Author: Laura Fellows
Nobody wants an off the shelf home. That's true in London, and it's equally true in Ely and Cambridge, where a significant proportion of properties are new builds that arrive looking exactly like every other house on the development. Same floors, same paint, same kitchen. Built for a broad market, not for the people who actually live there.
That's where we come in. At Baker & Fellows we work on homes across Ely, Cambridge, and the surrounding Cambridgeshire villages, helping people make their home actually feel like theirs. Find out more about how we work across Cambridgeshire here.
Image: Porcelain Superstore
New Builds Are Where It Gets Interesting
If you come to us while your property is still being built, we can work directly with the developer before anything is fixed. That means choosing your own floors rather than paying to have them ripped up later, skipping the developer's paint colours rather than painting over them, and in some cases changing the kitchen entirely before it's manufactured and having the developer's kitchen budget deducted from the total cost. It saves money and produces a far better result.
Image: Farben und Licht
Most clients who come to us at this stage want the same things. They want colour and warmth where the developer has defaulted to grey and beige. They want storage that actually works rather than the token cupboard the developer threw in. They want their home to feel like it belongs to them rather than to a show home photographer.
We've worked with families who moved into a new build in Cambridge with grey walls, grey floors, a grey kitchen, and no storage anywhere in the house. Getting that home feeling warm, personal, and properly functional before a new baby arrived took pace and focus — but that's exactly the kind of project we love. Everything ordered, delivered, and in place before the deadline. It's very satisfying when it comes together.
If you've already moved in and the build is complete, not to worry. We can still get to work making it feel far more like you. It just takes a slightly different approach.
It's Not Just New Builds
Cambridgeshire has a brilliant variety of properties and that variety is one of the things we genuinely enjoy about being based here. Georgian townhouses, Victorian terraces, barn conversions, post-war semis. The mix you find within a few streets of each other in Ely or Cambridge is something you rarely see in London, where whole areas tend to be built in the same period in the same style.
Image: Modern & Mellow
That variety keeps the work interesting. A barn conversion needs completely different thinking from a Victorian terrace, which needs different thinking again from a Georgian townhouse. There's no single approach that works everywhere, and we wouldn't want there to be.
Cambridgeshire properties also tend to have more outside space than their London equivalents, which opens up the brief in ways that city projects rarely allow. We get to think about gardens, views, and the relationship between inside and outside in a way that most London projects simply don't permit. On the right project, that's one of the most rewarding parts of the work.
What We Actually Do
The process starts with a proper conversation at your home. We come to you, spend time understanding how you live, what's working and what isn't, and what you want the finished home to feel like. We look at the light, the layout, the architecture, and the practical realities of the space.
From there we develop a design concept that covers everything - spatial planning, materials and finishes, lighting, bespoke joinery and storage, and furniture. Once that's agreed we manage the whole delivery process. That means sourcing everything, coordinating trades, and being on site to make sure things are built and installed the way they were designed.
Image: The Daily Dwelling
We also work across architecture as well as interior design. On any project involving structural changes, extensions, or reconfiguration, the inside and outside decisions affect each other constantly. Having one studio handling both means nothing gets missed and nothing ends up feeling like an afterthought.
Getting Started With Baker & Fellows
We're based in Haddenham and work regularly across Ely, Cambridge, and the surrounding villages. If you're thinking about a project, whether it's a new build you want to make your own or a period property you want to transform, we'd love to come and see your home.
Get in touch at hello@bakerfellows.com and we can arrange a visit at a time that suits you.
Baker & Fellows is a residential interior design and architecture studio based in London & Cambridgeshire, working across Ely, Kennington, Wimbledon, Dulwich, Cambridge, Ely & surrounding areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an interior designer do for a new build home in Ely?
If your home is still being built we can work with the developer before anything is fixed, choosing floors, finishes, and kitchen before they're installed. This avoids paying to undo decisions you didn't make and almost always saves money. If the build is already complete we can still transform how the home looks and feels - it just starts from a different place.
Is it worth hiring an interior designer for a home in Cambridgeshire?
For most projects the design fees are covered by what we save clients on better decisions, smarter sourcing, and avoided mistakes. For a new build especially, getting a designer involved early almost always costs less than fixing things after the fact. We've never had a client tell us they wished they'd waited longer before getting us involved.
What's the most common thing clients in Ely want to change about their home?
For new build clients it's almost always the same - too much grey, not enough warmth, and nowhere near enough storage. For period property clients it tends to be about making the home work better for modern life while keeping what makes it special. In both cases the starting point is the same: a proper conversation about how you actually live. Does a loft conversion add value to a Kennington terrace?
Does Baker & Fellows work in Ely and Cambridge?
Yes. We're based in Haddenham and work regularly across Ely, Cambridge, and the wider Cambridgeshire area. Get in touch at hello@bakerfellows.com to talk through your project.
Baker & Fellows is a residential interior design and architecture studio based in London & Cambridgeshire, working across Ely, Kennington, Wimbledon, Dulwich, Cambridge, Ely & surrounding areas.