I hired Susan Hershman at the beginning of a one bedroom condo renovation to assist with a number…read moreof parts to my project, including: - Tile and materials approval for kitchen and bathroom - Review, guidance and approval of kitchen and bathroom fixtures - Lighting and overhead fan selection - Window treatments - Color Selection - Artwork placement As time passed I expanded the scope of our work together to include furniture selection. High Points - Introduced an electric fireplace and bump out accent wall to add interest to a boring flat living room - fabulous result - Encouraged me to replace laminate flooring with hardwood - Selected beautiful lighting: pendants over the kitchen counter and dining room, artistic entry light fixture, stunning sofa table lights, modern classic bedroom end table lights and recessed wall washers to accent art. - Encouraged me to replace existing furniture with fresh modern pieces - I love the result! - Recommended great door and kitchen fixtures. I appreciate the quality each time I touch them. - Encouraged me to update originally selected kitchen cabinet material to bright white and grey/white marble for a fresh modern look. It set the tone for the entire renovation. - Guided placement of existing artwork installation for most impact Susan is very skilled, experienced, passionate about design and meticulous about details. She worked closely with me to understand my needs and taste and helped guide my decisions aligned with an elevated design concept. I so appreciated her efforts on behalf of me. I absolutely love my new space.

Susan Hershman is a highly talented Interior Architect who is determined to express and share her…read morepassion for her chosen profession. She works hard to serve all her clients with the utmost care, concern and professionalism. Susan is committed to the project and goes the extra miles to get it absolutely right. Her eye for detail is well honed and you can rely on her critical judgement when she makes design decisions.  She is dedicated to her work and is very skilled in communicating the vision of the client along with her aesthetic trademark and expertise. Susan designed the kitchen in my house and met my needs in the colors that further enhanced her design. Her book House Colors is a great resource and I recommend it for anyone's design library. Above all she is fun and easy to work with. So go ahead and give her a call. You'll be so happy you did. Andrea N.

Amanda helped me select deck color and railings, outdoor BBQ countertop, and stucco color for an…read moreextensive backyard remodel in Lafayette. She is also helping me select new outdoor furniture for the space. She is very helpful and so easy to work with. I highly recommend her!

I can not recommend Yas enough! After my shopping session with her, it made me wonder why I didn't…read morebook her sooner. She takes the time to get to know you, your style, your preferences, and, most importantly, your comfort zone. She does a great job of curating a selection of pieces for you to try on and is conscious to push the boundaries a bit to get you to try new things. She picked so many pieces I never would have picked off the rack by myself and I ended up loving (and buying) them! At this point, I don't think I walk out of the house without something on from our shopping session or something inspired by it. So grateful for Yas, her talent and her guidance. I feel more confident when I get dressed in the morning and I also feel more confident to make bolder choices while shopping. Thank you, Yas!

I am so grateful for Yasemin and her talent! Our home looked like a bachelor pad before she worked…read moreher magic and now when I have people over they always compliment the decor and style. She has great vision and I like how she offered options and was price and pet conscious. She was very responsive, flexible, and very sweet! I'm so happy in our home now. It's honestly better than I could have imagined. Thanks Yas! Below is an before/after (years later) of just one area she did. It looked even better when she first did it (I can't find those pics though).

Victoria was absolutely picture-perfect to help us furnish & decorate our new home. She was full of…read moreinspired and practical recommendations; was flexible, reliable, with a wonderful sense of style. She was able to guide our new home project from our overwhelming "OMG - what-do-we-do-now?" panic, to careful planning, through successful implementation. We were worried that we might feel intimidated, but were not; she was easy & fun to work with. She assured us that interior design projects are "works in progress" - Everyone has different needs and goals and she specializes in making the process personal, enjoyable and affordable (we had a budget!). She listened carefully to both of us (we don't always agree - need I say more?) and was able to create a unique multi-step plan we both loved. We wanted to start with living / family room & dining room. Next, we plan tackle bedrooms and window treatments. She was right on the mark at rearranging and repurposing some furnishings we already had. She created room-schematics, to scale, to illustrate numerous furniture sizing & placement possibilities. Our family room is a really odd shape - but she came up with an ingenious plan. Her creative ideas were plentiful -we never could have thought up any of these concepts! Victoria proposed a vibrant color palette, coordinating custom fabrics, built-in ideas and organization opportunities - like storage for our kid's toys, (which were everywhere)! Under her direction, we had a lovely window seat, with large storage drawers built into a neglected corner. We also had some painting done. She has trusted resources for artisans, carpenters, painters, electricians, etc. She guided our purchases of beautiful, contemporary, new and vintage furniture - including sectional, rugs, coffee table, lighting, dining table & chairs, server and art (we bought these wonderful oversize canvas wraps). We were even able to take advantage of some designer discounts, we appreciated that. She also figured out ways to incorporate the TV without consuming the room. The project was a complete success - making our family happy & cozy in our newly improved home. It all looks amazing - we LOVE being inside & we are truly elated with the way it turned out. We will totally continue to consult her for step 2 and beyond.

