Kyoko is wonderful to work with and a lovely person. She helped us with our small/narrow family room and two bedrooms. I had a very specific style in my mind and not only did she completely understand what I wanted (through my vague descriptions) but she executed in a way that I would not have thought of and that was exactly the look and feel that I had hoped for. We always get compliments on our home (even by teenagers, who I am surprised would even notice these things, ha). I will definitely work with her again next time I need design help. read more

We had a wonderful experience working with Kyoko to design our bathrooms. She really understood our style and what we wanted to achieve! She worked with our timeline to get the designs finalized and products ordered quickly. She was flexible when we needed to make changes. She was communicative and reliable. We love how the bathrooms turned out! read more

We have a living room that we were struggling to furnish - we couldn't quite organize our existing furniture in a way that made sense, and needed some expert advice. Kyoko has been such a huge help, coming up with creative solutions for the room's quirks, and we've ended up with a room that we love being in (and get constant compliments on). We'll absolutely call Kyoko again! read more

There is good, there is great, and there is Kyoko Jackson of Yumi Interiors. Whether you are looking for a few decoration ideas, a complete remodel, or building a house from scratch you need to hire her. To understand what makes Kyoko so great you need to understand who she is and what she does. What - Kyoko is trained as an interior architect. So while she has all the skills of an absolute top-notch interior designer, she is also very capable of spatial work more commonly associated with architects. She is also a superb project manager, managing the selection, sourcing, ordering, tracking and eventual installation of hundreds of discreet pieces (everything from bed knobs and countertops to shower drains, soap holders, bolts and couches)with effortless efficiency. Who - Dedicated, organized and unflappable, Kyoko is a pleasure to work with. She is also unusual among design professionals in her versatility. In my project, she was asked to take elements from a previous house and extend them into a totally different, and much smaller, structure. It was not an easy task, but she knocked it out of the park. My Experience - Kyoko joined me about four months into the down-to-the-studs renovation of an old Berkeley home. Her first task was to effectively use a kitchen space, a task a previous designer had struggled with. In less than a day she had not only great drawings but a rendered animation so I could easily understand how the kitchen would work. After that I asked her to check our blueprints for anything that seemed off. She found a subtle but major error that, had it stood, would have made for a much less good house. And so went the rest of the project, with Kyoko, again and again, delivering excellence as a designer, as a planner, as a decorator, and as a project manager. Yes, she's that good. And you are welcome. read more

Kyoko came to our rescue when we were partway through building our new home and lost in the endless sea of tile and bathroom and kitchen design options. She was very good at listening to our ideas and desires and was able to help us narrow down what we would like for the different areas. She's was very organized and in tune with the different directions we wanted to take each space. If not for her we would still be wandering the aisles of showrooms. We cannot recommend her enough! read more

Kyoko helped us redesign our outdated kitchen. The old kitchen layout is not inviting and the cabinets are old and hard to open. Kyoko's new kitchen design and layout totally changed the game plan. We enjoy our new remodel kitchen very much! read more

We had the good fortune to work with Kyoko Jackson of Yumi Interiors to design our living room. After a major remodel, we felt very stumped as to how best use our oddly shaped living room space. Kyoko not only helped us with our layout and design but she also thoughtfully worked with us to better understand our own aesthetics. I learned so much, and I feel more confident about making larger furniture purchases after working with Kyoko. She provided us with a functional layout that really meets the needs of our family and she helped us articulate the design elements that we're drawn to. It was such a helpful experience and I hope we have a chance to work with Kyoko in the future. read more

Kyoko was an excellent choice for our kitchen remodel. She helped me through the process of visioning and material selection and helped ease my anxiety about design decision. She gave us options to look at and was able to adjust the design as our vision became clearer. She even went to the cabinet, floor and countertop stores to help us make our selections! This was so very much appreciated! Her eye for color, design and detail are amazing. Thank you Kyoko! read more

I don't know what I would have done without Kyoko! I'm sure my project wouldn't have turned out as beautifully as it did without her help.  I once thought having an interior designer was a luxury. How wrong I was!  Kyoko was my advocate, like a lawyer, when it came to dealing with my contractor.  She was always two steps ahead of him when it came to spotting and solving problems, pointing out when it was his responsibility to fix something.  She knew building codes and all the technical details so she could make sensible recommendations to modify things that were poorly designed in the plan before they were built out, saving me time and money.   Kyoko saved me a ton of money on my kitchens by helping me achieve a custom look while using affordable materials.  She was incredibly organized with her building schedules and her on-sight binder listing all of my selections.   Having Kyoko was like having a midwife holding my hand through this overwhelming process.  She is a great communicator, always available for questions and advice.  She is prompt, professional and personable.  She doesn't take any nonsense from contractors. She was also my muse, providing a constant flow of inspirations and ideas.  She's so intuitive I began to think we shared the exact same aesthetic and were equally passionate about it.  I had so much fun bouncing ideas off of her. She gave it to me straight when something seemed off, but she'd always have a suggestion that got me back on track. I'm so grateful I met her, and I'd work with her again in a second! read more

Kyoko really helped my wife and I with the overview of our kitchen layout.

