Interior Designer · EN4, EN5, N20
Interior design in Barnet & Totteridge
Katherine Varnava Interiors is a luxury interior designer for homes and commercial spaces in Barnet & Totteridge. A BIID Registered Interior Designer® studio based in Mayfair, London, it offers full interior design, technical design and bespoke joinery, FF&E procurement and a single design-and-build service, with Katherine personally involved in every project.
Homes in Barnet & Totteridge
Totteridge is a village of mansion houses in large grounds and modest cottages, much of it within both a conservation area and the Green Belt. To the north, Monken Hadley and Chipping Barnet hold Georgian houses around Hadley Green and a historic market town core around Wood Street. Interior projects here range from listed cottages and Georgian houses to large detached family homes.
Barnet's Totteridge Conservation Area Character Appraisal (adopted May 2008) describes a mixture of mansion houses in large grounds interspersed with modest cottages, Arts and Crafts houses such as The Croft and Grace Court on Totteridge Green, and large detached houses on deep plots in roads such as Pine Grove and Grange Avenue; it records 48 listed buildings. Monken Hadley's appraisal notes large Georgian houses with impressive gardens around the Green and the Common, and the Wood Street appraisal records 31 listed buildings in Chipping Barnet's historic core, including Tudor Hall of 1577. Interior work typically covers whole-house refurbishment of large family homes, kitchens, bathrooms and joinery, and sympathetic work in period and listed houses.
How the studio works
Every project, from a single room to a whole house or a commercial space, follows the same five-stage, RIBA-aligned journey: Define, Develop, Resolve, Deliver and Complete. The studio works alongside your architect and contractor, or delivers a single design-and-build service from concept to completion.
- Full interior design, from a single room to a whole house
- Interior architecture and spatial planning
- Technical design and bespoke joinery
- Lighting design
- FF&E design, procurement and installation
- Commercial interiors
- Design and build, or alongside your architect and contractor
The studio takes on projects across EN4, EN5, N20, including streets such as Totteridge Lane, Totteridge Common, Totteridge Village, Totteridge Green and Hadley Green.
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Before you start in Barnet & Totteridge
The consents and local rules that most often shape an interior project here, each linked to its official source. The studio checks them for your property at the start, so they are planned into the design and the programme.
Barnet's Totteridge appraisal (adopted May 2008) states that an Article 4 Direction, introduced shortly after designation, allows the Council to control minor works such as external doors, windows and roofing materials, hardstandings, porches and external painting. It records 48 listed buildings in the conservation area, and notes that most of the area and surrounding open land fall within the Green Belt.Source: open.barnet.gov.uk
Barnet's Monken Hadley appraisal (adopted January 2007) states that the area was designated in December 1968 as one of the first four conservation areas in the borough. Many of its buildings are on the statutory list, and parts of the area are covered by an Article 4 Direction relating to domestic alterations.Source: open.barnet.gov.uk
The Wood Street appraisal (adopted July 2007) records 31 listed buildings, with St John the Baptist Church at Grade II* and the rest Grade II. An Article 4 Direction made in 1970 covers most of the area and brings replacement windows and doors, roof extensions, external painting and most boundaries under planning control.Source: open.barnet.gov.uk
Historic England states that listing status covers the entire building and that works requiring listed building consent can include internal alterations. For the listed houses and cottages of Totteridge, Monken Hadley and Chipping Barnet, changes to plan form, joinery, fireplaces or panelling need consent from Barnet Council.Source: historicengland.org.uk
Barnet's Construction Site Guidelines for Householders and Developers limit noisy work audible at the site boundary to 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturday, with no work on Sundays or bank holidays. Work outside these hours needs prior approval, given only in exceptional circumstances.Source: hgsra.uk
Questions
Interior design in Barnet & Totteridge
Do I need permission to replace windows or doors on a house in Totteridge?
Often, yes. Barnet's Totteridge appraisal states that an Article 4 Direction covering much of the conservation area allows the Council to control minor works such as external doors, windows and roofing materials, as well as porches and external painting. If an interior scheme involves new windows, glazed doors or rooflights, we check the property against the Direction and the listing position before the design is fixed.Source: open.barnet.gov.uk
Do interior changes to a listed house in Barnet need consent?
Yes, where the work affects the building's special interest. Historic England states that listing covers the entire building and that works needing listed building consent can include internal alterations. In Barnet the application goes to Barnet Council. Removing walls, altering staircases or replacing original fireplaces and joinery are typical examples. We record the existing interior first and design so that the case for any change is clear.Source: historicengland.org.uk
What hours can building work run in Barnet?
Barnet's Construction Site Guidelines for Householders and Developers allow noisy work audible at the site boundary from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturday, with no work on Sundays or bank holidays. Work outside these hours needs prior approval and is permitted only in exceptional circumstances, such as emergencies. We schedule strip-out, drilling and deliveries within these windows.Source: hgsra.uk
Do you take on single rooms as well as whole houses in Barnet & Totteridge?
Yes. Projects range from a single room, which can also be designed remotely through the Virtual Studio, to whole-house refurbishments, new builds and commercial spaces. Every project follows the same five-stage, RIBA-aligned process: Define, Develop, Resolve, Deliver and Complete.
Can you manage the build as well as the design?
Yes. The studio can work alongside your architect and contractor, providing contractor coordination and design oversight on site, or deliver a single design-and-build service that takes the project from concept to completion.
Will Katherine be involved personally?
Yes. Katherine Varnava, a BIID Registered Interior Designer®, leads every project herself. The studio takes on a deliberately limited number of projects each year so that she stays involved in every detail, from concept to completion.
Updated 17 October 2026
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