Suzanne Childress Design

My husband and I worked with Suzanne on renovating our kitchen and one of our bathrooms, as well as selecting paint, wallpaper, furniture and accessories throughout our home. Suzanne was collaborative and responsive, and made the entire process fun. She has a wonderful eye and terrific design ideas. We absolutely love the results!

This past year we purchased a Hermosa Beach bungalow with ocean views. The whole house needed renovation and we wanted to make the most of our beach location. We could not be happier that we decided to work with Suzanne. She has helped us fully realize all the potential of our home in this complete renovation. Suzanne’s approach is creative yet highly organized and knowledgable in working with contractors to address electrical, plumbing, heating, while also designing beautiful room layouts, cabinetry, and finishes. Renovations can be stressful but having someone like Suzanne guide you through the process was wonderful. She always communicated clearly with us and worked to keep the project on time and on budget. The best part is she encouraged us to consider design concepts that would have never occurred to us. The colors, fabrics, furniture, and window treatments bring the vibe we wanted to life. Our teenage girls also had fun working with her to design their rooms. We could not be happier with the end result. We now have a gorgeous beach bunglalow that we love!

I can't say enough what an excellent collaborator Suzanne has been on our home renovation. We have a mid-century modern home that has both space and structural considerations and she has helped us solve some difficult questions with her design solutions. She brings a depth of knowledge and experience from working on a wide variety of projects that we have come to rely on throughout this process. She patiently listens to our many ideas and has helped us realize our vision down to the smallest details, which we never would have thought to consider on our own. Her design recommendations speak to who we are and our desired aesthetic in order to transform our space. Being new to this she’s also helped us work through where it makes sense to invest more and where it doesn’t. We're not finished yet but the best part is that it’s been such an enjoyable experience working together.

Suzanne was the consummate professional in leading the project management and design plans for our complex renovation. Suszanne was agile in dealing with our 110-year old home's construction "surprises", working closely with us and with other contractors and the local city commission leads to formulate clear, revised plans to keep our renovation moving forward, on time and within our budget. And she was very good with style selections to help us modernize while complementing the existing Arts & Crafts built-ins. We are very pleased with the end result.

I live in SF and have a second home in Southern Oregon that was going under remodel starting 2/18. For good reason, I can't always trust my own aesthetic. I needed help. I saw Suzanne's portfolio on Houzz and I immediately reached out to her because I loved her style. Amazing combinations: old, new, funky, sexy, rock and roll and sophisticated elegance. And wallpapers I had no idea existed! Although she was based in the bay area and the house is in Oregon, I thought maybe the remote arrangement might work. I quickly discovered that Suzanne's style and creativity extend beyond her taste in decor into the world of cabinet making, lighting strategy and building design. Her recommendations regarding wall placement turned out to be critical to the comfort of the finished product. Suzanne worked remotely with our contractor, cabinet maker and other local pros to make sure our beautiful design ideas came together exactly as intended. Despite our contractor's proclamations of "this can't be done!," Suzanne knew it could be done and had the knowledge and experience to guide the guys through these "impossible" tasks. This kind of ingenuity is invaluable when the homeowner has no comprehension of the nuances of home building or remodeling. Like me. My expectations were greatly exceeded, which I find to be a rarity these days. Suzanne not only brought a buffet of beautiful and sophisticated ideas to the table, she brought them to life - from 500 miles away. My house is stunning. And Suzanne is welcome in it anytime.

We found Suzanne when we were about to start phase two of our home remodel project. We had been suffering from burn out from the number of decisions that needed to be made without the help of a designer from phase one of our remodel. The list for phase two honestly felt endless before we found Suzanne. I have been working with Suzanne for almost a year and she has been a godsend. She took the time to get to know our style and goals for what we wanted our house to look like. Her knowledge, experience, sound advice (which was not always followed and was regretted) and great ideas has gotten us through the stressful home remodel process. There is still plenty more work to get through but with the progress we have achieved thus far I am confident we will have our dream home with the help of Suzanne.

