Here's my only gripe about Lane's work - I can no longer read in our living room because I get…read moredistracted by how beautiful it is. I know, I know, you wish you had this problem too. Good news is that you can invite Lane's brilliance into your home as well (just don't say I didn't warn you). Never in a million years did I think I would work with an interior designer. Working with Lane has brought beauty and order into our home without the fighting or compromises that in the end feel like no one really got what they wanted. Who would have thought that my girlfriend and I could really have what we want?! She got the blue couch of her dreams and thanks to Lane I love it too! Lane has a strong aesthetic sense and is not shy about sharing her opinion AND I have never felt pressured to do something. Lane does a great job with client participation whether you know just what you want or are a bit more vague "you know, it's kinda like this thing I once saw, well sorta like......". Favorite pieces of furniture and artwork look more lovely against new paint colors, proper window coverings allow us to watch tv during the day without glare, and new pieces enliven the look of our home and make it more comfortable. Of Lane's many strengths I would like to highlight one in particular. We've been working with Lane for almost a year now. The project started with plans for some small upgrades in the living room and has grown into an overhaul of the room and varying degrees of changes throughout our home. Whether she is given tight parameters or a lot of latitude Lane delivers within the scope of our vision. For example, we are prepared to only make some smaller scale changes to our kitchen. We will not be replacing the granite that neither of us like, but Lane's savvy eye immediately saw that if we changed the wall color we could bring forward our favorite color in the stone (a color that my eye was too overwhelmed to even notice was in the stone!). We are delighted to have prioritized investing in our home and our relationship by creating a space that we love to share with friends and family. I can't recommend working with Lane and Urban Orchard Interiors enough!

I can't say enough good things about Lane. In late 2011 I started exploring my options for sprucing…read moreup my apartment in North Berkeley. I knew I didn't have the time or experience designing interior spaces to do a great job so I finally decided to grow up and hire professional help. They assessed my space, helped me come up with a reasonable budget, and executed a plan that met and exceeded all of my expectations. I'm always getting compliments about what a great job they did from guests that come to visit. A+. Thank you.

Johanna knows her stuff, and delivers her design expertise with friendliness and calm. She brings…read morethe principles of her design--health, sustainability, comfort, warmth--to her working style as well. The work product was off the charts. My Airbnb guests rave about the interior design to this day. Thank you Johanna!

I don't know where to begin sharing my complete continuous Bliss that I have felt ever since I met…read moreher 15 days ago. Johanna has been my dream come true! Someone to hear me, understand me, and respect me and my thoughts and ideas on how I want to live in my home.

I felt that Mira's services were very helpful, especially since my husband is not at all…read moreunderstanding about feng shui, whereas I grew up with the concept. While we're ready to really settle into the house we're renting, there was no way that we would spend a lot of money on feng shui-ing a place that we're renting, so the basic consultation with Mira is just perfect for us. She charges $75 an hour, and she didn't charge us travel fee for coming over to the East Bay. Mira was easy to work with. She was accessible by email and phone before our meeting. She showed up on time to meet with us at our home. It was very useful to have her interview us about what we don't enjoy about each room and what we want out of life. While her consultation was really very basic and involved principles that you would read in a book, unlike the feng shui consultation that involves calculation of your ba zhi and all that stuff I knew growing up, she gave us very solid actionable steps. We found it very useful to air out all the likes and dislikes about our space that we don't usually think to talk about. My husband was also very inspired after the meeting, and we started making changes within 30 minutes of her departure.

I wasn't a big believer in feng shui, with all the astrological calculations and whatnot, but Mira…read morebrought things down to "what do I want in my life" and "how can I set up my house to help make that happen." No foo foo mumbo jumbo, just simple ideas on how to set up my house with intention. I don't know what her consultation would be like if you wanted all of the high falutin feng shui, but for what I was looking for, she pretty much hit it out of the park.

We cannot say enough good things about working with Dee and Lara. What is usually a stressful and…read moreoverwhelming process was, with them, genuinely fun, inspiring, and deeply enjoyable. From the very beginning, they took the time to truly get to know us and our kids - not just our aesthetic preferences, but how we live in our home day to day. That thoughtfulness showed up in every design and functionality decision they helped us make. They were incredibly collaborative and brought us along at every step, making the process feel like a true partnership. They never once pushed an idea or decision on us, but they were also amazing at helping us thoughtfully stretch beyond our comfort zone in ways that ultimately made the home better than we ever imagined. Dee and Lara were responsive, kind, warm, and completely transparent throughout the entire process. We always understood the "why" behind decisions and felt informed and confident every step of the way. They were also exceptionally respectful of our budget. We never felt pressured to overspend, and instead felt like they maximized every single dollar while still delivering a truly elevated result. Their broader team (both internal and external partners) was equally impressive, with a clear commitment to quality and a very high bar for execution. Most importantly, we absolutely love our home. We're grateful for the experience, thrilled with the outcome, and fully expect to work with Dee and Lara for years to come. We would recommend them without hesitation to anyone looking for designers who are best-in-class, thoughtful, and genuinely wonderful to work with.

Working with Diane and Lara at Bleu Leman was such a wonderful experience, especially as someone…read morewho had never worked with interior designers before. I was moving into a new home and starting fresh, and they struck the perfect balance between really listening to what I wanted and gently stretching my thinking in ways that made the final result so much better than I could have imagined. They took the time to truly get to know me and how I live, not just my style preferences, and that personal connection made the whole process feel collaborative and easy rather than intimidating. Beyond their talent, Diane and Lara are simply lovely humans. I genuinely looked forward to our conversations, and I always felt supported, never pressured. They were incredibly clear and organized around purchases and budget, helped me stay on track financially, and were flexible and patient as I changed my mind more than once along the way. I ended up with a home that feels like me, and I'm so grateful for their creativity, professionalism, and kindness. I couldn't recommend Bleu Leman more highly.

