The Fulham House

Working alongside Georgina Murphy Interiors, I helped turn the creative vision for The Fulham House into detailed, buildable design information. From bespoke joinery and bathroom layouts to identifying potential technical issues before they became problems on site, my role was to bring practical thinking, technical expertise and design coordination to a complex residential renovation.

In Collaboration with Georgina Murphy Interiors

What did they need help with?

Georgina already had the creative direction for The Fulham House. What she needed was support to take those ideas and work through how they could actually be built.

I initially came on board to develop layouts, drawings and details, but the role quickly became much more involved than that.

There were all sorts of things to work through, from circulation and bathroom layouts to bespoke joinery, site constraints and how the proposed design would work within the existing house.

For me, that’s a big part of the job. It’s about understanding what the designer wants to achieve, looking at the practicalities and working out how to bring the two together.

What might not be obvious when you look at a plan?

I'm always asking myself, “Will this actually work when we build it?”

Something can look perfectly fine on a plan, but there’s often more to consider once you start thinking about how everything fits together in the real world.

One example at The Fulham House was a potential conflict between the new bathroom drainage and the newly installed floor joists. Picking this up meant we could stop and reconsider the solution before it became a problem on site.

There were also smaller considerations around product specifications, fixture mounting and making sure the different elements of the design worked together.

It's often the things you don't immediately see that need the most thought.

How did my involvement make a difference?

My role was to help turn the design ideas and hand sketches into coordinated information that the people delivering the project could use.

I developed layouts, technical drawings, elevations and setting-out information, while continuing to work through changes and practical challenges as they arose.

This gave Georgina and the design team support in developing their ideas, while providing the builder with clearer information to work from. It also meant we could question potential issues before they became more complicated, disruptive or expensive to resolve on site.

I was effectively the link between the creative vision and the practicalities of making it happen.

Where does technical design meet problem solving?

Producing detailed drawings is an important part of what I do, but the real value comes from the thinking behind them.

I need to understand how a space is going to work, what the design is trying to achieve, what the existing building will allow and what the different trades need to know.

It also means working with different people and disciplines, from Georgina and the wider design team to specialist suppliers, trades and the builder. Everyone has a part to play, and my job is to help keep the original design intention intact while working through the practical realities of the project.

It's not just drawing. It's thinking through the drawing.

What did this make possible?

The ideas could be developed into something much more detailed and deliverable.

From the second-floor accommodation and bathrooms to bespoke wardrobes, headboards and other joinery, the design could be properly developed and communicated to the people building it.

Having someone involved who could anticipate challenges, coordinate information and respond to what was happening on site helped the project keep moving forward with greater confidence.

One of the things I particularly value about this project is that it developed into an ongoing collaboration, rather than being a one-off piece of work.

I was able to stay involved, adapt to what the project needed at different stages and provide consistent support throughout the renovation.

For me, that's where this kind of collaboration really comes into its own: bringing together creative ideas, practical thinking and problem solving to help make a design work in the real world.

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