Suzanna Santostefano

Working with Suzanna Santostefano was a game-changer for our home. What was once an underutilized backyard has been completely transformed into a stunning, functional extension of our living space—thanks to Su’s extraordinary design vision and unwavering attention to detail. From the very beginning, Su saw potential in the space that we simply couldn’t. Her idea to replace a set of standard windows with a large sliding glass door was a pivotal moment—it opened up our home and created a seamless connection to the outdoor patio by the pool. What had previously been an under-utilized area is now the heart of our home’s indoor-outdoor flow. Every element of the project—down to the smallest detail—has Su’s thoughtful touch. She personally selected every finish: from the massive 10x10 Rough Douglas Fir beams and the warm Cedar ceiling overhead, to the outdoor furniture, grill, appliances, and even the precise location of the towel hooks in the outdoor shower. The level of care she brought to each decision made all the difference. Today, we spend our time grilling in the outdoor kitchen, relaxing in the sauna, rinsing off in the outdoor shower after a swim, or enjoying a game on the outdoor TV with friends—gathered under the comfort of our covered outdoor living area with food and drinks in hand. It’s hard to believe how far the space has come. When our original contractor dropped out unexpectedly, Su stepped in with urgency—helping us find a new contractor and keeping the project aligned with her detailed plans. Her leadership, creativity, and commitment made this project not just possible, but exceptional. We are beyond grateful to Su. The transformation of our backyard is something we never could have achieved without her. Her eye for design elevated every corner of the space, and we’re now able to enjoy a home that truly feels complete—inside and out.

We worked Suzanna to remodel our entire 4 bedroom 3 bath home that was built in the 60s. We knew she was the perfect designer for us when we found her on yelp, went through pictures of her past projects and read the glowing reviews. She was even willing to have her past clients talk to us about their experiences working with her which was incredibly helpful in putting us at ease as first time home owners looking to do a major remodel. In one word she is incredible! She spent a lot of time and effort learning our style and aesthetic at the onset and vision for the home (she took a detailed inventory of our existing furniture, looked through our pinterest board and other pictures we liked). She also spent time familiarizing herself with our house and mocking up variations of layouts based on our vision. The tools and software she used to share mockups and adjust design were great throughout. She was very professional, was always on time four our weekly appointments and proactive in sending us suggestions (incl samples) and followups. She has a really good understanding of the local Austin supplier market and where to go for materials (e.g. marble, tile, etc.) which was key. We found her design style to be true to that represented in her project pictures which is exactly what we were looking for. We also appreciated that Suzanna was assertive in her opinions when helping guide us through areas where we weren’t sure (e.g. which supplier we should get lighting from) but also flexible in adjusting designs or suggestions based on our feedback. My husband and I would often say to each other that it felt like she was building the home for her own family given the extra effort and care she and the contractor she works with took to ensure every detail was perfect. Most importantly working with her was super fun and we truly enjoyed the process. We love our home so much! Its what we envisioned and more – its modern and has a great layout that’s super functional for our family. She made great use of space in several areas of our home including adding a new powder room, mudroom and laundry area which she reconfigured by taking some wasted space in our garage. We liked working with her so much that we’ve asked her to continue on to help us with interior design! Highly recommend her to anyone looking for a visionary designer.

We worked with Suzanna to remodel our master bathroom/closet and guest bathroom in our small house late last year to create a better use of space when we learned we had a baby on the way. I couldn’t have imagined a better experience and nearly one year later, I still love every single detail of our new rooms! We were blown away by how quickly she nailed our design aesthetic and knew exactly to do with the space. What I love most about Suzanna is that while she’s an incredibly talented designer, she also works like an architect and was able to reconfigure a small space for us to maximize every square inch to some how make our small room feel double to size and meet every functional need. Suzanna works by an hourly rate and I was very surprised how quickly she works and efficient she is with her time. We can't wait to work with her again! As our family grows we are more open-minded with the next house we buy because we know we can work with her to update it and make it our own!

I knew I needed help with my bathrooms remodel project. Luckily I happened to scroll through designers on the Houzz website. When I came to Suzanna Santostefano, I knew I had found the designer I wanted to work with. The photos she posted of her projects appealed to me: eclectic, great use of color and interesting. When I met with her for the first time I knew we’d work well together. She was so creative, thoughtful, caring, hardworking and intelligent. She genuinely cared that I was happy and satisfied every step along the way. And I loved how she thinks outside the box: I had found some tile I definitely wanted to use in a bathroom. But when we priced it, it was going to be much too expensive. She suggested using tile from Lowe’s (and not Home Depot – she knew that the shade of white at Home Depot was not the one we wanted and at Lowe’s it was – valuable knowledge!). I love the look of the tile in my bathroom! She’s not frou frou and not interested in using expensive products if they’re not needed. I love my bathrooms! I am so grateful to Suzanna that she helped to create these lovely spaces. You would be lucky to work with her!

