Kimball Starr Interior Design - San Francisco, California

Robin N.

Highly recommend Kimball's design services. We initially contracted with another designer who did not care to listen to our input. Kimball was a breath of fresh air after that experience. She worked with us to spruce up our living room and second bedroom, and to create a lush, inviting bar room with exactly the look/feel we wanted.

We were a challenge because my husband and I have very different design tastes (#understatement), but Kimball was so great at listening to what each of us wanted and providing options that would appeal to us both, and coached us along until a compromise could be met.

We worked together for many months (mainly due to slowness on our end) and she was always available to us -- whether it was consultations at home, going to the design center to pick out fabrics or tile, or putting us in touch with contractors for new built-in shelving.

We really valued and trusted Kimball's experience, advice, and suggestions throughout our project. I look forward to our next project together!

Melissa H.

Kimball helped us select furniture for our living room. As an interior designer, I believe her greatest skill set is her ability to listen and incorporate the styles of her customers. Sam, my fiancé, and I each had our own unique style. Kimball blended our decorative styles, adding a sophisticated touch. She is very patient, flexible, and friendly. We went through 3 different living room layouts and looked at several couches before we found the look we loved. She gives excellent and honest feedback. I was really thankful to have her by my side at furniture show rooms because she knew the right questions to ask and is very knowledgeable about her industry. Redesigning a room with Sam was very meaningful experience for me. It is symbolic of our new journey together and we thank Kimball for the great kick-off.

Lindsey P.

We recently remodeled our kitchen, laundry and dining room and converted a storage room into a bedroom with Kimball as our designer. It ended up being a 7-month project, largely because we accidentally timed it to coincide with Covid-19 lockdown (I don’t recommend this). In total, it cost over $200K, so not a trivial project. Kimball was essential because (1) neither my husband nor I have much in the way of design flair and yet we disagree on almost everything, (2) we didn’t understand the process, and (3) we needed help finding the right builder, cabinet-maker and countertop manufacturer.

*Design*
Kimball brings the perfect blend of design chops, pragmatism, fortitude and calm. She stuck to her guns when it was important (and she was always right), but was adaptable to our input where it made sense. She listened carefully to us and our divergent perspectives and somehow magicked up designs that we both liked. We love the renovated dining room, where Kimball advised on color scheme, furniture, furnishings. She was very heavily involved in the kitchen remodel, which has been a life-changer for me. She dramatically improved the layout, getting rid of pinch points and opening up the line of sight. She came with me to work on the countertop layout (I had no idea that was so complicated). Our storage room has been converted into a cozy bedroom with a built-in closet that makes best use of limited space. Kimball provided clear instructions to the building team so the lights, power sockets, tiles etc. were in the right places aesthetically and from a practical standpoint too: she balances form and function. She presented curated selections for tiles, paints, cabinetry, so my husband and I weren’t overwhelmed with choice. She spent a lot of time on color, what works, what doesn’t. Without Kimball, we would have stepped on lots of landmines.

*Process*
I was worried that working with a designer would be loose and fluffy, but Kimball is organized, structured and thorough. She gets into the weeds, produces accurate drawings and double checks things so we don’t have mistakes to rectify later. She explains the process and what needs to happen when in order to stay on track.

*Contacts*
Kimball introduced us to our contractor (who did a great job), our cabinetry contact (who also did a great job) and our countertop company (ditto). From what I read/hear, it’s rare for a renovation to go as smoothly as ours did, much of this during a global pandemic, mind you.

Kimball was a pleasure to work with. She’s fun and funny, able to navigate serious differences in the opinions of her clients to get to an excellent outcome acceptable to all parties. I would wholeheartedly recommend Kimball to friends and would definitely use her services again for future remodels.

Hilary K.

Kimball is amazing. She was our designer for a full remodel and guided us through decisions ranging from light fixtures to wood floor stain colors to hardware to doing the layout design and elevations for our LR built ins, laundry room, office and tandem desk. I loved how she was opinionated but not pushy, and really advocated for what I laid out as my vision at the beginning of the project. She is very low key and warm without being a pushover. She frequently suggested things that at first I didn't gravitate towards, but I would end up choosing in the end because they were the right choices. She also worked extremely well with our contractor and was always professional and personable with vendors. I highly recommend Kimball for any interior design or more complex design projects.

Alan B.

In November, 2019, I bought a home in San Francisco. A friend referred me to an interior designer. From the beginning, that relationship was a mess. I had to find someone else. Another friend suggested Kimball Starr. From my first meeting with her, I knew she was the right choice. This could have been difficult, with delays due to the pandemic, and my primary residence being in another city. But she made everything fun and easy. We didn't have one disagreement. A lot of the work was by email, but always included photos and complete descriptions. She clearly understood what I wanted, and made it happen. I couldn't be more pleased with the results, and I owe all of that to Kimball. She was professional, fun to work with, and prompt. Great communication. I would recommend her to anyone wanting to furnish a new home, or remodel an existing home. Thank you for everything, Kimball. You are the best!!

Stefanie S.

After a great deal of research via phone and emails of other designers in the SF Bay Area, finding Kimball was finding a light in the darkness! A fairly small project in terms of space, I really needed help transforming my "hold everything" mess of a room into a functional home office for me and my husband AND a baby space. It was an odd project that required a great deal of patience for the few things we knew we needed and wanted, alongside creativity and ingenuity to work in the things Kimball could see we needed. Kimball afforded us the luxury of asking questions of someone who could hold a master plan in her head, without being judgmental (something other designers I spoke with weren't very good at)l. She listened to both our ideas on taste, talked to us about our favorite stores, and respected our budget. And, with great kindness, she let me sit on the project when I got pregnant in the middle of it and decided to hold off for months on finishing the baby half until I was really ready to do so. Now, just a few weeks from the expected arrival of our little one, the room is functional, sweet, attractive and modern. You will never find a professional more amenable to working with you on your terms than Kimball!

Hannah S.

Kimball Starr is a talented interior designer.
We decided to invest some money to enhance our apartment and Kimball provided several, well thought out ideas for us to chose from (all within our budget: love that!). I couldn't be happier with the process and the end result.
I look forward to working with Kimball on future projects!