I would like to believe that I have some sense of interior design and aesthetics, or at least that I know what I like. On the other hand, in fact, the interior of my house was the result of history, circumstances, and of this and that. Further, we all know that a true sense of design and aesthetic can only develop with actual real-world and varied experience. So, what to do? Kyoko Jackson is the solution. She will step into your house, listen-to and absorb your interior design worldview, apply her experience, and bring very good solutions forward. Colors and furniture layout, in particular. She's great. read more

Can't say enough good things about Kyoko. She was easy to work with and made some very thoughtful recommendations. We ended up going with all her suggestions (new light fixture for our dining area, wallpaper for our little entryway and some shelves for our toddler's things) and couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. Feel like she really listened to our design preferences and made suggestions that were within our budget. We were pretty firm about keeping most of our existing furniture and Kyoko helped us move things around to open up our space. We recommend her without hesitation and look forward to our advice for other projects / areas of our place. read more

Kyoko of Yumi Interiors is great. She is creative, innovative and dependable. When she says she will do something, she does. And she communicates if there is a problem: the shifting timeline for furniture delivery for example. She listens carefully to the clients' ideas and then bumps them up a notch or two. In addition, she has terrific taste so everything she suggests is gorgeous. But her focus for her clients is suitability for the the project and she is willing to scour wholesalers, stores, garage sales and the internet to find the perfect piece. Her sense of color is superb and she loves using unusual combinations. In my living room I hav 5 different colors and they work beautifully together. I never would have been so adventurous without Kyoko's encouragement. I enthusiastically recommend here for projects big and small. PS Her fees are very reasonable. read more

Kyoko is the best! She is a great listener and very intuitive and attuned to the needs and aesthetic of her clients. She is a very good communicator and very good at balancing viewpoints, when there are multiple opinions to balance. Kyoko has a great sense of design and style and can recommend great options at many different price points. She has helped us with a kitchen remodel, paint color choices, furniture layouts, and hanging artwork- no question is too small! read more

We worked with Kyoko on a few small projects in our home to help us change out some elements of our kitchen and re-design the layout of our first floor. Kyoko's input was so helpful, and she provided us with thoughtful practical suggestions for increasing the usability and space in our small Berkeley home. I appreciated Kyoko's willingness to work within our budget and her real ability to listen to our needs. We will definitely be working with Kyoko again on future projects! read more

Kyoko hit a major reset button on our house and lives. After almost 40 years of collecting and aquiring various attachments, our house was looking pretty worn out and messy. I wanted to paint everything, get rid of things and freshen up the the house for our next chapter in life, which was semi-retiring and focussing on my art. As I consider myself very creative, I though it would be easy, but colors are the hardest thing to pick! And I had made a few costly mistakes before and had to repaint everything after we had finished it 20 years ago! Kyoko is a magician when it comes to color. I showed her things that I liked and she came up with colors I would never even have thought of! The colors are exquisite, as is the mood! I told her I loved a world ( ethnic ), modern, and Victorian look. Pretty crazy, right? She said we could do it! I wanted a fresh and vibrant take on this combination. We used some of the furniture that we had and carefully picked out, a modern velvet couch and a few other pieces and the look is simply gorgeous! The house feels incredibly artisitc, unusual, and luxurious. I even have 3 modern cabinets for my Kitty Museum! The new kitchen counter is modern, and blingy with gold and silver specks and Maori tatoo designs on the tile backsplash! She even had a new take on hanging our art, in a way I would have never thought of! Now that's just the house and it's transformations. Kyoko is so much fun and professional to work with. She will tell you the truth and her opinion, but she listened carefully to our quirky needs and budget. She distilled and designed our wishes into a beautiful functional living space. She also taught me how to see things differently, and that is a gift. We have simplified our life as a result and we love it! She is a genius! Now our house is the house I have always dreamed of! read more

Kyoko helped transform my indoor and outdoor space into a warm and relaxing home oasis. Her process of discovering my style (I didn't even know I had one!) was fun and inclusive, and I love all of the furniture and layout choices that we made along the way. I'll admit that I was perhaps a difficult client at times, but Kyoko was nothing but patient and supportive throughout the process and always worked within my budget. She's also good at dealing with contractors and was able to help me navigate some challenges there as well. Working with Yumi Interiors was well worth it! read more

Kyoko is a stellar interior designer. We did a major remodel of our house involving the reconfiguration of our first floor to add a guest bedroom, the addition of an external water feature, and the selection of new furniture and lighting upstairs. Yumi took the lead on all of it and we couldn't be more pleased with the results. She perfectly understood our modern design aesthetic and selected materials that were a great fit. In addition to helping us select our furniture and lighting, she designed a large custom shelf (and had it fabricated by somebody she knows) and worked with our contractor to come up with a floor plan for our reconfigured first floor that optimized the use of our existing space. When you combine Yumi's creative problem solving, impeccable taste, efficiency / worth ethic, and pleasant demeanor, you get a designer who is worth every cent of her fee, and then some. We would recommend her without reservation. read more