Amazing!! Shira is…read morethe whole package and I have 100% confidence she can help you tackle any home organization process. She is smart, fun, respectful, quick, knowledgeable, creative, and motivating. This year I moved into a gorgeous studio apartment in a wonderful SF neighborhood. While I was excited for the move, I began to panic about storage and space. #Fashionista. When I moved in, I took everything from my old life and stuffed it into the studio. It was working...ish. But what I really wanted was that light, airy, free feeling. And I wasn't getting it with all my stuff. So I began a quest to minimize my belongings - especially my clothes! No matter how hard I tried by reading the "Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" or any other materials, I could only let go of a few things at once on my own. So I reached out to Shira. Shira came in and BOOM I was letting go of things by the second and having FUN doing it. Shira helped me maintain perspective by suggesting what might be appropriate for me and my lifestyle. She did not come in with a stringent minimalist formula. She came in looking to get to know me + my life. Then we created the plan together and made sure it felt good. In my two days with Shira, I can confidently say we decreased my belongings by at least 50%. We filled at least 6 IKEA bags with donations. I already know that I won't miss anything. I feel so much lighter. Happier. Inspired!!! And most importantly, like I can stop stressing about my stuff and start focusing on my life. Work with Shira and you won't regret it :). I promise!

Shira is a miracle worker. Her organizing and transformation is like a work of art. Incredibly…read moreprofessional and friendly, her attitude and efficiency is far above any. She not only organizes, but creates a plan and teaches along the way so that we can continue to live a less stressed and cluttered life. The only regret you will have if you call her is thinking why you didn't do it sooner!

Jill did the staging for our Berkeley house a couple of months ago just before it went on the…read moremarket, and I gasped when I walked in and saw her fantastic work! Such a transformation! From the beautiful lighting to the vibrant paint colors to the gorgeous artwork, Jill did impeccable work throughout, down to the smallest detail--even the books on the shelves were perfect choices! She transformed our house into an incredibly warm and welcoming environment, and I have no doubt that her staging was key in helping us make a quick sale at a price that far exceeded our expectations. From consultation to installation to removal, she was extremely prompt and professional--making this part of the real estate process easy and fun!

Lauren at Visual Jill did a fantastic job for us with a difficult task: taking a small bedroom with…read moreawkward dimensions and turning it into a space that a six-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl would actually want to share. Three months later, our kids are still happily co-habitating, and their room is a wonderful place to be (for kids and grown-ups alike). Lauren managed to maximize every square inch of the room, and make it all look great in the process. She made us a great Pinterest board with furniture ideas, plus a really amazing Photoshop mock-up of the room that showed exactly what the furniture would look like in the room, with new paint colors and all. Once we settled on final choices, she did all the ordering and connected us with a room painter. After we'd assembled all the furniture (this is time-consuming, so it's worth bearing in mind that it falls outside the scope of Visual Jill's services), Lauren and Jill came over to re-shelve the kids' books, hang pictures, affix a very cool wall decal, and generally spiff the place up. Altogether a great experience working with Visual Jill, and we would definitely hire them for future projects.

Caroline was so amazing with helping organize a bunch of things that I had been putting off for so…read morelong. She was helpful and kind and easy to talk to-- she made the task i'd been avoiding enjoyable! I 100% recommend her and will definitely book her again in the future.

The process of downsizing and moving is extremely intimidating. Had I done this on my own, it would…read morehave taken me weeks of getting distracted by leafing through every photo album, stalling on big decisions, and letting piles accumulate. Caroline kept me on task while also allowing space for sentiment and thought. Piles turned into giveaways that were photographed and listed online in the moment; trash was taken out, "keep" piles were consolidated. We got a lot done, and I felt supported while doing it. Totally recommend.

I initially asked Samantha Moss to help with one room. She was SO good that I'm incredibly grateful…read moreshe organically guided the paint colors for our entire house! The project is still in progress, but with three major rooms complete, we're convinced working with Samantha was one of the best decisions we've made during our home refresh. First, even though we've been home owners for a while and thought we knew what we were doing, Sam completely changed the way my wife and I think about paint. She asked thoughtful questions to understand how we wanted each room to feel, not just how we wanted it to look. The results have been remarkable. Our once-dark home office is now calm, bright, and inspiring to work in every day. She gently steered our preteen daughter away from indecision to a color that feels sophisticated, warm, and a perfect green that can flex with her changing moods. And our bathroom? She suggested colors that I never would have chosen myself, yet it's become a room visitors compliment all the time. Beyond paint, Samantha also gave us spot-on recommendations for our bedroom's curtains and lighting direction, helping us create a vision for the whole home instead of just choosing colors. She is thoughtful, collaborative, incredibly knowledgeable, and a genuine pleasure to work with. We can't wait to see the remaining rooms come together and recommend Samantha Moss without hesitation.

I am so happy to write this review about Samantha. I love when I experience great skill, talent,…read morecommunication, service, and rapport with people I work with. I appreciate Samantha so much for those reasons. She has been spot on in choosing colors for our home, both interior and exterior. She has also given us valuable interior design suggestions. The cherry on top is that she has been an absolute joy to work with. I am looking forward to having her back to consult on other rooms of our house. I rave about her (whether solicited or not!) to anyone I know who is having their house painted or is choosing paint colors. For any of you who are hesitant, my recommendation is to just say yes! :-)