Ikigai. A reason for being; the source of value for one’s life, the things that make life worthwhile. A place where passion, vocation, and mission intersect. Su Santostefano has found her calling, her ikigai, in design. She helped us design a complete remodel of the interior of our home and now we are working on the exterior together. I cannot state enough of how Su’s talent is so apparent that she was meant to do this job, and in doing so, provide a beautiful environment where others can pursue their ikigai, whatever it is. Our house is small; Su is very creative in finding ways to maximize the space and make it look like it came out of a magazine spread. She is the best of the best. We highly recommend her for her professionalism, creativity, speed, and ability to work well with both the customer and contractor. Couldn’t be happier with the end result, thank you Su!

We love Su!! What makes Su a top tier designer are both her unique, studied design skills and her strong project managment skills. She provides end-to-end service from concept to completion. She exhibited a fastidious attention to detail and a calm re-assurance that our shared concept would take life to specification between our four walls. All of the micro-decisions of any renovation project add up; when we were overwhelmed with yet another choice to make, we could count on Su to make the call, because she not only has an amazing aesthetic, but she also knew our preferences. And all this to say, she respected our budget and was transparent in pricing and estimates along the way. She knew when to give accurate estimates and when to defer to expert contractors. Her material choices are unique within the bounds of the agreed budget decided early in our project. We recommend Su to all of our friends and family, and look forward to working with her again, when it is time for our next project!

Complete remodel and design of kitchen, dining room, and 1/2 bathroom. Invaluable advice regarding kitchen layout and use of space. In particular, opening wall between kitchen and dining room allowing for more functional use. Suzanna was always reliable with meetings and flexible to my schedule. She is great! I would definitely work with her again in the future.

You will not regret working with Su! She really is as good as they come, and she will make your space into more than you could ever have imagined. She designed my office space, and I get compliments on the space weekly. She hears what you're wanting to create, and makes it come into reality. Also, she helped me stay within a modest budget, and I was really thankful for that. I would absolutely recommend her!

It's been many months since I had Sue help me with my kitchen, and every time I step inside I still smile. I did a lot of research and had a lot of my own ideas going into the project; Sue really pushed my boundaries to make something that had much better appeal while keeping my individual style. For a lot of the materials, she pulled lots of options. So as my budget changed, I was able to maintain the look.

It has been such a joy and pleasure working with Suzanna. She's amazing! From the beginning of the project she took the time to listen to our needs/wants and incorporate them into her design for our poorly flipped 1950s bathroom renovation. Her enthusiasm for our project was infectious and I found myself wanting to do more on our bathroom remodel. We ended up tiling all the walls in our bathroom with a handmade white Spanish tile and it looks beautiful. Her knowledge and background in design made me feel confident in any of her recommendations. She was always very open and gently guided us to make decisions that can sometimes be stressful with a bathroom remodel. I was grateful to have different material options and incredibly grateful Suzanna was mindful of our budget. Suzanna designed a bathroom that works for our kids, but is also aesthetically pleasing and functional.

Suzanna is a mastermind. My husband and I moved into our first house with literally no furniture. We had just moved across the country and brought very little with us. This was also my first time decorating my own home, and I had no idea what to do. Suzanna helped me create a vision and fill our home with beautiful furniture. Her aesthetic is fantastic. She does a wonderful job combining interesting, eclectic pieces to create a clean, comfortable, and beautiful space. She spent hours and hours combing Craigslist to help me find the best deals on beautiful furniture. Before I got Suzanna on my team, I only had a very vague idea of what I wanted based on random images I liked on Pinterest and Instagram. Suzanna helped me refine my tastes. With her guidance, I’ve learned how to find things I like on my own - so I can continue to develop my home as the space changes in the years to come. I had an all around fantastic experience working with Suzanna!

I cannot recommend Su enough! My husband and I bought a house that needed some serious updating and Su came to our rescue. She had some game changing ideas for our space (that we never would have thought of) and also offered us wonderful contacts to help bring our dreams to life. Su designed several different layouts for us to ensure we were totally satisfied with the plans and took the guesswork out of going to IKEA as she measured and picked out each piece. She made our home a beautiful and functional space and put us at ease throughout the process.