First things first: Most of us cannot afford to shop at Mrs. Howard's…read more Unless you've just won the lottery, or happen to be the beneficiary of a lovely inheritance, the high-end furniture, accessories and linens showcased in this impeccably elegant design emporium, located just outside of Avondale at 4128 Herschel Street, are just plain out of reach. Mrs. Howard's is unquestionably one of the premier home stores in the Southeast, and its prices reflect the rock-star status of its owners, interior designers Phoebe Howard and James Michael Howard. But even if you have to leave your wallet at home, it's well worth your while to explore Mrs. Howard's and its slightly more affordable offspring, Max & Company (the side-by-side stores are connected through interior doors). There's simply no better place in Jacksonville to soak up design inspiration and feed your passion for beautiful personal spaces. (And those of you who are savvy about design will undoubtedly take away ideas about how to rearrange your furniture, how to select sophisticated new wall colors that will totally revamp a room, and how to display that cool object you discovered at Fans and Stoves to maximum effect.) Founded in 1995 by Phoebe Howard, the store began as a place where her husband Jim's clients could find elegant and interesting pieces for their homes. But as Phoebe's own design instincts developed and she began taking private clients, the space evolved into a reflection of her uniquely Southern decorating style-something she characterizes as, "Keep it pretty." In room after beautifully appointed room (don't forget to check out the incredible moldings), modern pieces mix with antiques, colors are soothing and softly neutral, and stunning accessories such as starburst mirrors and William Yeoward crystal dot shimmering surfaces and unexpected nooks. The atmosphere is timeless and yet modern--just what you'd want for your own house if you had a couple extra zeroes in your bank account. Max & Company, opened in 2000, has a looser and more youthful design aesthetic. Here the feeling is upscale beach house, with lots of comfy, slipcovered furniture, sculptural lighting fixtures and appealingly tactile accessories like porcupine quill boxes, driftwood mirrors and mercury orbs. There's also a standout collection of bed linens on offer and an array of gorgeous chrome hardware for the bath. Clearly, the Howards are doing something right, because sixteen years and four locations later (Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Atlanta and Charlotte), their stores--and legions of fans-have extended far beyond Jacksonville. A true GoLO success story, the couple has seen their work featured in Elle Décor, House Beautiful, Coastal Living, Cottage Living, Southern Accents, InStyle and Traditional Home. Mrs. Howard's may be out of reach, but it's not out of touch. Despite its unabashed elegance, the store's soft, lush, dreamy interiors are inviting and warm--and so are its staff. It's the perfect place to feather your nest . . . presuming you've got a couple of golden eggs to display.

I HAVE NEVER MET A MORE HORRIBLE BUSINESS OWNER!!! She belittles and puts down her staff…read moreconstantly. It is so uncomfortable to watch, I felt so sorry for them. I was lied to about prices. Was told one thing at time of purchase but almost double was charged to my credit card. When I tried to straighten the matter out my calls were never returned. They act like they are doing you a favor by taking your business. Later I found out Mrs Howard portrays herself as an interior designer but has never even graduated high school. Most classless family business ever. The only thing this store has going for it is unique products. Please save yourself some sleepless nights and do not give them your business. I have never felt more taken advantage of.

My daughter was new to Jacksonville and overwhelmed to finish her nursery when I contacted Liz. It…read morewas a small job so I expected her to decline and refer us to someone else. I was wrong! She was very empathetic with my daughter's situation and even offered to take time to meet her on a Saturday for the first consultation when she was apprehensive about taking off work at a new job. She helped us finalize the items to be purchased, texted with us while we shopping and staged everything for us. Whether you have a few hundred or thousands to spend, Decorator Girl is the company to use. They are personable, listen to your ideas and are very helpful.

