50 Best Interior Designers In North America Part II: California

California is known for its beaches, surfing, Hollywood, Disneyland and wine, as well as its large economy and progressive politics. California is arguably the most famous state in North America and millions of tourists travel there every year for the nightlife, scenery, and sunshine. From San Francisco to Los Angeles, these are the best interior designers in California. Stay tuned!

1. Advanced Home Services

Advanced Home Services started as a service company where the trust and continuous collaboration with clients, leading industry professionals and retail vendors truly advanced the company to venture into the diversity of services. From General Construction, Plumbing, Water Quality, Project Management, Retail Furnishings to Interior Design. Partnership with multiple contracting firms that are licensed and bonded in construction and remodeling projects is what makes Advanced Home Services a full-service design-build firm.

2. Avenue Interior Design

Since its 2009 foundation in a bohemian studio off of Venice and Abbot Kinney, hospitality-based Avenue Interior Design has positioned itself as a tiny powerhouse in an industry full of giants. Now based in Downtown Los Angeles, and decidedly less tiny, the team continues to design and collaborate on the industry’s most exciting properties for the most prominent leaders in hospitality.

3. AvroKO California

AvroKO has established a new paradigm in the hospitality industry, encompassing a multitude of disciplines while creating thoughtful and engaging architecture, brands, products, and environments. Since its launch in 2001, AvroKO has earned a reputation as one of the most innovative design firms in the field, due in large part to the group’s integrated design process and focus on creating emotionally connected experiences.

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Malay Bar Chair

4. Cecile Starin Design

Cecilie Starin Design is an interior design company run by Cecilie Starin in Tiburon. The company primarily serves high-end residential clients in San Francisco, Napa, Marin County, and the Peninsula but will also serve customers in other parts of California. Cecilie has extensive fine arts, fashion design, and decor experience.

5. Charles de Lisle

The circumstances of Charles de Lisle’s childhood help explain his creative tendencies. Charles grew up in rural Massachusetts; he spent time exploring factories near his father’s woodworking shop where he collected scraps, bits of industrial products, images, and thoughts. After studying ceramics, Charles moved to California, where he learned how to weld and began fabricating lighting fixtures. Charles started his own office in 2008; a design collective focused on custom fabricated furniture, lighting, decorative arts, interior projects, and landscape projects. Surely one of the best interior designers in California.

6. Chu & Gooding

Chu & Gooding is an acclaimed architecture and interior firm with an emphasis on cultural, arts-related, educational, and institutional projects, recognized for designing distinctive homes and sophisticated spaces. Part of a long lineage of craft, expertise, and experience, they have a deep understanding of the tactile, and they see interiors as a profound, provocative, and essential element of architectural design.

7. Claudia Afshar Design Studio

Claudia Afshar needs no introduction. The designer and founder/CEO of Claudia Afshar Design Studio has been making waves in the design industry due to her incredibly fresh, sophisticated, and functional residential design projects. You may have seen her work featured in some of the most distinguished design magazines such as Vogue, Elle Decor, Rue Magazine, and many others.

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Cassia Modular Sofa

8. Clements Design

Kathleen, who works alongside her son Tommy at Clements Design, doesn’t generally discuss her celebrity clientele. However, her work on the homes of actors Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux as well as the lovely mansion shared by comedienne Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia DeRossi is common knowledge. Clements Design is known for its gallery-like Nature-inspired interiors filled with judiciously chosen rustic antiques so spare in their lines that they function almost as sculpture.

9. Commune Design

As the name implies, Commune Design is a Los Angeles-based design studio that values the strength of the collective mind, believing that authentic creativity and innovation come from collaboration. The actual merit of their work comes from their collaborations with their clients as well as with other members of the community. This is a studio with a reputation for holistic work across the fields of architecture, product, graphic and interior design.

10. David Dalton Inc.

David Dalton Inc. specializes in both commercial and residential interior design and has completed a rich variety of international interior projects. Residential projects range from the large-scale, new construction design and planning of an Oxford country estate, to the luxe interiors of a Beverly Hill Tudor manse, to the remodeled interiors of an urban Chicago contemporary loft. Commercial projects include hotels, retail spaces, spas, sanctuaries, medical facilities, and more.

11. East Kennedy Company

East Kennedy brings two parallel worlds together to create a space where luxury interior meets fashion in a seamless union. They view what they do as curating an art collection for your home and body. The goal is to create a tangible space to reflect your unique style and soul from the inside out. With a selection of uniquely sophisticated home accessories and furniture, accompanied by luxurious statement apparel, you can fully express your innermost self. Whether you need to treat yourself or someone else, you’ll find something to compliment your fabulous taste.

