The Beams team removed all the stress and matched me with a wonderful contractor."
Teresa
Queen's Park
On time and on budget. A real pleasure."
Eleanor
Stoke Newington
Completed our renovation project within budget and on time."
Evelyn
Bow East
What counts as a luxury renovation
Nobody in this market defines the term, which makes it hard to know whether it applies to you.
In practice three things separate a luxury renovation from a standard one.
1. The specification: bespoke joinery rather than fitted units, stone rather than laminate, integrated lighting and climate control designed in from the start.
2. The structure: most projects at this level move walls, services and sometimes floors rather than replacing finishes.
3. The consents: period and prime properties carry constraints that ordinary renovations do not.
It is not a property value or a postcode. A well-specified renovation of a four-bedroom house in Chiswick can be a bigger job than a light refurbishment in Belgravia.
What a luxury renovation costs in London
Almost nobody in this market publishes a price. We think that is the wrong way round, so here is what the published market data says.
Independent figures put a full London renovation at around £2,500 per square metre, rising to £3,200 to £5,500 in Chelsea, Kensington and Belgravia, with whole-project budgets from £450,000 upwards. One London contractor publishes completed projects at £365 to £452 per square foot.
Those are per-square-metre numbers, which tell you little until you know your scope. We price by what is actually in scope instead, and our renovation cost guide sets out how that works.
The premium is mostly specification, not labour. Why renovating in London costs more covers the rest.
Project gallery
Explore our completed London renovations.
How it works
Start with a free estimate in under two minutes. Nothing to pay, and the first call is free.
Design is optional. Design with us then build, come with your own architect's drawings and go straight to build, or take the design and stop there.
Design. Layouts, a room by room specification, and the material and joinery decisions that have to be settled before anyone can price work at this level. Our interior design service runs as much or as little of it as you want.
Build. Up to three vetted London builders quote against the same specification, so you compare like with like rather than guessing what each one left out.
At this value, two quotes that aren't comparable are the most expensive mistake available to you.
Why Beams
Your money is held, not handed over. Funds release stage by stage, only after you approve the work.
Builders vetted for this kind of work. Five-stage vetting before joining, and a progression pathway that tests whether a builder can run several trades at once. See our vetting process.
£5m public liability, £5m employer's liability. Checked at joining and renewal.
Twelve months on the workmanship, from sign off.
Trade-price materials. Bespoke joinery, stone and specialist finishes through our materials partners at trade rather than retail.
What changes at this level in London
Consents are the thing that catches people, and they sit ahead of the build rather than beside it.
Much of prime London sits on an estate, Cadogan, Grosvenor, Crown or Walden, and the freeholder's consent is a separate process from planning, with its own timetable and fees. A licence to alter applies to leasehold properties before any structural work.
Listed buildings and conservation areas restrict what you can change externally and sometimes internally. Work near a shared wall brings in the Party Wall Act.
None of it is difficult. All of it is slow if you start late.
Ready to start your luxury renovation?
Get a free estimate and find out what's possible in your home. No commitment, no sales pressure.