Claire 338.
I would love to give Angela a rating of 10 out of 5 ,for her advice, professionalism and approachability.

We contacted Angela to provide design and project management skills for our total house renovation. After a lot of discussion and advice from Angela we decided on a 2 stage renovation, stage 1 has just been completed and we are totally blown away with the outcome. Angela's understanding of what we needed and advice including trades is exceptional, her timeline impeccably adhered to and she was always available to answer questions. She made the process easy by basically holding our hands through it.

I would also like to say a huge thankyou to all of the tradies that participated in our project including Peter the builder, Peter the plasterer, Sam the electrician , Hamdi the painter and Tim the joiner et al, you have all done an amazing job.

Thankyou Angela once again for our new and hugely improved downstairs, we are looking forward to you and your tradies coming back later in the year to transform the upstairs part in stage 2.

We would highly recommend Angela and her tradies to anyone who would like to transform their old style home into an amazing and totally up to date home with minimum fuss.
Claire and Kevin Knoxfield March 2017

After much deliberation of whether to renovate or sell, we came across Angela Cosgrove in January 2016. Little did we know (once I made my first phone call to her) just how much impact she had in helping us make the right decision to stay where we love, and renovate our very 80s home.

From the moment Angela stepped foot in our home, her warmth, expertise and understanding of our needs was evident.

Angela's follow up report and recommendations was prompt and her attention to detail displayed was second to none. After much to-ing and fro-ing our reno finally commenced in September 2016 and we are delighted with the end result (which was completed on time and as specified by her before works even started).

Angela's coordination of her trades and adhering to her time line was unquestionable. Angela always made herself available and her follow up with any issues or questions was always prompt and professional.

Angela will be the first to tell you her 'tradies' are not the cheapest and from our experiences with them, one can understand why. They were all most reliable, honest, detailed in their work and a pleasure to have in our home. Their respect for Angela and adhering to her timeline was always evident. A special mention to Peter cugmeister, our plasterer and Peter o'toole the carpenter for all their hard work and attention to detail.

We have no hesitation in recommending Angela Cosgrove of Creative Elegance Interiors Pty Ltd for making our renovation a wonderful, stress free experience. Even our dog looked forward each day to seeing everyone come on site! Thank you Angela and all your 'tradies' for making our home what it is today!

J & D Hess

I guess we all think a home renovation is going to be a nightmare, especially when you decide to stay, with the dog, while it is all going on.
Well my experience with Creative Elegance Interiors and Angela Cosgrove could not have been better.
As I have no vision for what “could be” I would not have ended up with the amazing place I have today.
Starting with a tired outdated home, I now feel like I am walking into a new one each day.
Angela took in the things that I like, mainly Asian style, and incorporated that with a modern, comfortable and practical space. Her attention to detail and totally hands on approach were amazing.
Including cleaning, filling skips, staining timber. Whatever was needed she would do. On site everyday to make sure all went well. The timeline she set was exact , we finished on the date, even given some unexpected problems along the way.
As I was living here, it was done in 2 stages to make sure I always had a workable place to live in. The tradesmen were first class, friendly and so obliging, always making sure that the place was clean and set up for me each night, moving furniture etc.
I could not recommend Angela and the team highly enough.
PS The dog survived, they didn’t let her escape once J

Kerry Richardson
Ph: 0417 942 514

I contacted Angela to look at our kitchen. I wanted some suggestions on colour schemes, furnishings, etc. plus run her eye over the rest of the house. She was so helpful. In 2 hours she came up with so many fabulous ideas. We love the colour scheme she has suggested for the kitchen.
I would have no hesitation in recommending her to anyone.
Joan Murphy

We engaged Angela Cosgrove from Creative Elegance Interiors to provide design and project management services in support of the renovation of our 3 bedroom home. By way of background, the house is a double brick, double storey, semi-detached house (built circa 1938). Whilst it had an extension built at the back and some minor works over the years it was in real need of updating and making it more livable for a young family.

As a working couple with an eight year old son, we were very apprehensive about embarking on such a full scale renovation project, which pretty much involves every part of the house! This quickly started turning to real fear after speaking with friends about their renovation experiences and also after having spoken to a couple of other design and project management consultants.

Thankfully all of this changed after the first couple of conversations with Angela. In fact that fear and apprehension faded away after the first meeting in which she spent considerable time understanding our needs and priorities as well as our budget and timelines. From that point on selecting her over other design and project management consultants was a 'no brainer' for my husband and I.

Angela was very thorough in the planning and setup phase and made sure we were fully engaged and informed every step of the way. In addition to drawing up the project requirements in detail as well as the project plan, she took the time to fully explain every part of the planning phase as well as the project itself. Her design ideas and suggestions were very innovative yet took into account our budget constraints. For example, one of our key requirements was for there to be an ensuite constructed for the upstairs master bedroom. Angela was able to visualise it and presented us with the options of how this space could be created by way of taking some of the Master Bedroom space and taking some of our son's closet space from the adjacent bedroom in order to minimise the overall impact on the Master Bedroom size and layout. We are very pleased with the outcome. Another example was our desire to have a concealed laundry instead of having it within the powder room. Once again she was able to design an innovative solution for this. She also presented us with other ideas and suggestions in this planning phase to enable us to review and co-create the space and layouts with her.