We hired Suzanne to help with a large re-model / interior design project and it was the best decision we could have made. We had just bought a Victorian in San Francisco and wanted to remodel before moving in (meaning we wanted to get started ASAP). Suzanne helped us coordinate with the contractor and get the project going fast. She was extremely flexible and made the process easy for us. We gave the entire house a make-over. - Completely gutted/remodeled 3.5 bathrooms - Turned a small bedroom into a walk-in closet - Remodeled the kitchen - Added custom built-in bookshelves, window seats, & storage - Painted though-out - Refinished the floors - Furnished/decorated a 3 story, 3 bedroom house. For furnishings, we were essentially starting from scratch. Suzanne helped us design multiple custom pieces. It all turned out amazing and it was exactly what we wanted and more. I was worried if we worked with a designer, that our home would end up looking more like a home decorated by a stranger and not like our own personal style. This was not the case with Suzanne. She listens, pulls ideas, gets feedback, and keeps honing her recommendations to meet her client's style & price point. Suzanne knows our style and us so well. She would also provide ideas that were outside of our comfort zone. We have these incredible painted stairs that I would never have thought of and they bring me so much joy. I highly recommend Suzanne. She is incredible. You will not be disappointed.

I cannot recommend Suzanne enough. From her fantastic eye for detail, her creative (yet realistic) flair, her problem solving skills, her gentle encouragement to try something different, her flexibility, going above and beyond to compensate for a poor architect, her positivity and decorum in sticky situations - in every way Suzanne is a consummate professional. She brought many wonderful ideas, and helped me to develop and build on mine - the result is a beautiful home that is true to who we are, and so much better than it would have been without her. Thank you Suzanne!

We worked with Suzanne on a remodel of our home in San Francisco, which included gutting two bathrooms. Suzanne is the complete package. 1/ As a designer, she has sharp-eyed creativity and imagination for a space, and knows when to push you to try something bold, but also when to hold back according to your preferences. She listens to you, gets to know your style, budget, and priorities, and aligns her recommendations and services accordingly. 2/ As a former attorney, she is organized, pragmatic, responsive, and on top of it. She has spreadsheets on top of spreadsheets, makes sure product orders are placed correctly and on time, and engages regularly and seamlessly with the contractor and subs. She makes sure the train runs smoothly and hunts down things that are causing problems. 3/ In the words of our contractor, she "thinks like a contractor." She understands the structural aspects of remodel, and isn't in the clouds dreaming up ridiculous designs that will cost you a fortune, or changing her mind after the work has started. She thinks ahead, anticipates issues, devises a plan, and executes it. 4/ She has fantastic referrals -- contractors, architects, wallpaper installers, flooring specialists, you name it. And they, in turn, are responsive and loyal to Suzanne, which is particularly helpful in a remodel-crazy place like San Francisco where everyone is booked for months. 5/ She's a pleasure to work with. She's always positive and upbeat, even when things inevitably get stressful and frenzied, and prioritizes getting to know her clients personally. Overall, we had a great experience. I highly recommend Suzanne.

Suzanne has a gracious and warm personality. In her design work she likes to find the right mix for each client, she listens to homeowners and feels the home, then comes to her design solutions that are perfect for both. She works with deeply seasoned tradesman and vendors. She not only knows her stuff she delivers it too in unique inviting homes.

Suzanne worked magic in our open concept kitchen and living room! The vinyl wallpaper in our kitchen instead of a tile backsplash has made our kitchen look like a piece of art. Everyone who walks in our door comments on how much they love it. She really zeroed in on my style and enhanced it with great pieces that I wouldn’t have known would look so awesome all put together. And her vision for our once hideous fireplace tuned it into something I can’t stop looking at it’s so beautiful!

Suzanne is FANTASTIC!!!! She has a wonderful spatial and color sense, and she intuitively knows what works for a space and for *me* (her client). She is super organized and a joy to work with. And, I love love love my space, thanks to Suzanne.