12. Forest Perkins

Forrest Perkins is a distinct design studio of Perkins Eastman, a global architecture firm working out of 15 interdisciplinary offices around the world. The firm believes that design has a direct, positive impact on people’s lives.

13. Frank Berry Designs

Frank Berry Designs is a full-service design development firm based in Orange County, California. As international specialists in custom commercial and residential design with an extensive industry background, they offer a strong design aesthetic and invaluable insight into the building process. They align interests with those of their clients to develop a creative vision and strategic plan that translates into an unparalleled living environment.

14. Gensler California

“Leveraging the power of design to create a better world”, Gensler‘s motto takes design to another level. This global team is reimagining the future of cities believing the world is definitively changing and that change is for the best. One community, united by the commitment to holistically improve the human experience. Naturally optimistic, this company wants to use the power of design to spark positivity and create a future that promotes equity, resilience, and well-being for everyone.

15. Grayson Luxury

Grayson Luxury is the ideal interior design destination for traditional sophistication with a modern sensibility. Bringing together some of the most innovative designer brands in the home interiors industry, Grayson Luxury has quickly become the one-stop shop for designers and homeowners alike. Beginning as a trade-only showroom in the LA Mart Design Center, Grayson Luxury has relocated to an expansive space nestled in the heart of Beverly Hills where clients can enjoy the comfort and grandeur of this reputable locale.

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Colombia Armchair

16. Hardware Designs

Hardware Designs has catered to homeowners by providing expertise and exceptional hardware, plumbing fixtures and lighting from all over the world. Their products are carefully selected to enhance the design and functionality of your home, whether you are renovating your existing home or building a new custom home. Since 1982, they have collaborated with homeowners, interior designers, architects, and builders to achieve your unique design plans and to supply luxury products that are perfect for your new home.

17. HBA Los Angeles

One of the giants in the interior design industry, Hirsch Bedner Associates has been leaving a mark at luxury hotels all over the globe since 1965. Their notorious presence in the hospitality market and their unparalleled expertise and detailed knowledge give their designers the ability to identify interior design trends at their source as well as they are able to make predictions about new directions and innovations at a worldwide level.

18. Heather Hilliard Design

Heather Hilliard Design is a boutique interior design studio that serves clients in San Francisco and surrounding areas. Heather specializes in creating and designing personalized interiors that merge classic detailing and modern design. For the past 10 years, Heather Hilliard Design has been working with craftsmen and artists across the globe, who execute Heather’s customized designs for her clients. One of the best interior designers in California, some of the most notorious projects by Heather Hilliard Design include Presidio Heights I, Pacific Heights, and Piedmont.

19. Horbach Design

Studying industrial design at the Academy of Arts in Hamburg, Germany, Christine Marie Horbach was guided by one of the most renowned designers of our time, Dieter Rams. Over the past 20 years, Horbach Design has designed numerous luxury interiors and high-end products for private clients and internationally acclaimed companies including JW Marriott, Rosenthal, The LaFayette Hotel and Zodiac Aerospace.

20. HPG International

HPG International is an internationally recognized provider of FF&E and OS&E procurement services to the world’s finest hotels and resorts.

21. HSH Interiors

At HSH Interiors, every project begins with the client’s vision—they believe that sophisticated interiors should be as unique as the people who live in them. This full-service interior design firm has been transforming clients’ dreams into realities since 2002, serving the Bay Area, Lake Tahoe, and beyond.

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Syrad Wall Lamp

22. IA Interior Architects

IA Interior Architects‘ most important asset is its people—and those people come from a diverse background that informs the spaces they design. IA designs people-centric environments across vertical markets. Their intent is to enrich the human experience, create wellness, strengthen brand and culture, and integrate technology as well as new ways of working. They anticipate the future to realize the client’s vision and goals.

23. Indidesign

This studio was established with the vision of creating memories by evoking a sense of place on a journey through surprise, discovery and desire. Each one of the projects is defined by its unique identity and it delivers a special experience through the seamless fusion of design and operation. Indidesign is a collection of dynamic, knowledgeable and creative designers and their commitment and involvement are consistently strong through every phase of the design and construction process.

24. Jamie Bush

A New Yorker who grew up in a family of notable designers and artists, Jamie Bush studied Architecture and Design in New Orleans and Italy. After receiving his Masters in Architecture from Tulane University, Jamie relocated to L.A. and opened his own interior design firm in 2002. Featured in such major publications as Architectural Digest, Dwell, and the Los Angeles Times, Jamie is highly regarded for his keen understanding of architecture and design. One of the best interior designers in California.

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Soleil Armchair

25. Jeff Schlarb

Jeff Schlarb is a San Francisco interior design company founded in 2002. Its team of designers, architects, engineers, and stylists has also completed projects in Southern Marin and New York. Jeff Schlarb’s product package is broken into pre-design, design development, and implementation services. The company’s pre-design services include concept analysis, scope development, and cost analysis while actual design services include decoration, furniture sourcing, woodwork, fabrics, lighting, and window treatments.