We remodeled our entire house this year. When it came to redecorating, we were overwhelmed at the…read moremany choices we needed to make. Liz and Melissa came out three times to give us advice on colors, wall art, where to place furniture, and how to accessorize our entire house. Melissa gave specific advice such as suggesting we place a large mirror over our mantle. It is quite a focal point. She also recommended a beautiful hanging lamp from Troy Lighting. Our guests and family have all commented on what a beautiful job we did decorating. (We admitted that we had help and recommended Decorator Girl!) We particularly appreciated that Decorator Girl made themselves available to us via email. We had so many questions about purchases we were making. They were prompt in answering and we couldn't be happier with the advice we received. We'd definitely return to Decorator Girl for our next decorating project. For now, we are sitting back and enjoying!!

They took the stress out of selling and moving. (we had already moved and had done all this from…read moreanother state) Amazing CS. Helped us get our house sold. Incredible team. Made set up and pick up so easy. Just a all-around amazing company that is made up of caring, professional and kind people.

Interiors Revitalized of Jacksonville did a fantastic job of staging my vacant condo for sale…read more Communication was great from start to finish. Maryah and her team put together their excellent staging skills and got my property sold 17 days days after staging, and at full list price. Their price was reasonable and the unit really looked great! Job well done ladies!

Michelle is AWESOME. My husband and I went through several "Pinterest fails" before deciding we…read moreneeded a designers help, and we're so glad we did! She was personable and 100% attentive to not only our needs/wants, but also our personalities, which was reflected through the space. I can't speak highly enough about the process of working with her and ESPECIALLY the end result! We love love LOVE our home!

We absolutely LOVE the work Michelle has done for us. We have tried for years to "get it together"…read morewith our living spaces. We would always get to the same point... many fairly expensive things that didn't come close to being cohesive with each other. The best investment we made was finding Michelle. She is uniquely creative with repurposing, refreshing with new pieces and making areas fit with each other. And most importantly staying on/under budget!!! We now have that ahh feeling when we walk into our "new" home, it looks great!!! Michelle comes with our highest recommendation.

Stay away! We have finally purged the bad juju from our home. This experience has opened our eyes…read moreto spotting a rip-off artist and a phony. We feel completely violated, and have had a really hard time moving on from the emotional trauma this has caused. Example of one table: Retail cost 900.00/Adler charged us 2,129.00. We've worked with designers to research most of the furniture that was brought into our home. Every single piece that we've been able to locate had an up charge beyond reasonable. Adler removed labels and put his own labels on furniture. I've spoke with past employees whom admitted to removing original labels and adding Adler labels...."made in the USA". This is BS. Some of the furniture that we received was old stock from their warehouse. Furniture from their warehouse is dumped on naive clients like myself, and they pass it as "new" custom furniture. It's not custom if the client isn't getting exactly what they requested. So horrific! All of it! We are starting anew, but not without emotional stress and a huge financial loss. A lesson learned for sure. We hired Adler to do a whole house renovation as well as interior design. "Beach Chic" was our request. LOL!!! Several design elements I verbally told Adler I did not want: no nailheads, no gold, no mahogany, no polyester, no rope or fringe, no pouffs. I verbally told Adler I wanted: Slipcovers, organic, cottons, linens, beach chic, casual, child friendly. For starters not one piece of furniture was slipcover. Instead we got upholstered furniture with not one but two different fabrics. Oh, and the drapes match the furniture that have two different fabrics spliced together. Very busy and so dated. I asked for white linen flowy drapes, not polyester fleur de lis next to graphics. As you can see from these pics, he did not adhere to these requests. He did it his way. His employees on the construction side are paid under the table, not legal, and are not licensed or insured.

Do not recommend it his place. Unprofessional and had such a bad experience. Would definitely…read moresuggest to move to the next Interior design provider.

went their today for first time. owner was amazing and knows fabrics has a huge inventory…read more highly recommend

From the owner: sntHOME is an innovative and cutting edge interior design company focusing on the use of organic,…read morenatural and sustainable fabrics and products helping clients create clean, healthy and toxic free spaces. We represent 218 fabric mills and brands from around the world and provide 21 services. Specialties include no VOC paint, sustainable wallpaper, clean stains-waxes and cleaners, organic bedding, sustainable hardware and more.

