Be prepared for the expense. Unless you have money to burn and a six month window....look…read moreelsewhere. Pros: 1) Kriste does have a good design eye and has good suggestions. At the start of the project, this is compelling. 2) Her design work is professional and she presents attractive options. 3) If you have a budget greater than $100k and have a lot of flexibility on timeline and delivery dates...you should consider her. Cons: 1) She is a bit of a prima donna will be openly annoyed if you ask for any adjustments to her design or furniture recommendations. We asked for designs that were family friendly and she acted like that request was inconvenient to her. She didn't really honor our request and came back with a suggestion that we buy a $7k side-chair made with delicate material. She conducts herself in a way that says "you are lucky that I'm helping you at all" 2) Her business model is super-expensive. Many designers either have an hourly rate and others make their money by keeping their discount % of the furniture costs that the suppliers give to interior designers. Kriste's approach is that she gets both. Buyer beware. Since she get's paid hourly...you will likely get surprised by the invoices and the budget will over-run by 25%-50% or more. 3) If your project is less than $100k, your project will get handed off to her minions. Her team is very junior and doesn't have much experience with project management or client relations. One example is that her team scheduled woodwork to be done after painting....and thus the painting crew had to come back to touch-up wall dings that were made by the woodwork crew. Net:Net - her service doesn't match her price...and her team skills are uneven. Make sure you know exactly who will be working on your project and make sure they honor that commitment.

Professional, personal and attention to detail would be hallmark traits for Kriste and her staff…read more My wife and I had a great experience with our remodel and the finished product is something to be proud of....and we are!

Cindy helped me completely transform my home. Every room of my house has been touched by Cindy, and…read moreshe has become my "go to" person for any decisions to be made when it comes to design, color, fabric, where to shop or you name it. She's also a kind person and very easy to work with.

I wish I had before and after pictures of my family room, Cindy turned it into an incredibly…read morebeautiful space. Everyone that comes over comments on what a difference it has made. When I need any advice on any design change, Cindy is who I call!! Her taste and work ethic are above and beyond!

This was my first time hiring a home stager, and Miranda Home Design was recommended by our real…read moreestate agent. Simply put, Miranda and her team are exceptional. I can confidently say her services are worth every penny. Miranda has an incredible eye for design and an innate ability to see the full potential of a space. The way she and her team decorated and arranged each element blew us away--we kept asking ourselves, "Why didn't we think of that?" She didn't just stage our home; she completely transformed its aesthetic. Every room felt elevated, cohesive, and intentional, yet still warm and inviting. She knew exactly how to highlight the home's best features, improve flow, and make each space feel both stylish and livable. Our listing stood out from comparable properties and made a strong emotional impression on everyone who walked through the door. Thanks in large part to Miranda's work, we received multiple offers and ultimately sold our home for top dollar. Her staging didn't just make the house look beautiful, it directly contributed to a faster sale and a stronger financial result.

My realtor had a vision that she wanted Kristi to stage. Kristi made that vision come alive in a…read moreway that all said was amazing when they saw the results. But the goal was to sell the house. Her staging is what made the house tell its story to sell on it's first weekend. This meant not having to keep living through a staged house for so long. It is amazing to have had to get the house staged then it sells on its first weekend of open house! That pretty much says it all. She knows it take 8 seconds for a buyer to enter the home and determine if they like it or not. She made impact for the house and it sold!

Kathy Bate is a gifted designer. She was able to help us make the best decisions for our home…read morerenovation including the most important details for the kitchen and bath. She was able to work quickly and followed up with digital plans showing our options. The project is off to a great start with our budget in tact. Kathy Bate knows how to help you get the best quality working with the funds available. Already we have saved money on the project by having Kathy 's helpful guidance. She is a warm hearted person who knows when to take charge. My husband and I enjoyed working with Kathy Bate Designs.

Kathy is an amazing and talented designer; smart, savvy, and experienced, very much in tune with…read morethe clients needs. She did a great job designing our kitchen.

