Kuche & Bagno · Rugby
The team behind your project.
Meet Maja, Hannah, James and Lisa — the team you will get to know at Kuche & Bagno.
Discuss your ideas →Maja Martinez
Studio Manager & Interior Designer
Originally from Peru, Maja has been part of the Kuche & Bagno team for three years. As Studio Manager and Interior Designer, she combines kitchen and bathroom design with overseeing the day-to-day running of our Rugby studio, working alongside Lisa and Hannah.
Her education includes study at the University of Hertfordshire from 2021 to 2022. She speaks Spanish and English, bringing both languages to her professional life.
In 2026, Maja was named a Best Emerging Talent finalist at the designerati Awards North. The category celebrates designers in the first four years of their industry careers, recognising creativity, technical ability and a passion for design.
Hannah Melvin
Lead Designer
Hannah holds a first-class interior design degree from the University of Northampton. Her work brings together space planning, materials and the details that make a room work. Her kitchen and bathroom projects include the Conifer wellness suite and our concept kitchen room setting. Earlier project credits appear under her former name, Hannah Davidson.
Her career began in an architectural practice, with restaurant and residential work that brought together spatial design, furniture, working drawings and product sourcing.
Read about Hannah’s early career →
Hannah designed the sculptural islands and bespoke office desk featured in our Signature Designs collection.
Explore Hannah’s signature designs →James Palmer-Smith
Purchasing & Commercial Lead · Tile Specialist
James joined Melbros in 2021 before moving to the design side of Kuche & Bagno in 2023. Today, he heads up purchasing and our commercial arm, connecting product knowledge with the practical requirements of a project.
As our tile specialist, James helps clients explore materials, finishes and formats, bringing detailed knowledge to the decisions behind a finished surface. His role also supports commercial customers with product sourcing, quotations and supply.
James studied at the University of Worcester and is bringing further technical knowledge to the team as he completes his electrical qualification. Away from work, he has a keen interest in motorsport and rally driving.
Lisa Melvin
Founder
Lisa brings almost three decades of experience across construction, kitchens, bathrooms and interiors. From our Rugby studio, she works with homeowners, self-builders, developers, architects and commercial teams, combining creative ideas with product knowledge and practical project coordination.
Her approach begins with everyday life: the storage that makes a kitchen easier to use, the lighting that changes a room’s atmosphere, or a sauna that becomes part of everyday life. Her signature sauna designs bring together juniper, glazing and carefully layered light.
Lisa also creates Revealed Design Home Interiors and joined the bathroom judging panel for the designerati Awards 2026.
James Palmer-Smith · Purchasing & Commercial Lead · Tile Specialist
Product knowledge.
Practical project support.
James brings together the buying side of the business, our commercial customers and a particular depth of knowledge in tiles.
2021 → 2023
From Melbros to the design studio.
James joined Melbros in 2021, gaining experience within the wider building-supplies business. In 2023, he moved across to the design side at Kuche & Bagno.
That background connects the creative conversation with the practical side of sourcing and supply. He now leads purchasing and the commercial arm of the business, working alongside Lisa, Hannah and Maja.
Purchasing & commercial projects
Bringing the product package together.
For contractors, developers and commercial project teams, James is a point of contact for product enquiries, quotations and purchasing. His role brings attention to the specified products, finishes, quantities and availability needed to move an order forward.
From a defined product schedule to a brief that needs further sourcing, he helps connect the requirement with the supply options. The level of design and specification support is agreed around each project.
Commercial supply & specification support →Our tile specialist
Looking beyond the sample.
James’s tile knowledge helps clients compare the options for a room: the effect of a larger format, the character of a surface, the finish and the way it works with adjoining materials.
He helps narrow down collections around the intended use, appearance and budget, then works through the product information and supply requirements with the project team. Bring a plan, a sample or a photograph of a finish you like to begin the conversation.
Discover our tile collections →Education & interests
A continuing technical interest.
James’s education includes study at the University of Worcester. Alongside his work, he is studying to become an electrician, continuing to develop his technical understanding.