26. Jeffrey Alan Marks

Jeffrey Alan Marks‘ designs are infused with fresh informality, good nature and playful charm. Internationally recognized as one of today’s most influential American designers, this California talent captures each client’s personality to create timeless and livable interiors.

27. Jensen Interior Design

Robyn Jensen is the owner and principal designer of Jensen Interior Design. A Cornell graduate and world traveler, Jensen has lived in NY, LA, London, Paris, India, and now resides in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Her passion for interior design was born while living in India amidst its vibrant colors, textiles and extraordinary history of art, architecture, and culture. She specializes in high-end residential interior design with projects from Seattle, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Beverly Hills, Asia and the Middle East.

28. Just The Touch

Liling Tseng Lampell is a California-licensed interior designer serving the SF Bay area for more than 10 years. She specializes in creating sophisticated modern interiors and luxurious livable spaces. Her comprehensive cutting-edge style has drawn distinguished clients throughout the United States and abroad. Clients praise Just The Touch‘s intuitive customer service, innovative problem-solving, and attention to detail included in every project.

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Moka Dining Chair

29. Kari Whitman Interiors

Clients including Jessica Alba, Kristen Bell, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Emilio Estevez, and Don Henley have flocked to her high-end interior design firm for her trademark eclectic style and knowledge of eco-friendly and pet-friendly design. Kari founded KWI – Kari Whitman Interiors – in 1994 as a design-build firm specializing in high-end residential interior design. Kari’s expertise also extends into commercial interior design, and projects range from condominiums to estate homes, boutique hotels to large-scale residential developments.

30. Kelly Wearstler

Since its establishment in 1994, Kelly Wearstler’s interior design company has blossomed to include clothing, jewelry, and home collections. Described as a “branding virtuoso” by Architectural Digest, her vibrant interiors and lifestyle boutique make her a leading name in modern American design. The multi-talented author and fashionista has been featured both on the Los Angeles Times‘ bestseller list and Vogue‘s Best Dressed list. Her famous clients include the ever-so-stylish Gwen Stefani and Cameron Diaz.

31. Ken Fulk

Ken Fulk is a design impresario and a creator of experiences large and small. He is renowned for his layered interiors, high-concept brand identities, and unforgettable parties. Ken Fulk has spent the last 25 years developing a business by elevating the daily lives of his clients, not only designing their homes, jets, restaurants, and hotels but also creative directing birthdays, weddings, dinners, anniversaries, and family getaways.

32. KHA Architects

At its core, architecture is creative, inspiring and optimistic. It’s about what’s possible. A full-service architecture and interior design firm that specializes in residential design, KHA Architects is widely recognized for its ability to create visually arresting, inviting and supremely comfortable residences. Again and again, clients say the firm honors and incorporate their most deeply-held idea of home — in a way they never could have imagined — into their design.

33. LM Design Group Inc

LM Design Group is a full-service luxury architecture and interior design firm, founded by the partners Leonid Minkovski – CEO And Design Director – and Linda Marlin – Interior Designer -, who bring a unique wealth of experience and magisterial quality to their projects. The design group is made up of hundreds of manufacturers and works closely with skilled master craftsmen and talented artists, all of which create authentic and high-end custom designs. The company portfolio includes luxury commercial properties, large palatial homes, and historical properties.

34. Lunaria

Lunaria Design Studio was built as a place where creativity could run loose and enjoying life was front and center. Their mission is to help you live out your joy as well, doing what you love, impacting people and bringing more beauty into the world. They are your forever cheerleaders in both life and business, supporting you through full-scope brand and web design.

35. Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Martyn Lawrence Bullard is a household name in America and the UK, thanks primarily to his television shows Million Dollar Decorators (on Bravo TV) and Hollywood Me. Not surprisingly, the British-born designer moved to Hollywood 20 years ago to become an actor. His role in an Ed Wood film landed him the job of decorating the offices of Wood’s production company. These days, he has furniture, fabric, and fragrance lines. Fashion and jewelry product lines are in the works. His commitment has earned him the respect of such notable clientèle as Tommy Hilfiger, Elton John, and Cher.

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Collins Dining Chair

36. Michael S. Smith

Honored by all the top shelter publications, including Architectural Design and Elle Decor, this A-lister is one of the top talents in the design industry. Not to mention that Barack & Michelle Obama chose him to decorate the White House and makeover the Oval Office. His early days included studies at the Otis College of Art and Design and abroad, as well as a partnership with designer John Saladino in New York. The Californian returned to his roots to establish Michael S Smith, Inc. in 1990.

