Sutherland Design Home, LLC

We initially set out to give our kitchen a DIY refresh. With my husband’s background in architecture and mine in interior design, we had hoped we could execute it ourselves. But once we started drawing plans for the kitchen we truly wanted—something timeless, thoughtfully crafted, and fully aligned with both our functional and aesthetic goals—we realized our design needed the expertise of professional contractors to bring it to life. After completing much of the demolition, the project stalled for several months due to busy schedules. We ended up spending a chilly winter in a kitchen stripped down to the studs, with no insulation and no real plan for how to move forward. We felt stuck! That changed in January 2024, when we brought Shelly on board to help us get back on track. From the start, Shelly played a crucial role in driving the project forward. She incorporated our ever-developing design ideas into SketchUp renderings, and gathered cost estimates from fabricators which helped us prioritize where to invest. She also connected us with trusted vendors and contractors, and coordinated showroom visits so we could select our finishes, fixtures, and appliances. Her organization and follow-through kept us on a clear timeline, and ensured the project moved steadily through schematic design and into early design development. At that point, we were able to take back the reins and really make the project our own. Shelly kept herself available for questions, and even came back to see the finished product. We’re incredibly grateful to Shelly. Without her, who knows how long we would have been stuck in planning limbo. We now have a finished kitchen that we adore! Photo copyright: AJ Meeker Photography

We asked Shelly to help us design a new bathroom that was stuck in the 70’s. She did a great job and gave us lots of new ideas in how to make it special on a budget. She was a great communicator with us and the contractor and always responded to emails and texts in a timely manner. I highly recommend her.

I met Shelly in January 2023. We own a condo in NW Portland. It had been a rental and after spending a few weeks in our place we knew we had to renovate and make it our second home. Living full time in the Bay Area I needed a designer who could be my stand in and complete the project without me being around. Shelly was the perfect fit. We met, discussed design ideas, picked out a few things, shared pictures and off I went. She provided and oversaw every single detail of the project right down to bed linens and towels. She managed the design, construction team, closet renovations, carpet installs, lighting, painting , window coverings and furnishings. Seven months later we had our big “HGTV” reveal. I trusted her so much that I just knew it would be perfect and all to my liking and aesthetic. We were knocked off our feet when we entered the most beautifully designed condo, Shelly “got me” and the condo reflected my vision. It was just what I wanted and imagined and the meticulous quality of work she and her crew provided exceeded all my expectations. My husband who likes nice things, but has no input in any design decisions I make, loves it as much as me. Shelly delivered as promised, executed on time and was mindful of costs. She is wonderful to work with and I will forever be grateful for all her hard work, understanding and the effort she put forth to make my condo so beautiful and functional. We LOVE it and loved working with her. In my opinion, the best interior designer in Portland,

Shelly is so responsive and collaborative. A delight to work with. Very careful with client spending. And a wonderful resource. Thank you so much Shelly for all your help in making my home, beautiful and functional.

I am a General Contractor in the Portland area for 20 years and I recently have had the pleasure to work with Shelly on a few jobs. I have worked with many Designers over the years and Shelly stands out as one of the very best. Shelly's attention to details and problem solving skills as well as her eye for design have made all our jobs together work extremely well. She has been a great benefit to me and her Clients and I would recommend her highly to anyone that needs a professional, supremely talented designer for their project.

Being color challenged, Shelly was great providing color ideas and samples to compare on the spot. Depending on what part of our project we were discussing she always came prepared with samples as well as, walking us thru picking out samples at the contractor store. Shelly also listened to our desires of what we wanted to change and what we didn't providing color coordination throughout our home. Shelly has been terrific to work with. I would highly recommend her to anyone. John

We had an excellent experience working with Shelly on our basement laundry room, exercise room, and half bath remodel, which also included many other smaller projects throughout the house. She is incredibly organized, detail-oriented, a great listener, and clearly understood what we were trying to achieve with our remodel. She made the material selection process a breeze by looking at our inspiration photos on Houzz and narrowing down the choices to reflect our style. She kept the project moving along, communicated well with our contractor, and kept us informed of progress along the way. She is great at problem-solving, and was really willing to go that extra step to help us get what we wanted. In addition to all of this, Shelly is just such a kind, warm person. We feel so lucky to have found her through Houzz and we cannot recommend her highly enough!!

