Hi Eleanor,
I have been reflecting on the build up to working with you on our reconfiguration project. I had seen your stall at a school fair and engaged with you and got such a lovely sense from you and you offered advice on that day and were not pushy. At that point I was so flustered, frustrated upset and to be very honest my husband and I were broken. At the time I met with you I went home and told my husband about my meeting with you and spoke of ‘my gut feeling’ telling me that you were the person. We were already engaged at that point with an architect and had spent thousands with this architect so we felt we needed to continue on when my gut was telling me not to. We had a horrendous experience and were in the middle of this when I happened upon you that day at the school fair.

We initially engaged with an architect that was recommended by a builder. The couple lived in a different county. To begin I was impressed as the plans were lovely but once planning was refused, we were on our own. As time went on it became clear that we had lovely pictures but they were never going to transfer into becoming our home and they had not listened to our budget and we feel we really dodged a bullet as had planning been approved we were never going to be in a position to fund the build as the quotes were not precise but loosely based on a previous build they had completed. It became increasingly more difficult to get in touch with the architects and months used to to go by and I did all the chasing to see where things were at. I used to see lovely projects on Instagram by the couple of other builds they were working on and this was like a further insult. After months of chasing and at a loss of a lot of hard-earned money we chose to walk away as we could not loose any further money and I was tired of chasing.

We were broken, hurt, upset, deflated and if I’m honest I was feeling very low . We felt we lived in such a beautiful part of Dublin in a small cottage. It is a 2 bedroom and our eldest daughter identifies as autistic and we really needed an extra bedroom and bathroom to accommodate both girls needs. We have the mountains behind us but close to the luas and all amenities. The location suits our neurodivergent daughter as she really enjoys being in nature and we can walk to Tick knock from our home and see the sea.

In a moment of desperation I phoned you, Eleanor, as I had also been following you in Instagram. You were so kind as you took a call from a random stranger who off loaded for a full hour. You remained calm and reassured me to take time to think what we wanted as I was in a state of to be honest, I don’t even know what, as I heard myself speak in a hurried tone and almost used it as a counselling session to voice my absolute frustration.

We took a pause as I told you I needed time to see if we would just sell up as I honestly did not know if I could go through it all again to lose more money and be left again with nothing as this was almost 2 years on.

When I called you, you really teased out of me if I was fully committed. We spoke openly with you about our fears and how this project did not bring us joy as I feel we were trying to protect ourselves from further let downs.

You arrived with your homework done even on the first visit. I was so impressed by that as you had already contacted the council and were able to tell us we were never getting planning to begin. You were firm and clear as to what was possible within the structure we had. We were clear with you regarding our budget, and you constantly reassured us throughout our meetings that we were within budget and have also been clear with the builder with regards the budget. We had not experienced this previously and I am still tense around this, but you have the costings broken down clearly and contingency plans. Although, I still remain a little fearful I know we will work through it and adapt should obstacles come in our way with unexpected costs and we can compromise moving forward as you are working very much in step with the builder also.
The first day you left you set a date to meet with us again and this has remained consistent in our dealings with you. This is hugely reassuring to us based on our previous experience of the silence and constant chasing and then a bill being issued. You have always communicated with us prior to each visit to make sure we are still good to go ahead.

Each visit you have completed a lot of work in between and this is evident in the content that you bring. The first time you came to show us the two options I cried. It felt like you restored a little hope to us and we could begin to believe that remaining in our home in this fabulous location might be a possibility. I understand we may not have been the easiest of clients to work with as we were afraid to show joy as we are still hurting from our previous experience.
In looking at your drawings in time I have been able to see myself living within them. I feel as a mother you see where the clutter gathers and you have given us options for storage and understand the workings of family life. You said at one point ‘.. it will never win awards…’, but it is designed for our needs. I love this as I don’t want a show house, I want a home and that is what you have designed for us with all the storage and comforts and ease that a home should have. You planned into the future, and we can easily adapt your design to have our daughter have her independence should she, or either of our girls, remain living with us into adulthood. You clearly explained and gave us the time to understand the reasons you were putting rooms where they were in the home, and you have designed such a comfortable home with simplistic furnishings as we told you we like ‘plain’ and ‘no fuss’ and you heard this too.
We look forward to our meetings with you. I feel I can send you a quick email to clarify something and get a prompt reply. You have reassured us along the way and we know once this build starts in the coming weeks that we have you in our corner as we see the project through. (I can’t believe I’m writing those words.) This will help us in building our trust back up.

I was meant to come across you at that school fair and we will get the home we always envisioned for our two beautiful daughters, and I won’t be embarrassed to have people over and I will do lots of play dates and have friends come to stay. When this finishes you will not only have given us a home, but you will have given us the life we have strived and worked hard and saved for our little family. I am beyond grateful for the school fair that gave us a chance meeting with someone who reconfigures as I was not aware of the term until I met you and this is all we needed. As the saying goes, ‘better late than never.’

