Interior Designer · SE21, SE22, SE24
Interior design in Dulwich
Katherine Varnava Interiors is a luxury interior designer for homes and commercial spaces in Dulwich. 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 Dulwich
Dulwich keeps a village character, with Georgian houses, Victorian and Edwardian terraces and 1930s family homes set in generous gardens. Much of it is also covered by the Dulwich Estate's Scheme of Management, which adds a private layer of consent on top of planning and listed building controls.
Southwark's Dulwich Village Conservation Area Appraisal (February 2006) describes substantial Georgian houses such as Bell House of 1767 alongside Victorian and Edwardian terraces and 1930s family houses, mostly set in generous gardens along old routes such as Dulwich Village, College Road, Gallery Road and Red Post Hill. Smaller cottages built by the Dulwich Cottages Company in the late 1870s line Turney Road, Boxall Road and the south end of Calton Avenue. Just over 4,000 properties are bound by the Dulwich Estate's Scheme of Management. Interior projects here range from restoring Georgian and Victorian rooms to replanning 1930s houses around open kitchens and garden rooms, often with bespoke joinery to make the most of family layouts.
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 SE21, SE22, SE24, including streets such as Dulwich Village, College Road, Court Lane, Calton Avenue and Village Way.
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Before you start in Dulwich
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.
The Dulwich Estate says leaseholders can make non-structural alterations, such as replacing old kitchen units, without consent, but any structural alteration, such as removing internal walls, requires consent. Changes affecting the external appearance, such as replacing windows or installing flues, also need consent, and a licence from the Estate is required before work starts.Source: thedulwichestate.org.uk
All freehold property on the Dulwich Estate is bound by the Scheme of Management, approved by the High Court in January 1974. Approval from the Scheme of Management Office is needed before altering the external appearance of a property, making significant changes to the garden including garden buildings, or felling or pruning trees.Source: thedulwichestate.org.uk
Scheme of Management applications are sent to the Estate, followed by a three-week neighbour and advisory committee consultation; the whole process takes about 8 to 10 weeks. A permit is issued once plans are agreed and a licence follows a satisfactory inspection. Published fees include £348 for replacement windows and doors and £148 for adding a roof light, and retrospective applications are charged at double the scale fee.Source: thedulwichestate.org.uk
Historic England states that listing covers a whole building, including the interior, and that listed building consent is needed for most works affecting its special interest. In a listed Dulwich house, internal joinery, staircases, fireplaces and room layout can therefore need listed building consent.Source: historicengland.org.uk
Southwark Council states that, where a Control of Pollution Act notice has been served on a site, noisy construction or demolition work audible beyond the boundary may only be carried out Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm. Work outside these hours needs section 61 consent.Source: southwark.gov.uk
Questions
Interior design in Dulwich
Do I need Dulwich Estate consent to remodel the inside of my house?
It depends on the work and your tenure. For leaseholders, the Estate says non-structural work such as replacing kitchen units needs no consent, but structural alterations such as removing internal walls do, and a licence is needed before work starts. Freeholders should check with the Scheme of Management Office, whose published guidance focuses on external appearance, gardens and trees. We confirm the position with the Estate before finalising layouts that move walls.Source: thedulwichestate.org.uk
How long does a Dulwich Estate application take?
The Estate says the process takes about 8 to 10 weeks, including a three-week consultation with neighbours and the advisory committee. Once plans are agreed a permit is issued, and a licence follows after inspection by an Estate surveyor. Replacement windows and doors carry a £348 fee and a new roof light £148. We build this timetable into the programme so window, door or roof light changes linked to an interior scheme do not hold up the work.Source: thedulwichestate.org.uk
What hours can builders work in Dulwich?
Southwark Council publishes hours of 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm on Saturday for noisy construction and demolition work, enforceable where a Control of Pollution Act notice has been served on the site. Work outside those hours needs section 61 consent. We plan noisy trades within these hours and keep deliveries and quieter installation work considerate to neighbours on residential streets.Source: southwark.gov.uk
Do you take on single rooms as well as whole houses in Dulwich?
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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