An independent ranking of 19 firms · Updated October 2026
Hillsborough is one of the most architecturally varied towns on the San Francisco Peninsula. Half-acre minimum lots, 1920s estates by Willis Polk and Julia Morgan, ranch houses from the postwar decades and a steady stream of ground-up contemporary homes all sit within a few streets of each other. Finding the right interior designer here means finding someone who can handle that range, and who is comfortable working alongside architects, builders and landscape teams on projects that often run for years.
This guide ranks the best interior designers in Hillsborough, CA, with a deliberate focus on full-home design, new construction and whole-house renovations, because that is the work most Hillsborough homeowners are actually commissioning. We looked at Peninsula studios in Hillsborough, Burlingame, Millbrae, San Mateo, San Carlos and Menlo Park as well as San Francisco and Marin firms with a documented history of Hillsborough projects.
One honest caveat before the list: the best fit for you depends on your style, your scope and how you like to work. A firm that is perfect for a 9,000-square-foot new build may be the wrong choice for a thoughtful kitchen and family-room renovation, and vice versa. Treat this ranking as a shortlist, then speak with two or three firms before you decide.
How we ranked the firms
Full-home and new-construction capabilityDoes the firm offer true whole-home design, and can it join a project at the architectural stage rather than only furnishing a finished house?
Hillsborough and Peninsula track recordNamed Hillsborough projects, published Peninsula homes and a working relationship with local architects and builders carried significant weight.
Client reviewsRatings and review counts on Houzz and Yelp, checked in October 2026. Where a number could not be verified on the platform itself, we left it out.
RecognitionLuxe Gold List, ASID awards, Best of Houzz, AD PRO Directory membership, Decorator Showcase rooms and editorial features.
Process and transparencyHow clearly the firm explains its phases, fees, markups and timelines before you sign.
Range of styleWhether the firm can work across the traditional, transitional and contemporary homes that make up Hillsborough's housing stock.
Millbrae studio, serving Burlingame, Hillsborough and the Peninsula · sagainteriors.com
A living room by Saga Interiors. Photo courtesy of Saga Interiors.
Best for: homeowners who want one firm to carry a whole-home project from the first drawings through to the last styled shelf, with warm, modern interiors and no surprises on fees.
Saga Interiors is a boutique studio founded in 2016 by Mahsa Afsharpour, whose route into design ran through more than fifteen years of project management at a Fortune 500 company. That background shows in how the firm runs: a clearly staged process that moves from a scope conversation and realistic budget to a detailed proposal with a committed timeline, then drawings and 3D renderings, specification sheets that show costs and lead times, procurement, trade coordination and finally installation and styling. The firm is unusually open about design fees, pricing and markups before you sign, which matters on the multi-year projects Hillsborough tends to produce.
The work itself is what Afsharpour calls warm modern: clean lines balanced by rich textures, layered lighting and sculptural pieces, drawing on Persian richness, Scandinavian calm and the relaxed side of California living. Her family moved to Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1986 and she came to the United States in her early twenties, and both threads are visible in the portfolio. Crucially for this list, Saga does not repeat one signature look from house to house, which suits a town where a Spanish Revival estate and a glass-walled new build can be neighbours.
Services cover the three things Hillsborough owners most often need. Whole-home design and furnishing includes furniture, lighting and accessory selection, specification sheets, procurement, installation and styling, with a two-room minimum. Luxury renovations and remodels, typically $150,000 and up in scope, include sketches, elevations, renderings, finish selections, custom kitchen and bath cabinetry, project management and site visits. New-construction interior design is where the firm prefers to join early and work directly with the architect, builder and structural engineer so the interiors are designed with the house rather than after it. A 90-minute consultation is available for focused decisions.
Pricing is published rather than hidden: design fees start at $10,000 and, on larger whole-home projects, average $20 to $25 per square foot. Local work includes Refined Comfort, a Hillsborough family home furnished for everyday life, and Casa Renacimiento, the renovation and furnishing of a 1931 Spanish Revival home in San Mateo. In the city, the firm furnished a 2,575-square-foot penthouse at 181 Fremont that MyDomaine featured in 2021.
Reviews: 5.0 stars across 15 reviews on Yelp at the time of writing.
Recognition: listed in the Architectural Digest AD PRO Directory; quoted or featured by Apartment Therapy, The Spruce, The Everygirl and MyDomaine; profiled by CanvasRebel in 2023.
Hillsborough work: Refined Comfort (Hillsborough) and Casa Renacimiento (San Mateo); the firm's dedicated Hillsborough page sets out its services and process for the town.
Style: warm modern, elevated and livable; Persian, Scandinavian and Californian influences.
Luxe Organic, Hillsborough, by Niche Interiors. Photo courtesy of Niche Interiors.
Best for: large ground-up estates and full-scale renovations where the furnishing budget alone runs well into seven figures.
Founded in 2007 by Jennifer Jones, an Associate ASID member and LEED Accredited Professional, Niche Interiors has built one of the deepest Peninsula portfolios of any San Francisco firm. The studio describes its aesthetic as warm California modernism, bespoke and layered, and it calibrates each house to the land and the family living in it rather than imposing a house style.
