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Helping property investors & developers up their interior design game by creating stylish luxury spaces that reduce occupancy voids, maximize rents and increase property values.

The question we get asked most often by developers who come to us mid-scheme:‘How much can we still fix?’The honest answ...
02/09/2026

The question we get asked most often by developers who come to us mid-scheme:
‘How much can we still fix?’

The honest answer: it depends on when you call.

Save this before your next scheme moves past planning.

This week I reviewed a scheme that had been on the market for 4 months.Asking price: £485k. Offers coming in at £440 - 4...
01/09/2026

This week I reviewed a scheme that had been on the market for 4 months.

Asking price: £485k. Offers coming in at £440 - 450k.

The agent kept saying the market was slow.

The market wasn't slow.

The living room and kitchen were positioned so that the first thing you saw when you walked in was the back of the kitchen cabinets.
Not wrong, just not right for the buyer standing there trying to imagine living in it.

A layout conversation at planning stage would have cost one meeting.
At launch, it cost £35 to 45k in offer weakness and 4 months of carrying costs.

This is what I mean when I say design decisions are financial decisions.

Save this if you are in the planning stage of a scheme.

DM me ADVISORY if you want to avoid mistakes like this; I can be just one DM away as your thinking partner.

I’ve watched developers lose thousands over decisions that could have been avoided—not because they had a bad team, but ...
31/08/2026

I’ve watched developers lose thousands over decisions that could have been avoided—not because they had a bad team, but because the right question wasn’t asked at the right time.

A layout is agreed before considering Building Control. £8,000 is cut from a specification, only to reduce the eventual sale price by £30,000. A beautiful hospitality concept opens without enough thought about the guest experience.

These are the things I notice.

After more than 20 years in the industry, I’ve realised that some of my most valuable work happens between the drawings, designs and appointments—asking the questions nobody else has asked and spotting problems before they become expensive.

From October, I’m opening five private advisory places for developers and property investors.

I’ll work alongside your existing team, looking at the development as a whole—from planning, layouts and specifications to guest experience, saleability and rental performance.

Each month includes a board meeting, a site visit and direct access to me when important decisions need to be made.

Because I don’t just want your development to look good. I want it to work—and I don’t want you reaching the end of the project wondering:

Why didn’t somebody spot that earlier?

Only five places are available because I want to be properly involved in every project I take on.
If you have a development underway or starting soon and you’d like me at the table, DM me ADVISORY.

28/08/2026

I have two types of conversations with developers.

The first is at the start of a development scheme.
We talk about the buyer, the layout, the specification, the positioning.
We make decisions that make everything else easier.

The second is after launch.
Sales are slower than expected.
Viewings aren’t converting.
The development feels right to the developer, but not to the person standing in it.

Both conversations are valuable.
One is significantly less expensive than the other.

If you are pre-planning, DM me.

There is a tenant for every development.The question isn't whether it will let. It's whether it will let at the right ra...
27/08/2026

There is a tenant for every development.

The question isn't whether it will let.
It's whether it will let at the right rate, to the right person, and hold them.

When a development is clear about who it's for, in the layout, the specification, the way the space feels to live in, the right tenant self-selects; they don't negotiate on price, and they renew.

When it isn't clear, you get enquiries from everyone and commitment from no one.

Clarity is a design decision.

And it has to be made before anything gets built.

Every specification decision is a statement to the buyer or guest about what this development is worth.Most developers m...
26/08/2026

Every specification decision is a statement to the buyer or guest about what this development is worth.

Most developers make those decisions in relation to the build budget.
The strongest ones make them in relation to the buyer.

Save this before your next sign-off.

The question I get asked most often...and the honest answer.'How do we know if our development is positioned correctly?'...
24/08/2026

The question I get asked most often...and the honest answer.

'How do we know if our development is positioned correctly?'

I get some version of this question almost every week, and it's usually from developers who are already mid-build when and something feels slightly off.

The answer: you know earlier than you think.

The signals are there in the design stage, they are just easy to miss when you are moving fast.
The layout nobody raised a concern about but never quite felt right.
The spec that matched the budget but not the buyer.

These are the result of making design decisions without a clear commercial framework to test them against.

What I do at Mar Design is give developers that framework, early enough to actually change the outcome, in a design advisory capacity and on project delivery.

If you are in the planning stage of a residential scheme or boutique hospitality project, I'm happy to have a conversation.

No sales or pitch, just a clear-eyed look at what you have got, and the opportunities that you are not seeing.

DM me or use the link in bio.

This is not a sales problem.This is an alignment problem.Slow sales aren't fixed by reducing the price.Or changing the a...
21/08/2026

This is not a sales problem.
This is an alignment problem.

Slow sales aren't fixed by reducing the price.
Or changing the agent.
Or increasing the marketing spend.

Those are responses to a symptom, and the cause is almost always earlier.

A development that isn't clearly positioned for the buyer standing in front of it:
A specification that signals the wrong market.
A layout that doesn't match the lifestyle the buyer is looking for at this price point.

Alignment fixes slow sales.
Price reductions just make the misaligned development cheaper.

The fix is available - but it's most effective at the start of any development, not at staging.

👉🏻 DM me DEVELOPMENT if you want to talk through where the gap might be in your scheme.

The boutique hotels that hold their rate aren't necessarily the most beautiful.They are the ones where every commercial ...
20/08/2026

The boutique hotels that hold their rate aren't necessarily the most beautiful.

They are the ones where every commercial decision was made with the guest's experience in mind...from concept to construction.

That work happens early in development. Not with a marketing fix.

Save this if you're in the early stages of a hospitality project.

We are growing and looking for a talented Interior Architect.Here is a glimpse of what the role looks like:5+ years of h...
19/08/2026

We are growing and looking for a talented Interior Architect.

Here is a glimpse of what the role looks like:
5+ years of high-end residential or hospitality experience.
Hospitality design experience
Take concepts through design development to full technical packages
Joinery details, construction drawings, finish schedules
AutoCAD and SketchUp daily; Revit a bonus
Remote. Location is flexible, but UK project experience is non-negotiable
Full-time or part-time, with flexibility around core UK collaboration hours
You’ll work directly with the founder

To apply:
📩 Register your interest here: [email protected]
(The full job description goes to everyone who registers their interest)
CV + portfolio
(We would love to see a portfolio that shows technical work, not just beautiful visuals)
Subject line: [Your Name] – Interior architect

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