It was a pleasure working with Shelly on my family room, living room and bathroom remodel project. Her eye for detail, project management skills and prompt communication skills were invaluable. And as we worked through a small hiccup, I so appreciated her calmness and experience to work through it with satisfactory results. I’m so enjoying my new space and thank Shelly for her vision and inspiration on the whole project! I highly recommend her. :)

Shelly and her team has been wonderful to work with through concept, design and implementation. She took our vision of a dream master bath and executed on it flawlessly. We’ve tried designing the space ourselves, but ended up asking Shelly for help. We’re so glad we did, because her knowledge of space design took our master bath to another level. Highly recommend Sutherland Design Home!

SUTHERLAND DESIGN Working with Shelly was even better than we expected. 1. She really listens and included all we really wanted in her design. 2. She was able to make our bathroom feel bigger while considering the limitations of our condo rules. 3. Shelly is amazingly creative and put things together we never would have done on our own. 4. The people she hires to do the work are polite and interesting and most important of all, do good work. 5. Even though they were renovating a 42sq ft bathroom we were rarely without a toilet and we could use it every night. Everyone did a great job cleaning up every day. 6. Communication was always good and there were few surprises. 7. It finished on time, even though it was during the pandemic, and we always felt that everyone was "on our side,” 8. Everything was ordered in a timely manner and arrived before we needed it. 9. When we met Shelly at the design centers, she was ready with suggestions and examples. 10 Shelly was able to get us a remnant for our countertop which saved us lots of money. 11. The end result is beautiful, and we both love it and it's all functional. 12 Shelly always stayed calm and was a non-anxious presence that got us through the project. 13, Shelly wrote up a clear contract that let us know exactly what to expect and she followed up with each worker to be sure everything was done correctly which also made her aware of any problems in a timely manner. Linda (Sensitive Information Hidden)

After researching and interviewing various interior designers and we finally found Sutherland Design Home. We liked Shelly because she listened carefully and understood what we were trying to accomplish while being extremely personable and genuine. She was sensitive to our needs and was able to translate our ideas and budget into a realistic plan. We would highly recommend Shelly!

Shelly Sutherland In a single word: Excellence From start to finish Shelly is Methodical, Efficient, Detailed, Organized and Professional. She brought my project in on time, and on budget. (Project Remodel included: New Kitchen, removal of carpet in Living & Family rooms, installation of hardwood floors and the entire interior of home was painted in a new color). I could never have even imagined the end result without her. She is a wonderful person who interacts and communicates so positively with everyone: Client, Suppliers, Contractors. Shelly clearly documented the scope of work and my budget. She quickly learned my tastes and style, and made sure I was in love with the final results ( an error on my part included a minor color change to the grout in the kitchen back splash after it was completed). Shelly’s positive communication with the Tile Contractor; and myself, made it a great experience. Everyone was happy in the end. Excellence.

Shelly created designs, drawings, colors and material selections to update our 1981 Street of Dreams home. She made the whole design process so much easier than if we were to do it all on our own. We were tough clients since we didn't know what we wanted, but Shelly was extremely patient with us and never pushed us. When we couldn't decide on colors or materials, she would help us narrow it down by proposing options that we wouldn't have thought of, all while keeping it in budget. I look forward to future projects with her!

I had never worked with this designer before so didn't know what to expect. I have to say that I was a bit dubious about the master bathroom design that Shelly Sutherland originally presented to me to be built. But she had a vision and was confident that it would be beautiful. And once all the pieces were in place it did, in fact, turn out beautiful. The sign of a good designer. I found her very responsive, easy to work with and would be more than happy to work with her again if the opportunity presented itself.

We've had the pleasure to work with Shelly as a design consultant on two remodel projects at our home over the past couple of years. Shelly was very "comfortable" to work with as she had a very quiet and very organized approach to her design vision for our remodels. Shelly listened to our wants, our needs and "must haves" for the projects and then expanded on our ideas, giving us a variety of options and suggestions that would incorporate everything into the final outcomes of both remodels. We couldn't have been more happy, and more pleased with the end results.

I highly recommend Sutherland Design Home, Shelly and her crew did an amazing job. Very knowledgeable, always professional and great taste.

Amazing and awesome to work with Sutherland Designs! Attention to detail, extremely organized, creative, professional, and top quality. Shelly, is a gem to work with and has a beautiful heart! She made our dreams come true, in the most beautiful way! I will use her again and again! :)