We asked our client Yasmine about her experience of working with Granit to transform her West London mews house. We are thrilled with Yasmine’s comments below.
What made you choose Granit?
We were referred to Granit by a family friend and appointed them after reviewing and meeting a handful of other Architects practices. We met Rob initially, and he was very enthusiastic; he put a lot of thought into what we were trying to do and how to make the best use of our space.
How was your overall experience?
Our overall experience of working with Granit was great. The team was very easy to engage with. Architecturally, I really valued the experience. Everybody was friendly and open. Rob was always available when we had issues and acted as a good mediator between contractors and us, or when we had party wall issues. Rob has been very helpful on that front and has been very much involved in trying to be a solution to any problems along the way. We’ve been able to turn to them for guidance. Their experience and insight have been useful.
We lived overseas for most of the duration of the project, but we were able to work well with the team remotely. We did a lot online or by phone and had in-person meetings every four months or so. Granit also provided a project management service for us, which was important since we were far away. It was helpful for us to have someone on-site managing everybody and to keep the contractors in line. This was very valuable.
What did you set out to achieve?
Our brief to Granit was to transform our maisonette in a London mews to create a better home for our five-person family. We bought the ground floor of the maisonette and planned to extend by digging down to create a new basement. Mews houses are quaint, and we wanted to maximise the space, but also to not lose out on light – since we were building a basement. We didn’t want to create areas where nobody would want to go.
Granit was brilliant, honestly very very creative and thoughtful. We are very happy with the way our home has turned out, and how they’ve managed to turn what could have been just a basement floor into actually three different levels. They created a study, a mezzanine with a dining room and playroom in the basement. This has created a more usable home.
Granit had different ways of thinking about how to use space to give us what we wanted. We’re very happy with what they designed. We love the elements they have created, such as an entrance that doesn’t go straight into the living room, which is a challenge in a mews house.
What would you say to someone thinking of appointing Granit?
Would I recommend Granit to somebody? Definitely. I think they’re an excellent architecture firm. All in, we’re delighted, and I have already recommended Granit to several friends. We’ve also recommended the contractor – Strongbase – that came through Granit too.
