Most architects charge a percentage of construction cost, meaning fees rise as budgets rise — often without any change in design work. REAFE STUDIO takes a more transparent approach. We agree a fixed fee based on the actual time and expertise required, giving clients genuine cost certainty from day one. As our database of completed projects grows, our pricing becomes even more accurate, informed by real design hours, planning variables and build complexity. If the brief changes, costs are clearly agreed before work continues. This fixed-fee model creates trust, removes financial ambiguity and keeps the focus firmly on thoughtful, intelligent design.

The Old Bakery, a Grade II* listed 14th-century building in one of West Sussex’s most beautiful villages, is undergoing a sensitive and deeply considered restoration by REAFE STUDIO. Once a proud medieval bakery, the structure has been compromised by damp, a leaking roof and decades of poorly judged modern interventions. Our work focuses on reinstating lost Georgian details, revealing the original timber frame and using traditional materials to protect the building’s historic character. Supported by a full 3D digital twin, the restoration blends heritage craftsmanship with modern conservation practices to ensure this remarkable building thrives for centuries to come.

Designing within the South Downs National Park — especially with Grade II listed buildings — demands sensitivity, collaboration and a deep respect for context. At REAFE STUDIO, our recent projects in Lewes and the surrounding landscape, including 29 Friars Walk, No.1 Windover Crescent, Bluebell Cottage and No.1A Mount Place, demonstrate how thoughtful design can preserve heritage while enabling contemporary living. By working closely with conservation officers, engaging early in the planning process, and using a landscape-led approach, we create architecture that sits comfortably within its setting. Each project balances history, craftsmanship and modern functionality to enhance both home and place.

This project reimagines a former industrial unit in central Lewes, sensitively updating a 1990s residential conversion that had lost much of its original character. REAFE STUDIO restored the historic frontage by reinstating the original brick piers and relocating the garage doors to their proper position. New heritage-inspired double doors and Crittall-style windows bring light and architectural clarity to the elevation. Inside, we opened up the ground floor and introduced a bespoke timber-and-glass wall designed to showcase the owner’s Alfa Romeo as a feature within the space. A conservation-led, design-driven transformation respectful of its industrial heritage.

Bluebell Cottage is a uniquely characterful woodland home on a historic green lane north of Lewes. Once a small woodsman’s cottage, it evolved into a patchwork of four mismatched extensions with poor light and flow. REAFE STUDIO’s redesign retains the original horseshoe footprint while replacing a low-quality infill with a light-filled modern structure centred around an internal picture garden. The exterior will be reclad in black Viroc boards, creating subtle “shadow architecture” that blends into the woodland. A new Craig Ellwood–inspired garden-facing extension introduces warm materials, exposed timber and expansive glazing to frame the surrounding landscape.

REAFE STUDIO reimagines a Grade II listed townhouse in the heart of Lewes with a sensitive, conservation-led redesign. The project adds a modern two-storey rear extension, enhanced natural light, and restored heritage features using traditional materials. Thoughtful planning, heritage collaboration and contemporary design bring new life to this historic South Downs home.

For the rebrand of Stenning Roofers, REAFE STUDIO set out to translate generations of heritage craftsmanship into a modern, design-led identity. Known for their precision-led work on historic and listed buildings, the company needed a brand that felt as confident, reliable and craft-focused as the roofs they restore.

Our design direction drew from the material language of the trade — slate textures, clean lines, fine detailing and traditional leadwork — distilling these references into a restrained visual identity. The new branding, typography and colour palette were built to feel honest, grounded and timeless, echoing the character of a craftsman-led business.

We shaped a clear, trustworthy tone of voice to match: direct, knowledgeable and quietly confident. The website follows the same principles, presenting Stenning Roofers’ work with clarity and structure, allowing their expertise to speak for itself.

The outcome is a brand that blends traditional skill with contemporary graphic design — giving a respected heritage roofer a modern identity rooted in craft, precision and integrity.