A Masterful Designer & Project Manager - Highly Recommend!…read more After experiencing severe water damage in our kitchen, we initially set out to remodel just that space. However, as we got deeper into the process, we quickly realized how overwhelming it was without a designer. What started as a kitchen renovation soon expanded into a full home transformation--kitchen, bathrooms, family, living, and dining rooms--all of which desperately needed an update from their original 1992 construction. After months of searching and interviewing designers, we found Alina Druga Interiors. My wife was especially drawn to her award-winning designs, and after glowing reference checks, we confidently hired her for both the design and project management phases. From the very beginning, Alina brought a sense of clarity and structure to what had been a chaotic and overwhelming process. One of Alina's greatest strengths is her ability to ask the right questions to truly understand her clients' style and needs. She introduced us to ideas we would never have considered, while also being straightforward and honest about what would or wouldn't work--and, more importantly, why. She has a gift for refining ideas into something cohesive, tasteful, and elegant. Beyond her impeccable design skills, Alina is extremely detail-oriented and proactive. She spotted potential construction issues early on, saving us from costly mistakes. Her detailed CAD drawings were invaluable in helping us visualize the design and made things significantly smoother for our contractor. Thanks to her meticulous planning and years of experience, the entire process was well-organized--so by the time construction began, every material, appliance, and detail was already accounted for. While the preparation process took about a year, the actual construction went remarkably smoothly and was completed in just four months. Now, every time we walk through the door, we feel happy and relaxed in our beautifully designed home. It truly feels like the house we've wanted for years--our happy place! Alina's expertise, organization, and eye for design transformed our home into something modern, inviting, and perfectly suited to our lifestyle. If you are looking for a designer who is not only talented but also an exceptional project manager, we highly recommend Alina Druga Interiors!

First, I must say that Alina is exceptional! My husband and I remodeled our primary bathroom, and…read moreeven though he's a contractor who builds high-end homes we needed some help with the design. Alina assisted first with the design and came up with a layout that took into account all of the things we desired as well as true having functionality. After we confirmed the layout, we met with Alina to decide on the finishes such as tile and cabinetry. What would have taken us weeks to decide on was narrowed down to just one meeting where Alina presented us with beautiful options which made it easy to make decisions quickly. Lastly we met to choose our plumbing fixtures. Alina was incredibly helpful at choosing fixtures that were high quality, looked beautiful and still fit within our budget. Overall, she was a wonderful to work with - friendly, professional, efficient and with great attention to detail. I would highly recommend her services.

Laura and her team are absolutely amazing: thoughtful, fun to work with, and have a keen ability to…read moretranslate a loose vision into a coherent, coordinated environment. The best thing about working with them is they opened up design options that we hadn't even considered for our home remodel. We approached them late in our project, when we were struggling to make choices on "hard finishes" (trim, color scheme, tile selection). While our architect had been somewhat helpful in these areas, we quickly realized we needed dedicated help. Having design experts was well worth the investment. Initially I had been reluctant due to an already stretched budget, but the investment placed in working with them was repaid many times over in the overall time and money ultimately saved, and the real value that it has brought to the home. I would highly recommend Laura, Julia, Darshan, and the entire team. They are talented, fun to work with, and experts in design. More than anything, they have given us a home that we're excited to come home to and that fits our needs and tastes.

Laura of LMB Interiors has not disappointed any of my clients I have sent her way. Her easy, open…read moremanner and her lovely, energetic staff have proven to be a winning combo. My clients have raved about LMB Interiors and the results were everything they hoped for. I would not hesitate to hire such a talented, professional AND approachable firm for any interior design projects that need attention by a top Bay Area designer.

DVC proved to be a perfect choice for us, and Christina was the star of the show…read more Christina was professional, patient and very skilled at helping us through our whole project. She spent a lot of time with us and brought forth a wealth of design experience and our end result was beyond what we had hoped for. Christina listened carefully to what was important to us, took the time to educate us, make suggestions, and guided us to the right cabinets at the right price. She also was great at paying attention to important details that we would never have thought of. Our cabinets were delivered when promised. Christina showed up at our home on delivery day to make sure everything was there, unloaded properly and undamaged. She referred us to an expert installer who was equally professional, very seasoned, great at communication, and most importantly provided a high-quality installation in a timely fashion. If you are serious about having quality cabinets and great results, I would highly recommend DVC!