That said, there was also a healthy level of tension and debate between us and Angela as to the design and layout of the areas which we very much appreciated. For example we were initially looking for a very modern finish but Angela very quickly pointed out that this would not suit the heritage of the property and will clash with the character of the property. We were very grateful for this advice and are very pleased with that advice early on as it helped us review our preferences for finishes. Her ability to visualise a space and provide constructive advice and options on style, practicality and function is second to none.

Once the project commenced, it all went like clockwork. Her team of tradies are very pleasant to deal with and kept with the plan. They worked very effectively as a team and communicated very clearly with both Angela and I throughout the project. Looking at the finished work, I can also comment very favorably on the quality of the workmanship and attention the detail. The plastering work, mouldings, painting, wood flooring, tiling and joinery all look beautiful and matches our requirements to the tee. The electrical and plumbing works (which were quite extensive) were all done to complement the space and finished off in a very tidy manner.

That said, no home renovation project would be complete without variations and we had our fair share of variations too. As our place was old and had little done to it over the years, we did come up with several variations as new things were discovered as part of the demolition works. The difference that Angela brought to the equation was that she explained it all to us clearly and in a timely manner as these arose and offered us options whilst taking into account our budget and timelines. This made the decision making process from our end less stressful and easier. That said the variations did not amount to a substantial sum and all were either unforeseeable or changes requested by us based on advice and options from Angela.

In summing up, some of my key observations of Angela at Creative Elegance Interiors, hoping this would be useful to others who are looking to renovate -

- Extremely hardworking and very engaged to get the project thoroughly planned and undertaken to meet the project plan
- Hands-on. She doesn't just update project plans and attend the worksite to inspect and check on progress. Instead she gets her hands dirty to keep the project on time. On a number of occasions I was there, Angela was hacking away at walls and carting materials to the skip- not something most design consultants and project managers would be wiling to do
- Strong communicator, able to simplify complex matters and cut past the tradie lingo to give me plain and simple options and a good understanding of the project progress
- Passionate about helping me realise the potential of my property by sharing with me ideas and suggestions whilst also challenging me along the way to ensure i get the best outcome for my home
- Committed to the project, ie I felt I could fully rely on Angela to ensure all works are done according to the plan and intended sequence to minimise delays and avoid unnecessary cost overruns. In fact she was so committed to the extent of even spending her Saturday unpacking boxes and helping me with my move once the project was completed!

I would not hesitate recommending Angela and her team to any of my family and friends. We are very pleased with our renovated home and look forward to enjoying the new space in the years ahead.

Thank you Angela and her team!

Thanks to Angela, things have gone so smoothly and her advice was extremely valuable. She kept me up to date daily of the coming and goings of her contractors and they also always let me know when they were due to arrive and were always punctual, professional and produced fantastic results. Angela has a true eye for design, colour and ideas that we would never have thought of. I would not hesitate to contact her again for our next job and recommend her to anyone.

I contacted Angela to get some advice on colour palettes for our outdoor area and the exterior of our house. I was extremely impressed with Angela's knowledge and understanding of my requirements. Not only was she in tune with modern colour palettes, she came up with lots of different options to blend our back area to our front area by incorporating use of different textures and materials. I would have no hesitation recommending Angela to any prospective client and I am looking forward to seeing our project completed.

Ringwood Project – Oct to Dec 2015

Where do you start writing a reference for Angela Cosgrove of Creative Elegance Interiors Pty Ltd?

Finding Angela was like winning Lotto. By extreme luck we happened upon her website and on reading the glowing reviews were prompted to give her a call. We were sceptical that they could all be that good, but being new in the area and not having the benefit from word of mouth recommendations or even knowing any tradespeople in the area, we were entering a world that all came down to luck, and as chance has it we were indeed lucky.

Having mulled over what we required and how we perceived achieving it, we had our first visit from Angela. From that moment on, we realized we had struck gold, and we had been living with a very limited idea of what was possible, Angela proceeded to trot out suggestions and ideas that would never have entered our heads, her suggestions evolved into a much more realistic and workable floor plan than we had ever envisaged at the start.

Then came the finer details of materials and colour schemes, here again Angela produced ideas for
us to consider and led us through all the options best suited for our project, producing ideas and examples of how everything would blend together to give us a modern look in a Heritage style house without damaging its integrity.

On our deciding to proceed with the project, Angela prepared a very detailed schedule of works for us, including a flow chart of the daily activities of the various trades people over the estimated 9 weeks of the work, along with their quotes and payment schedules. Details of various suggested suppliers were included along with examples of some of her previous projects to give us some prospective on what was achievable.

