At Monica Tostes Design we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live and work in a truly personalized space that fosters a sense of purpose and pleasure, allowing them to thrive and flourish.
We relish getting to know each and every client, delivering projects with personality and passion, whether we are working with discerning homeowners and second property buyers, forward thinking start-ups or design minded developers. Based in east London, and working all over the city and beyond, we confidently lead a friendly and collaborative process from start to finish.
My Story
I am a Brazilian designer with over 20 years of experience with interior design and architecture.
When working with my clients I strive to gain insight into their personal tastes, lifestyle and sensibilities. My goal is always to understand what they are trying to achieve with the project and help them to articulate their needs, both practically and creatively, through an open and collaborative working process.
Whether my client are starting from a blank canvas, planning a complete refurbishment, or just giving one room a fresh look, my ambition is to ensure that they achieve a good-looking, comfortable interior that reflects their own style and is compatible with the way they live, work and use their space.
Properties I have designed and lived in myself have been an ongoing exercise, where I have tried to understand how we use, see and, most importantly, feel the space on a daily basis. How different elements come together to create a sense of comfort and contentment, that feeling of when we are truly happy in our home.
Combining my architectural background with my interior design skills, I have built my experience across a wide range of high-end projects, including luxury residential properties, 5 & 6 stars hotels, and super yachts as well as smaller scale residential and commercial projects.
What our Clients have to say
about us
I have worked with Mônica a couple of times now and she never ceases to amaze me. She can walk into someone's house and really see that person's/family's needs and fulfil those needs by transforming existing spaces into functional and beautiful ones while always keeping in mind the budget. She is currently redoing my kitchen and she is transforming it into a space that will better suit us as our family grows. We would highly recommend Mônica and will continue using her services.
A.L. Residential Project
Mônica Tostes Design is an asset to any renovation, she has amazing taste, great attention to detail and a problem solver. Using Mônica’s services was a problem free renovation. I highly recommend her services!
L.Y. Residential Project
Mônica Tostes Design did a fantastic job with our office refurbishment. It was a real puzzle to fit everything we needed within the space and, as it’s an old building, there were more than a few technical challenges along the way. But with patience and persistence she came up with ingenious solutions every time. The final result is perfect, a balance of unique creative details and practical finishes. Every time I give a tour of the building to a new colleague or client I feel very proud.
J.Y. Commercial Project
Mônica has been absolutely amazing. Her attention to detail is second to none. Mônica is extremely perceptive and was spot on when designing our home to our taste. She is also an excellent project manager and can handle the inevitable conflicts of a project with outstanding professionalism. We felt that Mônica really does go the extra mile and was very mindful of our budget finding options that suited us. We would highly recommend Mônica and will definitely use her services again.
M.M. Residential Project
Mônica was lovely, she clearly has a passion for interior design and her expertise in not just interiors, but also larger "building" projects which was not just useful, it was invaluable. I later learned she is an architect by trade! Mônica took the time to listen and understand all the (our) issues and prevented us from making a number of mistakes. She used her expertise to design two beautiful new bathrooms while constantly delivering helpful recommendations regarding planning, budget (for what we wanted to achieve), which materials to use, where to source materials, tradesman, dealing with tradesman, colours, etc, etc. I'm certain that left to our own devices we would never have achieved the quick results we wanted (scheduling work and tradesman to flow smoothly on a project is NOT easy) and we would certainly not have kept to our budget. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Monica Tostes Design for any renovation project!
J.C. Residencial Project
Having decided that ‘Home Improvement’ was the only solution to reduce the boredom of the 2nd ‘winter’ lockdown, we (my husband and I) decided to ‘get the kitchen re-done’.
Having Mônica guide us through the process meant we were able to plan effectively avoiding the ‘rookie’ mistakes which plagued previous projects, save money and avoid unnecessary arguments. Having presented her with our initial ideas and budget, she proved her value and expertise by discussing the advantages/disadvantages, presenting useful and practical alternatives while illustrating an amazing eye for detail.
We now have a wonderful functional family kitchen that we love and this all happened with minimal fuss and disruption. Oh, and we also stuck to our budget (so it is possible, with a little help)! I have no hesitation in recommending Mônica Tostes Design.