Outside the studio, motorsport and rally driving are longstanding interests.
James on LinkedIn ↗Lisa Melvin · Founder
Design knowledge.
A feeling for the details.
For Lisa, a successful interior brings together how a space looks, how it works and how it feels to spend time there. Her experience connects design with the practical decisions that turn an idea into a finished room.
“It’s all in the details. From the way a room flows to the lighting, storage and feel of a handle, every choice matters. I love bringing those decisions together to create a home that looks beautiful and works for the people who live in it.”
01 · A practical foundation
Design, with an understanding of the build.
Lisa’s career is rooted in the Melbros family business, bringing interiors into close contact with construction, materials and supply. Kuche & Bagno’s kitchen and bathroom showroom began in 1999 as The Gallery Showroom; today, the studio works across individual rooms, wider home projects and commercial interiors.
Her experience includes design, planning, procurement and project coordination for homeowners, self-builders, developers and architects. The commercial side of the business has also supported building refurbishment projects in Whitehall.
Commercial projects & specification →02 · Making the specification work
Knowing what to choose, and why.
Lisa’s product knowledge has developed through years of working with manufacturers and specifying for real projects. She looks closely at material quality, finishes, hidden storage and the way individual products fit together.
That knowledge helps clients decide where to invest and where a considered alternative can make the budget work harder. With the design team, she connects the material choices and visual ideas to specifications, working drawings and conversations with the installation team.
What goes into a design package →03 · Ideas you can experience
A studio that makes possibilities tangible.
Lisa uses complete room settings to help clients understand how a design could feel in their own home. Our concept kitchen brings standard cabinetry together with bespoke storage and detailing; the working spa room lets visitors experience products in use.
Her interest in making design accessible also led to an interactive virtual showroom tour. Materials, movement, lighting and product details become easier to discuss when you can see how they relate to a whole room.
Experience the design studio →04 · Wellbeing & signature saunas
Rooms designed around daily life.
Wellbeing is a personal design interest for Lisa. She considers light, texture, warmth, sound and the connection with the outdoors when creating spaces that invite you to slow down.
Her own garden sauna, completed in 2021, established a signature approach: juniper log ends, crystal fibre-optic lights, colour-changing lighting and generous glazing. That thread continues through saunas designed for both interiors and gardens, with the proportions, benches and atmosphere adapted to each home.
Discover Lisa’s signature sauna collection →05 · Sharing the design conversation
Projects, friendships and a magazine of her own.
Lisa is the creator of Revealed Design Home Interiors, the studio’s in-house magazine, which has been part of its story since 2013. Alongside her blog and project films, it shares the materials, details and decisions behind the finished photographs.
A member of the Society of British & International Interior Design, Lisa values the exchange of ideas with fellow designers. Johnny Grey, Renée Mascari and Colin Wong are among the designers who have inspired the studio’s work over the years.
06 · An industry perspective
Experience recognised by her peers.
In 2026, Lisa served on the bathroom project judging panel for the designerati Awards, contributing her experience to the assessment of other designers’ work.
The studio’s own milestones include winning Show Space Design of the Year at the D Awards 2018. The award celebrates the room settings, materials and details that bring the team’s ideas to life.
Bring Lisa your ideas, your practical challenges and the details that matter to you.
Hannah Melvin · Lead Designer
Creative ideas, worked through in detail.
A foundation in architectural practice.
Hannah began her career in an architectural practice, where she designed a restaurant. From the outset, she considered furniture, spatial planning and commercial viability together: creating a distinctive space while understanding how it needed to function as a business.
That early experience taught her the value of clear working drawings, good relationships with builders and the research involved in finding the right products. These are the practical foundations behind the finished interior.
A home in Clerkenwell.
She later worked on a high-end home in Clerkenwell, joining towards the end of a project that had been under way for eight years. The role involved working through details and practical problems that had emerged as the project progressed.
One challenge was a glass swimming pool that the family’s children struggled to climb out of. Hannah’s work included finding a suitable support pole to help them get out. She also designed steps and bespoke furniture, considering how each element could work as a piece of art as well as serving its purpose.