Niche's most relevant credential for this list is Luxe Organic, an 8,000-square-foot ground-up contemporary home in Hillsborough completed in 2026 with Mak Studio and FORMA Construction, a project the firm says appears in Architectural Digest. Its Peninsula practice also includes a 1925 Woodside estate and homes in Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills and Portola Valley. The firm is candid about scale: it describes typical furnishing budgets starting around $1 million, custom-build timelines of two to four years and remodels of 12 to 18 months, so this is a studio for estate-level work rather than a single-room refresh.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 63 reviews on Houzz; 22 reviews on Yelp.
Recognition: Luxe RED Award 2025 for a modern San Francisco Victorian; Luxe Gold List 2017 and 2018; ASID Gold Award 2019; 24 Houzz awards including Best of Houzz Design 2024 through 2026.
Hillsborough work: Luxe Organic, an 8,000-square-foot new build in Hillsborough.
Hillsborough I, by Heather Hilliard Design. Photo courtesy of Heather Hilliard Design.
Best for: whole-house renovations and new builds that want classic detailing with modern restraint.
No firm on this list has published more Hillsborough work than Heather Hilliard Design. The portfolio lists six Hillsborough projects, numbered I through VI, completed with architects and builders such as Sutro Architects, Charlie Barnett Associates, Eric Nyhus, Allwood Construction and Ernst Development. Two have been published in San Francisco Cottages & Gardens: a 5,500-square-foot estate reimagined for a family relocating from a SoHo loft, and a 7,800-square-foot 1990s house stripped to its framing and reworked with Stephen Sutro.
Hilliard, who holds an MFA in interior architecture and design and spent years as a senior designer at The Wiseman Group, launched the firm in 2009. The studio now numbers around 17 people and describes itself as full-service and boutique, handling new-construction interiors (including a 10,000-square-foot contemporary home in Silicon Valley), extensive renovations and complete furnishing. The signature is personalized interiors that combine classic detailing with the restraint of modern design, which is a near-perfect description of what many Hillsborough buyers are after.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 6 reviews on Houzz.
Recognition: Luxe Gold List 2020 and 2022; nine juried San Francisco Decorator Showcase rooms; features in the Wall Street Journal, Elle Decor, Veranda, House Beautiful and Luxe.
Hillsborough work: six named Hillsborough projects, two published in SFC&G.
New Build Modern, Hillsborough, by Interior Solutions Designs. Photo courtesy of Interior Solutions Designs.
Best for: Hillsborough homeowners who want a local, full-service studio for new builds, remodels, pool houses and ADUs.
Ashley Canty founded Interior Solutions in 1997 and runs it from Hillsborough itself, which makes this the most local full-service option on the list. The studio's project pages read like a map of the town: New Build Modern, Hillsborough; New Build ADU Pool House, Hillsborough; Contemporary Modern, Hillsborough; plus Burlingame Hills, San Mateo Park, Menlo Park, Los Altos and Palo Alto. Punch Magazine's 2023 feature Hilltop Haven documented a two-phase Hillsborough project in which a 3,335-square-foot ranch house was remodeled, its kitchen turned toward the Bay view, and a new two-story pool house, terraced hillside, pool and sports court were added.
Services run from new-build design and finish selection through kitchen, bath and ADU remodels, project management, furnishings, outdoor kitchens and even landscape consulting. Canty works across contemporary, transitional, coastal, Mediterranean-modern and traditional homes and says her own preference is for the timelessness of transitional design.
Reviews: 4.9 stars from 13 reviews on Houzz; 4.4 stars from 7 reviews on Yelp.
Recognition: features in Punch Magazine (2020, 2022, 2023), Homes & Gardens, California Home + Design and Houzz editorial.
Hillsborough work: three named Hillsborough projects including a ground-up modern home and an ADU pool house.
A Menlo Park colonial living room by Kelly Hohla Interiors. Photo courtesy of Kelly Hohla Interiors.
Best for: new-construction and major-renovation clients who want a designer in the room from the earliest architectural phase.
Kelly Hohla began her career in San Francisco in 2001, worked at The Wiseman Group and served as design principal at Jeffers Design Group before founding her own studio in 2011. The firm specializes in full-service design for high-end private residences, explicitly including renovations, new construction and bespoke furnishings, and it maintains a dedicated page for Atherton and Hillsborough clients that notes its Peninsula projects "often involve new construction or major renovations."
The approach is built on layering and on responding to each home's architecture rather than a single aesthetic; the studio describes the result as refined, livable and deeply personal, sophisticated without being stiff. A published Peninsula custom home, built from the ground up on roughly two acres with Richard Beard Architects, shows the firm's strength on new builds: architectural millwork, custom cabinetry, bespoke furniture and complete procurement and installation management.
Reviews: 5.0 stars on Houzz from a small number of reviews.
Recognition: Luxe Gold List 2019, 2022 and 2023; House Beautiful Next Wave 2018; AD PRO Directory; Best of Houzz Design 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Hillsborough work: dedicated Atherton and Hillsborough service page featuring a Hillsborough custom home.
