly and was very focussed on compiling a proposal on her fees while our expectations on design advice may have been unrealistic (it's difficult for designers to compete when so much is freely available online).

For transparency, we requested a refund for the consultation. Elizabeth's response was the most lengthy email from her so key points were: "I was extremely surprised to receive this email from you after all the time I have put in for you so far. I have spend time preparing spreadsheets, answering numerous emails, attending a 2 hour consultation, setting up and adding items to a joint Pinterest board and providing a detailed proposal, all for £150. I am a high - end interior designer that charges for my time so I am very confused by your email. This is all evident from my website and nothing has been hidden from you......The initial consultation was to cover my time at the meeting and travel expenses. This was to discuss the work with you in detail in order to be able to prepare a proposal to outline my fees; which I provided. I spent two hours with you, plus over an hours travel time, at your home discussing options and offering suggestions and advice. I would have stayed longer with you, but you rushed me out as you had another appointment! I had brought samples and was prepared to stay to discuss these with you, but you told me to leave.......The trades I work with do not work for me. They are all self employed and provide their own estimates, once a site visit has been undertaken. All trades do this. I explained that you can use your own trades and suggested that you obtained various quotes. Regarding the decoration, I explained that you would require a decorators quote to get an accurate price and it could well be less than my guesstimate. I am not a decorator......Unfortunately I feel your budget is just not in line with your expectations for your home, which I imagine is very frustrating. If you can’t afford to spend the £150 on a consultation, you should not be employing an interior designer who uses high end materials and tradesmen."