Victoria has offered exactly what I've needed as I slowly make upgrades to different parts of my…read morehouse. We started with my living room/dining room, and she really did a great job of listening to what I wanted and then helping me find the right furnishings etc. to make it happen. She showed me ideas, took me shopping, and in the end, supported me as I made various decisions, some even being different from what she had suggested, which was totally fine with her. She was enthusiastic without being pushy, creative without straying too far from my own taste and style. A couple years later, I asked her to help me re-do my family room, and once again, she offered thoughtful suggestions without ever imposing her will on me or pushing me to move faster than I was ready to move. She came up with a great floor plan and then helped me look at options as I went about finding furniture. She never complained when I changed directions or slowed the pace of the project - she's just always available when I need help, and never offended when I change my mind on something. She also helped me determine a strategy for window coverings for a huge wall of windows in my house that requires sun shades in the summer and some protection from the cold in the winter. I highly recommend Victoria and will continue to use her services as I continue to upgrade different parts of my home. She's a gem!

I heard about Mischa through one of my closest friends who bought a house a few years ago. My wife…read moreand I had been saving up and had talked to a few agents that we had met through Zillow but we never really felt like they had our best interest in mind. Working with Mischa has been fantastic! After these last couple of months she has become part of the family. Her knowledge of East Bay neighborhoods, history, local codes, and housing trends has been a valuable gift. Mischa has been flexible, responsive, and patient enough in dealing with our incessant questions and anxieties. What I can't say enough about is her empathy in working with us, 2 people with no generational wealth to speak on, who work at non profits, trying to raise our daughter in a crazy political climate, a pandemic, and housing costs that would normally price out people like us. Mischa helped us get into a dream house in San Leandro at a price we didn't think was possible. This was only done with her network of contacts. We were able to seal the deal on a house before it went on the market, where we would definitely have been outbid on. During the closing process, Mischa was great at yelling at the lender and helping us navigate escrow and contractors. We highly recommend you call her right now if you are looking to buy or sell a house or condo here in the East Bay. You won't have a better agent looking out for you and yours.

We are so lucky we found Mischa as our real estate agent. In a few short months, Mischa helped my…read morehusband and me find and buy a home in East Bay, San Francisco. As first time home owners, we needed a lot of extra guidance and support. From our first consultation, Mischa began addressing our questions and concerns in such a courteous way. In a market where every moment counts, Mischa was quick to respond and helped us stay ahead of the game. When we finally found a house we liked, we had only a matter of hours to tour and make an offer. This was the first offer on a house we'd ever made, and we got it! Without such a quick turnaround time, we'd have never have scored our dream house in Pleasant Hill. So thank you, Mischa! Mischa has an extraordinary attention to detail. She read all the contracts and pinpointed key details that we might have otherwise overlooked. We felt confident making such a large purchase with Mischa. We are so glad that Mischa was always ten steps ahead in the home buying process, and we would highly recommend her to anyone in need of a knowledgeable, professional and honest real estate agent.

I hired Tricia to be the designer and project manager for a major remodel of my home in Walnut…read moreCreek. She is FANTASTIC. Tricia's taste is impeccable. She is full of ideas, she can wrangle people to get results, and her price was very reasonable. I have gotten MANY, MANY compliments on her choices from people visiting my home. She also really listened to me and how I wanted to work. I would love to work with her again! She also introduced me to the construction company and worked as the liaison/project manager. The extensive project was completed perfectly on budget and on time. Let me repeat that because I was so impressed - my remodel came in on budget and on time. I am so grateful for Tricia. I now have a kitchen, bathrooms, family room and more that I just LOVE.

Tricia did a great job designing what needed to be done at my house. She was very patient and…read moreworked well with contractor. I look forward to my next phase of remodeling so she can help me design rest of house

Working with Emily was a great experience during our year-long remodel and addition. Emily's…read morebiggest value was in helping navigate the execution side of the remodel process -- coordinating timelines, advising on ordering, connecting us with trusted vendors, and helping facilitate communication throughout the project. She was also an excellent sounding board when I needed to validate decisions or talk through options. Having someone experienced to pulse-check ideas, help with all the little details (like selecting grout colors) and support in managing all the moving parts made the process feel much smoother and less stressful.Highly recommend!

I recently worked with Emily and her team, and I cannot recommend EJ Design enough! She has an…read moreincredible eye for detail and a natural talent for transforming a space. She took my vision and elevated it in ways I never could have imagined. The textures, lighting, and layout have completely changed the energy of my home. Her team was highly organized and thorough. My space finally feels curated and sophisticated. Exactly what I was looking for. 5 stars!

I worked with Marina on my few project designs. Marina was…read moreexcellent on designing my kitchen and bathrooms . She's very knowledgeable with a lots of years of experience, very easy to work with , very responsible, does high quality work. I will be using her for my next project . Thank you Marina for doing excellent work!

MTest Design, Marina Test did a remodel work for our 15,000 sq. ft gymnastic facility in San Mateo…read moreCa. The remodel work with MTest Design consisted of working drawings showing the new design, material and finishes, of the lobby area, coaches stations and general areas of the building. Marina Test, the owner and designer, was extremely professional, provided timely, quality work at very affordable fee, and we as well as our clients are very pleased with the final result. We would recommend MTest Design to any future clients who are looking for creative interior design work and project management services. Anna Margulis Owner of Peninsula Gymnastics