Mailen Design

Mailen were professional and understanding from the outset. There was a great deal of time spent on ensuring that the design of our project met the needs of both of our family and aesthetic wishes. Attention to detail was paramount and meetings, schedules and responses efficient and relevant. We are now enjoying a wonderful new space thanks to the flair and professionalism of Mailen Design.

Oakmasters are proud to have worked with Mailen Design on the Jachin Barn project, which was also shortlisted for the Best Oak Frame Home Award by Build It magazine. The practice beautifully re-purposed the agricultural oak barn and stables we built a number of years ago into a stunning home. Our manufacture and assembly teams then helped make this design a reality. They were a pleasure to work with and we hope to work together again.

As the Client for Jachin Barn, the photos of which are on display here, I can only express my thanks and highest regards for the team at Mailen Design. I first worked with them commercially on two central London tile showrooms, (Domus Clerkenwell and Domus EastCastle Street), both of which won national awards, so they were the obvious professionals for both design and project management support to turn to when I decided to convert Jachin Barn into a home. The brief to combine the contemporary with the traditional and create a truly inspirational and relaxing home and living space was not easy, but the results are fabulous. It is a wonderful place to live in and to entertain in. The whole project also came in on time and within budget. What more can I say. Unreserved recommendation!

Any building or refurbishment project comes with its challenges, from design issues and unforeseen structural issues, to delays and budgetary concerns. Our project was no different. We worked with Kieran Hawkins Mailen Design on the redesign and refurbishment of the top two floors of our Victorian house in 2015 as well as various structural and infrastructure changes. From the earliest conceptual drawing stage through to post-completion snagging Kieran was an absolute pleasure to deal with and his calm, unflappable nature helped us immensely when dealing with the inevitable challenges. From the very start Kieran and his team grasped what we were looking to achieve, understood completely our sense of style and demonstrated a genuine enthusiasm for our ideas and drive to see them through, helping us to make some difficult budgeting decisions along the way. Kieran also seemed to be equally at home with the intricacies of plumbing drawings, to the hanging of unusual lighting arrangements – we even dragged him along to Clerkenwell Design Week and he patiently listened to our more fanciful ideas and made valuable practical suggestions. We would not hesitate to work with Kieran and Mailen Design again on future projects - their contribution really was invaluable.

Mailen Design are a young, creative and dynamic architectural practices. I haven known and worked/ collaborated with the owner/director Ben Mailen on several project in the London area. He and his team are a pleasure to work with. I look forward to our on going work together . I can highly recommend Mailen Design.

MailenDesign managed to absorb the details of the way we lived our lives and reflected it back to us in the final designs. Our home manages to be both striking, surprising and representative of our family's life together. Our initial brief was to create a home within boundaries of size, outline and materials set by planning officers within our conservation area. Despite these sizeable obstacles, MailenDesign kept refining their ideas to accommodate our desire for a modern, open building, made from the simplest but smartest materials used in a sensitive, cost-effective way. Every day living there is effortless, and that is the result we had long hoped for.

Having worked with Mailen Design on a number of projects I find myself continuously impressed by their enthusiastic, friendly and creative approach to design. I found their team to be both engaging and communicative during design discussions whilst showing a real sensitivity to the atmosphere and environment that We were looking to generate within our family home. Thanks Guys!