Cathleen Gouveia

I hired Cathleen to remodel an entire floor at my Mill Valley residence in 2017. She began by re-envisioning my downstairs living room, dining room, staircase and gallery spaces. She saw and put on paper design suggestions that I could never have imagined. We discussed her proposed alternatives regarding finishes, furnishings and architectural elements we might choose for each. She was a virtuoso with her teams of artisans and she overhauled my space, removing structural elements that permitted flooding my home with natural light. She was always conscientious, timely, and aware of my comfort during the remodeling process. She unveiled a whole new space, which led to a vastly improved lifestyle in the perfect rooms for what I do: read, play musical instruments and enable guests' and my family's comfort. With the light, airy sophisticated space Cathleen has created, I am more comfortable and inspired. Cathleen is not like other interior decorators, but a true designer and artist. My spaces wound up on the cover of a magazine and won the 2017 ASID Design Excellence Award for, “Best Residential Space in the Public Domain, Living Rooms, and Dining Rooms” in Northern CA. I could not be more pleased; she's pleasant to work with too!

I am a professional Cabinetmaker and Furniture maker and I have worked with Cathleen Gouveia over the years. Recently we worked together on a "Penthouse Bedroom" she designed for the 2011 San Francisco Decorator Showcase house. Cathleen worked out the entire design and carefully curated each element in the room, Furnishings, Finishes, custom wall Plaster, Art and Accessories. She even designed a Floating Bed that hung from the ceiling. For that space I built the bleached White Oak Cabinet that sits in the Niche with a cast concrete Base and Top and hand made Walnut Door / Drawer Pulls. Cathleen brings a superb sense of Style and Design to her projects, she is ethical and professional and she is a pleasure to work with as well. Highly Recomended

I Have enjoyed working with Cathleen for many years. She is very professional and easy to work with. With each new project , she has a very clear vision of her design asthetic . It makes my job easier when she knows what she is looking for , I understand what products to show and provide as options . Sincerly , Izabella Farkas Combs City lights S.F.

Cathleen Gouveia used a number of my fine art black and white original photographs in a Marin Designer Showcase house, recently. My experience of working with her was professional, courteous and respectful in every aspect of our association. The artistry displayed in her final presentation at the house was brilliant, definitely a cut above the other designers! I'll work with her again any time she calls on me.

I collaborated with Cathleen Gouveia on the Indoor/Outdoor retreat for the 2010 Marin Designer Showcase. I provided the built-in cabinetry designed by this very detail oriented interior designer. I was very impressed how she created an inspiration story around the Owner's history in the maritime industry and let it influence all her design choices. The room features two hatch cabinets located on both sides of the room for clothing storage - much like the experience of living in a boat. A custom built-in dresser and virtual office space optimized the use of the dormer spaces. The visitors' positive responses to this spectacular room was awesome.

I had the pleasure of working with Ms. Gouveia on a large and extremely time sensitive deadline (Marin Designer Showcase) in 2010 and found her extremely knowledgable and pleasant to work with. She was able to complete her design timely and on budget. This short deadline also showcased her abilities in dealing with all the various sub contractor so often needed in a remodel. In my opinion, not only is she a very talented designer but also has a good ear for listening.

Cathleen always sets the interior design bar high for herself and her clients. She produces very refined interior architectural concepts that result in savvy design spaces. Each and every collaborative project is unabashedly her own and inspired by her surroundings. Cathleen's aesthetic is the consummate celebration of restrained cool. She is the definition of a designer's designer. Testaments to her successful vision are accolades from respected colleagues and clients who take note of her projects.

My home has an open, complex interior where a number rooms evolve into each other through arches or without common corners or doorways while the walls step to the ceilings in several different ways. We needed help developing a color scheme for painting that would accent our furnishings while blending harmoniously room to room and highlight the architectural features of arches, columns and multi-step ceilings. We hired Cathleen to do this work. She prepared a marvelous color scheme that surpassed all of our expectations. I did not realize that this simple step of custom painting could so radically enhance the atmosphere or our home while making the architectural features dramatic, and all the while so perfectly accenting our existing furniture and upholstery fabrics moved from another home. It goes without saying she was highly, professional, thorough and prompt. She delivered very good value given the quality of her work. Highly recommended.