Light House Studio - Winchester

Ian Mitchell

Rachael was great to work with. Having struggled with forming our own ideas for a difficult situation with an old brick porch, she worked with us (including around COVID-19 restrictions) to show us options. With a confident approach to problem solving, we were able to see through what had flummoxed us for years.

Rachael worked out all the angles and was able to quickly get us into the planning application process with the local council and kept us updated with progress. We were delighted when the plan was approved without any revisions required despite the front of the house being subject to some covenant conditions.

Thoroughly recommend Rachael for your project.

Sasfi hope-ross

I have worked with Light House Studio on a few projects now and am always really impressed on how the finished build looked.
Rachael has an amazing eye for detail and design. She is extremely thorough and ensures that her client get exactly what they want. Combining form and functionality, she works through the entire process meticulously, making sure the design and final result really work.

Elissa Jane Diver

I have worked with Rachael photographing her completed projects. I have been impressed by her professionalism and incredible eye for detail. She is a delight to work with, friendly and organised. I also get to see her completed projects which are notable for their success and elegance, and meet her happy clients. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future Rachael!

Manuel Arnaudo

We had the pleasure of using Rachael's drawings during a project in King's Worthy. The level of details and attention during the planning stages made our life on site so much easier and smoother.

She was always available over the phone for any queries and a we are now referring her to all of our new clients.

Highly recommended!!

ialwtttiywtrar

The project fully opened up the rear of the house which was for us quite daunting. However Rachael helped us as we moved through the process. With her help we smoothly negotiated local planning, surveying and structural engineers. What could have been fraught went calmly and now we have a beautiful sunny extension. Recommended.

Ian Wilson

In 2021 we moved to a rural village, to a cottage built 140 years ago. We had a vague plan to modernise the rear of the house to make better use of space and light, while removing an old conservatory with potential for a kitchen extension - while wishing to retain the original "cottage look".
Rachael was immediately enthusiastic about our project. She undertook an early site visit, and soon started to make suggestions, offering us fresh ideas. This was challenging for us because our "vague plan" now needed to be firmed up. Rachael was excellent through this process, helping us to see what was possible. In short, she made us think! She then drew up some excellent plans that really made sense to us.
We have found Rachael to be easy to communicate with, and responds to our queries in timely fashion.
We also like her clear price structure, and while she has a network of Surveyors and Engineers to offer, she does not push for us to use "her" people for any particular service.
We can certainly recommend Rachael Smith and the Light House Studio.

Ceri Mathews

We selected Light House Studio as the architect to advise on our ideas for an extension after having had a number of underwhelming discussions with other architects. Rachael immediately grasped our hazy ideas for a kitchen extension and was able to get an outline design down on paper to facilitate a very productive iterative process. We have now arrived at a contemporary design that we are very happy with, but were unable to envisage at the outset. The proposed development has just been granted planning permission and we are being very ably guided through the process ahead by Rachael, who has provided an excellent service throughout. I would not hesitate to recommend Light House Studio to anyone not wanting a "bog-standard" addition to their existing property.

Stephen Edwards

Rachael's help was essential for our project, being a substantial remodelling of our first floor and ground floor, with structural alterations. Our numerous discussions and her drawings and guidance and assistance with planning and obtaining structural engineering input has made the difference between it happening or not happening. Thank you Rachael.