Best Cheshire's Design Studios: An Homeowner's Guide

By Hada Interiors Cheshire has an unusually high concentration of talented, experienced, and genuinely accomplished interior designers. The county's residential market is demanding enough to have produced studios that operate at the highest level nationally and internationally, and discerning enough to have made a credible reputation here worth earning. This guide introduces eight of the best, selected on the basis of professional credentials, verifiable track record, Cheshire market presence, and peer recognition. It is written for homeowners researching their options and wanting a clear, factual starting point before making contact.

What makes a great interior designer?

The Cheshire residential market places specific demands on a designer. The properties are significant and varied: Georgian townhouses in Chester, Victorian villas in Alderley Edge, barn conversions across the rural south, contemporary new builds across the Golden Triangle, and listed buildings throughout. The clients are experienced and have high expectations. A great Cheshire interior designer needs deep knowledge of the local property landscape, genuine technical ability across a range of project types, a transparent process, and a proven track record of delivering at the level the market expects. Every studio on this list meets those criteria. They differ in style, scale, and approach, which is why understanding the distinctions between them matters before making a decision.

Best studios worth knowing about

Mark Gillette Interior Design

Mark Gillette Interior Design is a Chester-based studio with a reputation built over more than three decades on some of the most significant residential and heritage projects in the UK and internationally. Every project is shaped by the architecture of the building and the individuality of each client, across a range that runs from historic country houses and listed heritage estates to contemporary homes and city apartments.

The studio has featured in The House and Garden Directory of the 100 Leading Interior Designers every year since 2000, placing it among the most consistently recognised practices in the country over an extended period. Established in 1994, it has completed recent projects in Switzerland, Austria, France, Scotland and Mallorca. Creative director Mark Gillette brings more than 35 years of experience and a deep understanding of design movements from classical to modernist. He is a member of the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) and the US-based Design Leadership Network.

Mark Gillette is the natural choice for clients with listed buildings, heritage estates, or complex period properties who want a studio with both the profess and the architectural depth to handle them correctly. Style in one phrase: Historically informed luxury. Elegant, scholarly, and enduring.

Design by UBER

Design by UBER is a multi-award winning interior architecture and design studio based in Knutsford, specialising in detail-driven luxury residential projects for private clients and property developers throughout the UK and internationally. The studio operates from a 6,000 square foot showroom and design centre on the outskirts of Knutsford, which functions both as a working studio and as a destination for clients to explore materials, products, and ongoing project work.

The studio claims to have won more awards than any interior design practice in the UK outside of London, a significant claim backed by an extensive portfolio spanning contemporary residential commissions, heritage properties, and commercial and hospitality work. Design by UBER is known for a team-based model that allows it to take on complex, large-scale projects across multiple locations simultaneously, and for a procurement model where trade savings typically offset design fees in their entirety.

Design by UBER suits clients looking for a heavily resourced, multi-disciplinary studio with an exceptional award record and the team capacity to handle ambitious projects at scale. Style in one phrase: Bold, detail-driven, and deliberately without a signature style.

Toni Bond Interiors

Toni Bond Interiors is a Cheshire and Surrey-based studio with more than thirty years of continuous operation across some of the most prestigious private residential properties in the UK and internationally. Founded by Toni Bond and originally known as Elle Designs, the studio rebranded in 2022 to reflect its continued growth and international ambitions. It operates from bases in Altrincham and Esher and works across the UK, Europe, and beyond, with a portfolio that includes super-prime London commissions, properties on the Spanish coast, and substantial Cheshire residential projects.

The studio's approach is described as classically contemporary, delivering opulent spaces that are also genuinely liveable and adapted to how modern families use their homes. All designers and interior architects are qualified to degree level and above. The studio has over 100,000 Instagram followers, which reflects both the quality of its photography and the reach of its brand. Most commissions come from repeat clients or personal referrals.

Toni Bond Interiors suits clients seeking a studio with three decades of luxury residential experience, a strong and well-qualified team, and a proven record on high-profile commissions both locally and internationally. Style in one phrase: Classically contemporary opulence. Layered, rich, and built to last.

Hada Interiors

Hada Interiors is a bespoke luxury residential design studio based in Cheshire, working with homeowners across the county and beyond on projects ranging from new build personalisation to whole home renovation, barn conversions, and period property refurbishment. The studio was founded by Gaby, who trained at Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University and built her professional experience at Toni Bond Interiors, Mark Gillette Interior Design, and Janey Butler Interiors, covering the full range of Cheshire property types across those commissions. Gaby has completed residential projects in Cheshire, London, Lisbon, and across Europe.

Every Hada Interiors project is led personally by Gaby from the initial home visit through to the final installation. The studio operates on a single-designer model, which means the person who visits your property on the first day is the person who makes every design decision, manages every supplier relationship, and oversees every stage of delivery. For clients who have experienced larger studio models where the principal designer presents the concept and a junior team delivers it, this distinction is consistently cited as one of the most significant reasons they chose Hada Interiors. Hada Interiors suits clients who want luxury with a directly personal service above all else, who value working with the same designer at every stage of a project, and whose home deserves a design process that is built from scratch around the specific property and the people who live in it. Style in one phrase: Quiet luxury. Personal, layered, and rooted in how people actually live.