Hugo's is breathtaking. It is the only fine furniture store in Northern Florida. And their…read moreoptions seem endless.

The huge showroom feels very dated. The inventory seems like something you'd find in your…read moregrandparents living room from the 1980's. I I purchased a beautiful marble coffee table there about 10 years ago. I was sad to how little had changed in the past 10 years. I want to support a local family run business but this place just isn't worth the trip. There aren't many decent furniture stores left in Jax. FurnitureMart on Atlantic offers some of the higher end brands via special order. Hugo's was a disappointment.

Perfect Balance Design is wonderfully creative, an interior design and decorating expert. Always…read morepersonable and professional. I hired Wendy and her team to decorate my entire home. She provided outstanding service from the initial consultation through to completion. Wendy goes above and beyond with her passion for every detail while working within the budget. I am in awe of the beautiful transformation of my home. I love the décor and theme throughout so much that I hired Perfect Balance Design to decorate my office; coastal, contemporary, welcoming, and ideal for my staff and clientele. I am grateful to you, Wendy, and your team. I couldn't be happier and more satisfied with my charming home and office design.

Being new to the area I went to Yelp in to find someone to help decorate our new home. Wendy…read morereached out immediately and we talked on the phone and just connected. She is great to work with and I have total confidence in what she recommends for our home. She also respects your decision and learns quickly the style you're wanting. I loved that she offered and I took her up on it to shop for home accessories, furniture, etc. We've finished the project very timely and can't wait until we start working on the other rooms. I HIGHLY recommend her and love my home now!!!

Amazing job with beautiful results. They accommodated my tight construction schedule and measured,…read morecut, and installed all within the same week. This was an amazing and highly professional experience. We will be using them for all of our projects!

This small company is great. They came out measured my granite, came back and installed it. They…read moreinstalled my sink (sans plumbing, i did that) All within one week. They gave my wife and I several options on Granite supply, we visited them and picked out the piece itself. Amazing work.

Wow what can I say !!!! Kamila came over to my home and was professional and attentive. She…read moreexplained the differences in the various options and the best way to stay within my budget. Actually, she allowed me to do more than I even hoped for and for less than planned. The team diligently worked through the process like pros. Kamila is is great to talk to and is very receptive to taking positive criticism and giving feedback. I have a 2100 sq ft house and she transformed it into a model house... Truly exceptional and I have already referred her to several of my friends and family. I would highly recommend Kamila and Piotr (her husband) to anyone looking to hire a design team who really listens to their clients and delivers in exceptional and professional way!

Level Up Design took my kitchen to the next level!! Seriously!! We moved into our forever home with…read morefull intentions of redoing the kitchen. I had a basic idea and Kamila had so many more great ideas for my new kitchen and I totally trusted her to make those big decisions that would make the kitchen look great. She has a perfectionist eye and can see what needs to be done ten steps before it happens! She is very conscience of a budget and will work with you to save you every penny she can. We did most of the demo and anything that we were confident in doing and with her supervision, it went flawlessly. I used Ikea products and Kamila was a whiz at putting the cupboards and drawers together! She found me the best deal on my beautiful granite countertops and let me use her business discount on paint. We did not require a contractor but others may and Level Up are very well versed in what you need to know and do before you do for any major structural changes. Kamila was amazing in helping pick paint colors, complimenting tile colors and backsplash and she knew what would make colors pop and what trim would make clean finishes. Kamila and Piotr are very professional and are very hard working. They are clean and courteous and understand no one wants their house to be under construction forever! They have a sense of urgency that will encourage everyone to finish the project in a timely matter. Now that my kitchen in completed I couldn't be more happy with the finished product and I am still in awe that it's all mine!! I couldn't have done it without Kamila and Piotr from Level Up Design! Go with them you won't regret it!! Ps the pictures on her website of the grey, white and midnight blue backsplash,with stainless appliances is my kitchen.