37. MODCLAIR

MODCLAIR is a Furniture Boutique Showroom & Gallery located in Montclair, New Jersey that offers Full Service Complimentary Interior Design. This comprehensive service caters to each individual client’s needs, style, budget and timeline for completion. They source furniture pieces from the vast array of brands they work with to create your desired aesthetic for each room of your home.

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Miles Table Lamp

38. Nicole Hollis

Nicole Hollis conceives timeless interiors that elevate the human spirit. This award-winning collective of interior designers, interior architects, and furniture designers is led by creative director and principal Nicole Hollis in partnership with her husband, CEO Lewis Heathcote.

39. Noz Design

Noz Design is a full-service interior design firm based in San Francisco, serving clients on residential and select commercial projects throughout the Bay Area and from coast to coast. With a focus on eclectic, collected spaces, Noz Design creates effortlessly bold, well-appointed homes that not only reflect our dwellers’ lifestyles and tastes but also maximize a space’s functionality and a project’s budget.

40. Oliver M. Furth

Alongside consulting for LACMA’S Decorative Arts Council as chair emeritus, Oliver M. Furth shares his vast knowledge of the city’s creative scene with such clients as Imagine’s Michael Rosenberg, Arianna Huffington, Beautycon Media CEO Moj Mahdara, UTA’s Jim Berkus, and CAA’s Michael Rosenfeld.

41. Palevsky Interior Design

Owner and Principal Designer, Alison Palevsky, has been an interior designer for nearly two decades and has worked on high-end residential projects in Manhattan, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Miami, Aspen and Mexico, to name a few. In 2014, she launched her own company, Palevsky Inc., specializing in interiors that blend comfort, livability and modernity with high style. Her most recent project included a massive renovation of a 15,000-square-foot estate located on the bluffs of Punta Mita Estates in Mexico.

42. Passione

Passione is an Orange County-based custom residential and commercial interior design firm. The significant benefits of working with them include in-house furniture refinishing and restoration. They provide excellence with complete design concepts, specifications and construction documents for new construction and remodeling.

43. Rodrigo Vargas Design

Rodrigo Vargas Design Associates is an international, full-service interior design firm with a diverse and talented team of designers who specialize in creating award-winning design concepts for Five-Star luxury hotels & resorts, multifamily real estate projects, restaurants and high-end residential projects all over the world. As a certified Minority Business Enterprise, RVDA has worked extensively in Southern California and won awards for its work in downtown Los Angeles.

44. Romanek Design Studio

As glamorous as her clientele — Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z, Joe Jonas, Kelly Rowland, The AllBright social club — Brigette Romanek launched her Romanek Design Studio from the Laurel Canyon home she shares with her director husband, Mark Romanek. The hillside home, once owned by Rick Rubin and possibly haunted, required an overhaul by the ex-handbag designer (her Rockstar purse was carried by Kate Moss, two Kardashians, and Eva Mendes).

45. Rotett Studio

Leader in the architecture and design industry, Rottet Studio is an international firm that has a substantial portfolio of corporate, hospitality, residential and maritime projects for the world’s leading companies and brands. Rottet is known in the market as innovators, not followers and stays ahead of the design curve by setting trends based on their vast experience and knowledge. The main objective of the team is to create stunning, functional and timeless places that promote a better way of life.

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Shard Suspension Lamp

46. SFA Design

SFA is a studio leader in the international design world, directed by Kara Smith and Sue Firestone, that spreads the good design taste to the most premier resorts, hotels and private residences. With strong values and an incredible vision allied to meticulous execution, the team creates refined interiors for the elite clientele, among them top hotel brands and “A-Lister’s” for entertainment, sports and Fortune 500 businesses.

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Fitzgerald Sofa

47. Urbana Design Studio

Urbana Design Studio is a boutique interior design firm dedicated to thoughtful, resonant designs for extraordinary kitchens, bathrooms, renovations, and additions. They specialize in custom plans that center around the kitchen as a grounding element that radiates throughout the space. As the heart of the home, kitchens have the ability to nourish, cultivate connections, enhance healthy living, and enrich the lives of everyone living there. Through Urbana’s unique design process, they marry craft, function, beauty, and flow into a cohesive space that nurtures and restores.

48. We Are Dada

We Are Dada is an interior design studio from Los Angeles that works on a multitude of projects.

49. Wimberly Interiors

With special emphasis on hospitality design practice, Wimberly Interiors keeps the commitment to designing excellence in the Americas and beyond. Focused on lifestyle, entertainment, urban design, mixed-use, residential and public realm.

50. YDesign Group

YDesign Group (now Lumens) is a family of online-led retailers offering the best in modern and contemporary lighting, fans, furniture and furnishings to design-driven consumers and trade professionals.

What do you think about this selection of the best interior designers in California?