Rachael Lauren Interiors

Rachael Lauren Interiors is an award-winning interior design and architecture studio based in Knutsford, specialising in high-end residential projects for private clients and property developers across the UK and internationally. Creative director Rachael Lauren Bremner began interning for a luxury interior design company in Manchester at eighteen, graduated in interior architecture, relocated to Dubai to broaden her experience across international markets and cultures, and returned to the UK to establish her own studio in 2020. The practice has grown quickly and built a strong reputation for high-specification residential work and ambitious whole-home commissions.

The studio's portfolio spans Arts and Crafts period property renovations in Cheshire, super-prime residences in Knightsbridge, family villas abroad, and boutique hospitality projects in Scotland. The team offers a fully comprehensive service from initial concept to final installation, with particular strength in interior architecture, bespoke joinery, and luxury specification.

Rachael Lauren Interiors suits clients looking for a contemporary, architecture-led studio with strong international experience and a team that handles projects of significant scale and ambition. Style in one phrase: Classic contemporary. Sculptural, neutral, and architecturally precise.

Fiona Watkins Design

Fiona Watkins Design is a Cheshire-based studio with more than twenty years of experience in high-end residential interiors across the UK and internationally. Fiona draws on quintessentially British influences to create calm and elegant spaces that integrate period elements with the local landscape and the character of each specific building. Her commissions cover a range of property types including country houses, city apartments, barn conversions, and contemporary new builds.

Fiona is a Director of the British Institute of Interior Design, which is a significant professional distinction beyond standard BIID membership, and is also a registered member of the International Interior Design Association. She works closely with a trusted network of local craftspeople, including cabinet makers, stone masons, and specialist joinery and metalwork manufacturers, and has a particular commitment to sourcing responsibly and locally where possible.

Fiona Watkins Design suits clients who value sustainability, craftsmanship, deep professional standards, and a studio with two decades of consistent Cheshire experience across a wide range of property types. Style in one phrase: Calm, British elegance. Period-sensitive and rooted in natural materials and local craft.

Cast Interior Design

Cast is a luxury interior design studio based in Cheshire, operating from a studio set within the grounds of Capesthorne Hall, a stately home in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. That location is more than incidental. It reflects the studio's grounding in the local landscape and architectural heritage, and it is a working environment that shapes how the team thinks about proportion, materiality, and the relationship between interior and surroundings.

Led by Design Director Carly and supported by a dedicated team, the studio specialises in refined residential interiors for private clients and proper

ty developers across the UK and beyond. Services cover the full project lifecycle from spatial planning and bespoke joinery through to full-home renovations, procurement, and final styling. The studio's emphasis throughout is on craftsmanship, timeless design, and interiors that feel genuinely personal rather than applied.

Cast Interior Design suits clients who want a Cheshire-rooted studio with a strong connection to the local architectural context and a team-led approach built around considered detail and quality craftsmanship. Style in one phrase: Refined understatement. Craft-led and sympathetic to the architecture of each property.

Rachel Moore Design

Moore Design is an award-winning studio in Cheshire, established in 2004, specialising in commissioned residential and commercial interiors across the North West and beyond. Rachel trained in interior and textile design at Nottingham University and began her career as a features editor for interiors publications before founding her studio, a background that informs a particularly strong eye for narrative, detail, and the way spaces are experienced rather than simply how they look.

The studio has won the Northern Design Awards in 2016, 2020, and as a double winner in 2022, and the UK Property Awards in 2021. Rachel Moore Design has been featured on The House and Garden List and in Cheshire Life Magazine on four separate occasions. Rachel is a registered member of the British Institute of Interior Design. The studio's portfolio spans barn conversions, full house renovations, contemporary city apartments, commercial premises, and holiday properties in North Wales.

Rachel Moore Design suits clients looking for an experienced studio with a strong editorial sensibility, a long track record in Cheshire, and a personal approach built on twenty years of regional relationships and referrals. Style in one phrase: Transitional and narrative-led. Modern classic with a strong editorial eye for objects and detail.

How to use this list

Every studio on this list is genuinely capable of delivering high-quality residential interior design in Cheshire, across a wide range of project types and scales. A barn conversion, a new build personalisation, a whole home renovation, or a single room commission can be handled well by any of them. The right choice is less about the size of your project and more about the kind of working relationship you want throughout it.

Some clients want a large, multi-disciplinary team with a dedicated showroom, an extensive supplier network, and the capacity to run several workstreams simultaneously. Others want a single designer who is personally present at every stage, from the first home visit to the final styling. Both models produce exceptional results. The question is which one suits how you like to work and how involved you want to be in the process.

Style is another consideration worth taking seriously before making contact. Each studio on this list has a distinct aesthetic sensibility, and finding a designer whose eye genuinely aligns with your own taste tends to produce better outcomes than choosing on credentials alone.

Before making contact with any studio, the post on how to brief an interior designer in Cheshire is worth reading. It covers the specific questions worth thinking through before a first conversation, what to prepare, and how to get the most from that initial meeting. The Cheshire cost guide gives honest context on what different scopes of work typically involve in terms of design investment. If you have any questions get in touch here.