No.1 Windover Crescent is a sensitive yet ambitious redesign of a 1930s bungalow on the edge of Lewes. REAFE STUDIO retained the original ground-floor structure to preserve embodied carbon while introducing a new first floor aligned with neighbouring ridge heights. A light-filled southern extension, vaulted roof lights and carefully positioned glazing transform the home’s atmosphere and flow. A compact glazed link forms the new entrance, connecting old and new volumes with clarity. Despite a 200% increase in internal space, only six percent of the plot is newly built, ensuring a landscape-led, sustainable and contextually respectful family home.

Perched high above the River Ouse with panoramic views towards Ashdown Forest, this contemporary writing studio was designed as a sanctuary for a bestselling novelist seeking calm, light and creative focus. Completed in Spring 2024, the project replaces an unusable conservatory with a bold architectural form crafted from charred Yakisugi timber, heritage zinc and corten steel. Inside, vaulted ceilings, warm oak panelling and a polished concrete floor create a serene, atmospheric workspace. Built using SIPS construction for performance and precision, the studio balances modern expression with contextual sensitivity in the South Downs National Park.

This project marks a new chapter for one of London’s leading aesthetic clinic groups. REAFE STUDIO developed a calm, contemporary spatial concept designed to elevate both experience and performance. By rethinking movement, privacy, lighting and materiality, the clinic now offers a more intuitive customer journey, increased treatment capacity and a premium sense of trust. Thoughtful design became a strategic tool—improving workflow, reducing waiting times and strengthening brand perception. The result is a beautifully crafted environment that feels confident, balanced and human, while quietly supporting business growth. A space that doesn’t just look better — it works better.

Branding is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity for businesses trying to stand out in an overcrowded marketplace. At REAFE STUDIO, we bring 25 years of cross-disciplinary experience in retail design, graphics and product design to help brands cut through the noise with clarity, purpose and personality. Recent projects — including Stenning Roofers, Prime Volt and Seahorse Nursery — demonstrate how thoughtful visual identity elevates trust, visibility and customer engagement. Whether playful, heritage-led or precision-focused, our branding approach blends creativity with strategy to create modern, distinctive brands that resonate deeply with their audiences.

REAFE STUDIO is more than an architectural practice. With over 25 years’ experience across retail design, graphic design, furniture and product design, our work is shaped by a multidisciplinary approach that brings clarity, craft and intelligence to every project. From heritage homes in Lewes to rural remodels, and from bespoke interiors to recent retail environments at Battersea Power Station, our design thinking is enriched by decades of creating spaces, objects and brand experiences. This combined expertise allows us to design holistically—where architecture, interiors and identity work together to create thoughtful, refined and enduring places.

Drawing on Jasper Johns’ layered numerals, 0 3 9 A reimagines how identity can be constructed from the familiar and transformed through process. By stacking forms, meanings and modes of looking, the project merges photography, digital craft and abstraction into a single, quietly powerful visual language. The resulting brand identity feels both precise and elusive—inviting viewers to reconsider not just the image in front of them, but the act of seeing itself within the shifting landscape of NFT culture.

REAFE STUDIO collaborated with Spoon Customs on Concept Stage 1 of an innovative eco-bike designed using repurposed sea plastic collected from the Maldives. Developed to high industrial design and environmental standards, the project explores how recycled ocean waste can be transformed into a durable, low-impact mobility product through advanced 3D printing processes.

Using DAM Strong composite—made from recycled fishing nets and carbon fibre—the concept supports circular, localised manufacturing while reducing shipping emissions and material waste. The design language draws on modernist industrial design principles, fluid natural geometries and highly refined detailing. Every component, from the printed frame to integrated mounts and custom grips, is engineered with clarity, strength and long-term performance in mind.

This early-stage study demonstrates how sustainable materials and precise, highly detailed industrial design can redefine the future of eco-mobility. The project reflects REAFE STUDIO’s commitment to environmentally responsible, design-led innovation across product and industrial design.