Where success lies under one roof

Completing a project always throws up a range of emotions. Pride at seeing our vision come to fruition and the client’s delight with the finished result. Relief at reaching the end of an intense process that has invariably thrown up all sorts of hurdles over many months. It is also a tangible reminder of just how much is involved in steering a project from its inception to delivery – and of being in control of every element along the way. 

One of the founding principles of Rive Gauche London remains unwavering: that we don’t just deliver beautiful design; we handle every area of expertise in house, from sourcing the property and securing planning to carrying out feasibility studies, providing the technical know-how and project managing the process end to end. We know that keeping everyone under one roof in this way guarantees the best possible results for our clients. 

Think of the alternative, where different parts of the property acquisition, development, renovation and interior design process are dealt with by any number of external parties, which risks the dilution of the vision, delay in the process and potentially higher costs.  

Third party consultants have no vested interest in the outcome of the project. Many will advise and disappear. 

We’ve all been in that situation, where you are confidently told that it’s easy to remove a wall or add an extension by someone who simply wants to secure the sale. Then the contractor turns up and quotes an eye-watering figure to carry out the work – which means you have to compromise on other areas of the project. Or you discover that an extension won’t get planning permission due to local regulations governing the right of light – and that jeopardises your entire strategy. 

We, on the other hand, advise and deliver. We take responsibility for providing results and are hands on at every stage to ensure everything gets done.  Anyone can give advice, but executing the vision is the hard part and that’s what we do. 

Over the past 17 years, we have seen it all and “too many chefs” is a common problem. There can be 30 different consultants in one meeting, all providing their input on a complex high-end project. They all want to deliver the best possible service to the client, but they end up causing confusion, frustration and delays as they get increasingly further away from the bigger picture and the client’s vision. 

The client, on the receiving end, can’t understand why – despite having all these experts on board – their project is delayed, running over-budget and in need of constant compromise. 

Brexit and Covid have added to the complexity in recent years too, showing us what happens when supply chains delays, rising building costs and shortages of labour enter the equation. 

We try to anticipate all of those issues in the design stage rather than wait until later on in the process. Whether we are designing a penthouse in London or a palatial villa in Dubai, we consolidate our skills – advisory, architecture, interior design, planning and project management – and keep our chain of command to the minimum. The fewer people we have to speak to, the less scope there is for coordination issues. Where additional specialist expertise is needed, such as right of light experts, mechanical consultants or lighting designers, we keep a small team of focused and invested individuals on hand who have delivered for us time and time again.

And our founder, and managing director, Nicolas Roux, is personally hands on with every project, only taking on a certain number each year to ensure he remains involved every step of the way. 

Our recent redevelopment of a penthouse in Hyde Park Gate is the perfect example of how it all comes together. This complex project involved everything from negotiating with planners and the building’s freeholder to building an extension on the roof, as well as keeping other residents on side to finding highly-skilled artisans to make our designs. The finished result worked so well because we were able to keep everything hands on and in-house. We all sat with the client to help them build their vision. We set a timeframe and budget and created a design narrative to fit those expectations. 

Using one provider also comes with demonstrable financial benefits. Time means money in property development and delays can have a significant impact on the return on investment for clients who are relying on rental income or selling the project after completion. 

Underpinning all of this is trust. By asking us to take on the challenge of designing their home, our clients need to have full confidence that we will do the best possible job for them. They are putting all their eggs in one basket. But by handling the process end-to-end and in-house, we can pre-empt problems, act quickly when new solutions are needed and bring our stamp of quality to everything we do. Take a look at our portfolio of completed projects to see that trust is never misplaced. 

Rive Gauche London can assist you with your project in the UK and internationally. We have worked in 15 countries so far and, with every project, guarantee our dedicated team of in-house experts will take your project from conception to conclusion. If you would like to find out more, please book a call with Nicolas Roux.