We will tell you here and now that the trades people she introduced to us, all had an extraordinary work ethic, skills and an ability to work together without tension, they were always pleasant and very considerate to our needs while we tried to carry on living in the shell of our home, they would stay back to complete any tasks so as not to impose on the next day's schedule. Angela oversaw all the work herself and was on site most days and could often be seen unloading a load of timber or installing insulation in the walls herself, she was always available to us to answer any concerns that may have arisen and to ply us with suggestions of where to source appliances or items of furniture at the best possible prices, overall she must have saved us thousands whilst making no gain for herself.

The main work was all completed on time, to the day as promised, the only exceptions being where
we ourselves had requested additional work whilst we had the tradespeople on site or we had deviated from the original plan.

We have now ended up with a beautiful home and can only thank Angela for making it possible. We have no hesitation in recommending Angela and her team and wishing them well for continuing success in the future and we now join the growing band of her happy and satisfied clients.

Ken & Marlene Harding

After many years of talking about creating an open plan modern/industrial dream kitchen, we met Angela Cosgrove.

Within weeks Angela had come to our home to discuss our ideas, requirements. Ours being an older home, we had many concerns regarding structural issues that would only appear once work began (opening up that so called can of worms!)

Angela quickly developed and provided us with an estimated project budget/plan and we were on our way!

We remained in our home during the renovations and quickly got used to the 7am smiling faces of Angela and her "tradies" knocking on our front door!

Angela is very driven, focussed, professional and extremely organised. Her relationship with her team of "tradies" was very clear, she expected punctuality, courtesy and excellence from each of them. We found them all to be A1 tradesmen with an excellent work ethic.

Thanks to Angela, we now have a new luxurious bathroom/laundry room and the best open plan living/dining/kitchen space which also includes a new powder room ... couldn't have asked for a better Xmas present!!

Without question, we highly recommend Angela.

Kevin and Mary
Richmond

Julie and I employed Angela Cosgrove of Creative Elegance Interiors to design and project-manage the complete refurbishment of a twenty year old apartment in the city fringe suburb of East Melbourne. We contacted her due to the glowing testimonials she received on WOMO and found her to be open, friendly and professional, charging very reasonable rates and willing to take on our project which had very tight time constraints as we would have to rent accommodation whilst the work was being done.

There were five weeks until settlement and Angela started on the design stage of the project immediately. Her energy and enthusiasm soon became obvious. She shared many ideas with us while also discovering our particular tastes, emailing us, listening to our ideas, suggesting suppliers that we could visit both physically and via the Internet and on some occasions joining us on expeditions to discover desirable fittings and furniture. This was the first time that she had worked on an apartment and she went out of her way to discover the requirements and restrictions imposed by the Owners Corporation so that we could commence work on schedule.

Whilst having complete confidence in her own design abilities Angela was careful to take our ideas on board and reflect these in her suggestions. This and her creativity were demonstrated in her use of glass doors that had been removed from the downsizing of one of our cabinets in order for it to fit into our new home. These became part of built-in cupboards in our lounge area along with drawers that replicated the entry buffet that we had purchased at a trade fair. This willingness to listen, ability to be adaptive and obviously creative design skills, along with her good humour and constant availability made this stage of the project exciting and not overly stressful.

Before settlement Angela was ready to start the project and we were very happy to sign the extremely comprehensive and detailed Project Management Agreement.
During the second stage Angela set herself and all others associated with the project, the highest standards. She encouraged us to communicate with our neighbours about the project, making sure that they had our contact numbers so that they could discuss any issues that arose. There was continuous liaison with the Owners’ Corporation managers on a wide range of matters specific to apartments such as sound proofing for flooring. Whilst insisting on exemplary workmanship, punctuality and behaviour from her workers who incidentally were skilful, friendly and most helpful ,she led by example, appearing on site, usually before the first arrival and often participating in the work that had to be done. She also made sure that they were treated with the same respect that she commanded and was meticulous in making sure that they were paid on time and helped with the minutiae and problems associated in running their businesses. In turn they held her in high regard, often commented on her meticulous planning and were always willing to adjust their own timetables when necessitated by her schedule being disrupted by factors outside her control.
At the same time Angela continued to generate ideas, help us to make the ongoing decisions associated with renovations, organise suppliers and make sure we made payments on time. She did this calmly and respectfully, always looking for solutions rather than where to lay blame when problems arose and never appearing stressed or irritable.

The outcome was that the apartment was ready for the removalists to return our possessions on the scheduled date. Angela then spent the next four days unpacking, as we had committed to going to Perth some time previously, so we could move in seamlessly on our return.

To say that we are thrilled with the finished product is an understatement. Our new home has exceeded our expectations in that it meets all our aspirations but also has surprised us with the placement of both new and previously owned pieces and the use of colour. We feel very fortunate that Angela managed this project from beginning to end and in the time frame that many would say was impossible.
We are therefore totally confident in recommending Angela unreservedly for all aspects of interior design projects as a person who relentlessly pursues the goals of her clients but with a generosity of spirit that makes the experience enjoyable for all the participants.

David & Julie Harris
East Melbourne