We ordered cabinets from Diablo Valley Cabinetry in May and were told they should arrive the middle…read moreof October. No problem since I was doing the remodel myself and needed the time to be ready for them. Having heard nothing by late November though I called to check on their status. They said "they are not that late because they were due the middle of November. Wrong. They were due the middle of October. But I let that put-off slide and continued to wait. Still no call or explanation from the store. Finally, three months late, with still no apology or explanation from the store, the cabinets arrived the middle of January. The truck driver was supposed to notify the store that they were on the way with the delivery, but he failed to do so. No big problem there. As the boxes were carried in my wife checked off the box numbers against the shipping manifest and all of the boxes were there with numbers that matched the manifest. We now had 45 large boxes crammed into an eight-foot-wide small kitchen and stacked on top of each other. A few shipping labels were facing out, but most were understandably hidden behind and under other boxes. But other than being three months late with no explanation, this is where the screw-ups began in earnest. I notified the store that the cabinets were here, and the project manager, Yvette, came by a couple of hours later. We were handed two sets of installation instructions, one set for us and one for the installer. I had no chance to look at the instructions and Yvette didn't compare them to the shipping manifest before leaving even though we all stood amongst the boxes with shipping manifest in one hand and installation instructions in the other. After she left, I opened the instructions. The cabinets were all shown on a schematic with big red numbered boxes identifying each cabinet and its proper placement for installation. Out of 45 boxes NOT ONE NUMBER MATCHED THE SHIPPING MANIFEST. Before installation could even begin, this 78-year-old man was forced to crawl among boxes, finding shipping labels and part numbers to correctly correlate the box numbers to the mislabeled installation instructions. It was a time-consuming and back-breaking job which required several hours to complete. The next day I called the store and asked to speak to the owner to see if he would be willing to compensate in some way since they still had our deposit for counter tops to be ordered when the cabinet installation was complete. I have no major complaint with Yvette or other store staff that we dealt with over the last six months. Delays and mistakes happen. But when I spoke with Frank, the owner/president of Diablo Valley Cabinetry, his attitude was too bad, so sad. He wouldn't even apologize for the delays and major errors in the installation instructions, let alone agree to even modest compensation. At no point did he ever really apologize for the delays and errors that were made in this deal and refused to take any responsibility for the company that he owns and operates. He also told me that he would find out why there was such a long delay and how the installation instructions were so wrong and get back to me with answers. He never did. When I politely suggested we would take our $4,000 countertop deposit and go elsewhere he told me they would keep $610 of it because the material had already been secured. We were forced to stay with them or forfeit the $610. And they still weren't done with their costly and time-consuming errors! I was told to put down 3/4 inch plywood in advance of the countertop company coming out to measure and prepare the template. No problem, that part was my job. So a friend and I, since plywood is heavy and a two-man job, spent half a day buying, transporting, cutting and installing the plywood. Then when ROMARTS MARBLE & GRANITE, a subcontractor of Diablo Valley Cabinetry and a great company to do business with by the way, showed up I was told that our plywood had to be at least one inch thick instead of the 3/4 inch that Diablo Valley Cabinetry mistakenly told me. Back to Home Depot with my friend to buy plywood to transport, cut and install on top of the 3/4 inch. More wasted expense, time and work. A company is only as good as its management. In this case the management refuses to take responsibility for any of the mistakes made by the employees. This post will not surprise Frank because I told him I was going to write it. I waited until now because as I type it the countertop installers are here and putting in the countertops. ROMARTS has done a great job with the countertops and the owner himself spent 1 1/2 hours with my wife and me in laying out not one, but two design options for us to choose from. I would suggest dealing directly with them and bypassing Diablo Valley Cabinetry altogether.

I've worked with Melissa 2 times in the last 3 years to decorate 2 apartments. The moment I stepped…read moreinto what she can do, the moment I decided I wanted to work with her. Melissa's eye for nuance, color and good taste are evident when you look at her work. She pays attention, has experience and great communication skills. She is also personable and professional. I have been pleased with how much better everything looked after Melissa's touch.

Wow, just WOW! Melissa helped me chose the most amazing, sophisticated paint colors and rug for my…read morecondo. It's the first time I've been a homeowner, and she really helped me feel confident in bringing a more updated palate to my place. It's so so gorgeous, and I can't recommend her highly enough!