We approached Eleanor in Cobelis with feelings of frustration, annoyance and becoming over whelmed with our design process, in the hope we would receive new found direction. The background of our story is we have an old cottage where we approached an architect, which designed a fabulous design but was out of budget. We felt we were not listened to, it got us excited but it wasn’t possible and also the design wasn’t suited to our site, which was hard to get our head around. In a moment of despair we found Cobelis, Eleanor just got us, we had a long consult and Eleanor came back to me with what I could only call the lightbulb moment. Our design finally made sense, a smaller footprint that was more manageable saving us thousands.

Eleanor’s design just made sense and we were almost annoyed we hadn’t done this earlier. We will be forever grateful to her and would highly recommend her for reconfiguring your spatial needs.

‘While we loved our house we knew it could be better, the house just wasn’t working for us. We had plenty of space, but it wasn’t being well utilised. A small dark kitchen at the back with barely enough space for two people in it and a sunroom that altered between freezing cold in the winter and sweltering hot in the summer. We knew there was a huge amount of potential in the house, but we couldn’t see a way to make it work for us. We weren’t sure whether we could get what we needed from the house, or whether we should start looking for something bigger.

We had spoken to an architect previously, but the project cost which we had gotten back was a multiple of our budget and while it gave more space, it still left us with questions, but we could see that we didn’t need an additional 40msq of space to the house. Our problem wasn’t really about how much area there was in the house, it was that it wasn’t been used in a way that met our needs.

We had heard from a friend of what service Eleanor provided, and the idea of getting more from what we had appealed to us. After looking at her website and the initial chat we were really excited about the possibilities. Eleanor was very engaging from the start of the process. She seemed excited by the opportunities that the redevelopment represented, which in turn filled us with optimism of what we could get from the project. Eleanor teased out the details of exactly what we really needed from the house, offering insight and guidance as to what could and couldn’t work, to designing (and redesigning) the plans to achieve the design we needed. We are super happy with the result of the project, and nearly three years of living with the new design we feel it really gives us what we need.

Before our redesign we were unsure whether we should stay in the house, now we are definitely at home here, for many years to come!

We absolutely love the house since the refurbishment, and we couldn’t have achieved it without Eleanor.’

We knew we wanted to change the layout of our house. We have a lot of space but are not using it to its maximum potential and kept going around in circles about the best way to improve our living space. We weren’t sure whether we were better off speaking to an architect, an interior designer, or simply a builder. We were daunted by the whole process and really didn’t know where to start. We had engaged with an architect previously but weren’t blown away with the ideas they came up with. We needed ideas and guidance that took all of our needs into consideration – space, budget, family dynamic, what we wanted to use each space for etc . We came across the Cobelis website and what Eleanor offered ticked all of the boxes of what we were looking for.

From our first meeting, Eleanor clearly laid out the service she provides, the steps involved, the input she needed from us and what she would provide us with. That in itself eased some of the stress we were feeling. Eleanor asked things that we hadn’t even considered could impact on our decisions, taking into consideration what we want for ourselves, for the children, the flow of traffic through the house, how the changes we make now would suit our lives in the future. Her approach of providing plans that wouldn’t work is a brilliant way to eliminate the “what if” feeling and confirm that the final plan is the one we definitely want. And the 3D imagery brought it all to life in a way we didn’t expect and provided a visual of what could be which was amazing. Eleanor also provides the option to revisit the plans one more time to make any changes which is essential as it is good to have time to reflect on them and make sure it’s exactly what we want.

We are now in the process of receiving quotes from builders (who were very impressed by the plans Eleanor provided) and we can’t wait to start making Eleanor’s plans our reality.

After being through a number of consultations with various companies, we were still unsatisfied with the solutions being proposed. However, after our consultations with Eleanor and going through the process with her, we have a much clearer understanding of what our needs actually are and what solutions make sense. Eleanor ensured that we really thought about what we wanted and why, and her proposals really make us feel confident that the design is right for us now and into the future as our family grows.

We engaged Eleanor following the purchase of our new home. The original house had been heavily extended but the layout did not suit our family needs. Eleanor took the time to understand our requirements and designed a plan which far exceeded our expectations. Work is well underway and the clarity of her design has ensured there were no unexpected bumps in the road. Would highly recommend for anyone who needs to rework their home to maximise its potential. Thanks a mil. Laura

I found myself facing into the daunting prospect of my ground floor apartment being internally demolished as part of remediation for pyrite. These works would have seen my apartment being rebuilt exactly as it was but a friend suggested I take the opportunity to look at the design and how I used the space. There is only so much I would be able to do to redesign an apartment, or so I thought. Eleanor’s core message of making the most of an existing space resonated with me and my situation, and from our first conversation I felt reassured and supported. My lifestyle, habits, preferences, and aspirations were considered throughout the process and Eleanor’s designs and suggestions made me notice things about myself which I had never paid attention to before. This has culminated in a space which feels more like home than it ever did before and I couldn’t be happier with the result.

Really enjoyed working with Eleanor in getting our design together over the past 6 weeks. At the beginning we knew we wanted to improve our apartment but didn’t know what or where to start ! Following Eleanor’s process helped us to uncover what is most important to us as a small family, how best to maximise space and we arrived at the best design for us. The design looks fantastic and I can’t wait to see what this looks like in reality as it gets built over the next few months.