A living room by Sullivan Studio. Photo courtesy of Sullivan Studio.
Best for: estates that need interior architecture and custom millwork as much as furnishings.
Linda Sullivan founded the studio in 2006 after a career that included Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, where she worked on the renovation of San Francisco's Palace Hotel. She holds NCIDQ certification and is a professional member of ASID, and the firm has grown into a Menlo Park team with a design director and several senior designers. The practice is full-service interior architecture and design: custom millwork, furnishings sourced or commissioned worldwide, art placement and complete FF&E design, procurement and budgeting, usually in close collaboration with the architect and builder.
Sullivan's own description of the work is refreshingly unflashy: homes that are curated, personal and built for generations, with the view that if the shape and form are right, everything else follows. The Peninsula portfolio is deep, with multiple Atherton estates and homes in Los Altos Hills and Menlo Park, and the awards cabinet is among the fullest on this list.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 15 reviews on Houzz.
Recognition: Luxe Gold List 2021 and 2023; more than a dozen ASID Gold and Silver awards; California Home + Design Preservation Award 2021; eight Best of Houzz awards.
Peninsula work: several Atherton estates; Hillsborough is within the firm's stated service area.
A San Francisco living room by Kendall Wilkinson Design. Photo courtesy of Kendall Wilkinson Design.
Best for: traditional family homes and large compounds that want a seasoned, fully staffed firm.
Kendall Wilkinson has run her San Francisco studio since 1992, making it one of the longest-established firms serving the Peninsula. The practice is full-service across residential, commercial and hospitality work, collaborating closely with architects, builders and landscape designers, and it is large enough, with a staff of around 20, to run several estate-scale projects at once. Wilkinson also designs fabrics for Fabricut and published a monograph, Beauty All Around, in 2025.
The firm's stated organizing principle is individualism: interiors that reflect the lives of the people who live there rather than a house look. In interviews Wilkinson has described her clients' traditional family homes in Hillsborough alongside her city and Wine Country work, and a newly built Woodside compound of roughly 17,000 square feet across main house, guest house and pool house shows the firm's range on ground-up projects.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 6 reviews on Houzz.
Recognition: seven Best of Houzz Design awards; AD PRO Directory; features in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, the Wall Street Journal and Luxe.
Peninsula work: Hillsborough family homes cited in interviews; a large new-build Woodside compound.
Pinehill, a Hillsborough new build, by Studio Michael Hilal. Photo courtesy of Studio Michael Hilal.
Best for: contemporary new builds that want a collected, nature-led interior rather than a showroom look.
Michael Hilal is the youngest firm on this list and one of the most decorated for its age. A Bay Area native who left a technology career for interior design, Hilal launched the studio in 2019 and within four years had been named to Architectural Digest's New American Voices and the 1stDibs 50. His first Hillsborough commission was the interior of an 8,500-square-foot new-build contemporary for a young family, a whole-house scope from living and dining rooms to kitchen, primary suite and custom pieces that 1stDibs Introspective documented in 2023.
Hilal describes his interiors as gradual, tonal shifts between colors, textures and furnishings, inspired by nature and aimed at spaces that feel unassuming, chic and useful. Services include interior design, project management, custom furniture, procurement, styling and art advisory, and the studio produces its own furniture collection.
Reviews: 5.0 stars on Houzz from a small number of reviews.
Recognition: Architectural Digest New American Voices 2023; 1stDibs 50 in 2023 and 2025; California Home + Design Emerging Designer Award 2021; Best of Houzz Service 2025.
Hillsborough work: whole-house interiors for an 8,500-square-foot Hillsborough new build.
A Hillsborough primary bath by Atelier Noël. Photo courtesy of Atelier Noël.
Best for: kitchen, bath and whole-home remodels where construction documentation and detailing matter.
Noël Yeh is a California Certified Interior Designer and Allied ASID member whose Burlingame studio has won Best of Houzz for service every year from 2016 through 2026, plus design awards in 2020 and 2021. The firm is full-service and residential, and Yeh's experience spans remodels, new construction and multi-unit development. What sets the practice apart is its technical depth: alongside furniture planning, custom upholstery and window treatments, the service list includes construction documentation, elevation and detail drawings, electrical plans, tile and stone layout and project management.
The style is described as uniquely personal and functional spaces with a modern sensibility and timeless elegance. The portfolio includes a Hillsborough project alongside several Burlingame Gate and Burlingame Park residences and a Redwood City whole-home remodel.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 41 reviews on Houzz.
Recognition: 13 Best of Houzz awards, including 11 consecutive years for service; Designer Spotlight by All Natural Stone.
Hillsborough work: a Hillsborough residence in the firm's portfolio.
A Los Altos Hills remodel by Kanika Design. Photo courtesy of Kanika Design.
Best for: bold, color-confident full-home remodels with a large body of client reviews behind them.
Kanika Khurana has run Kanika Design from San Mateo since 2008 and has accumulated the biggest review footprint of any Peninsula studio on this list. The firm is full-service from concept to completion, including space planning, materials and finishes, furnishings and procurement, whole-home remodels, custom closets and millwork, lighting and window treatments, with installation and styling at the end. It publishes its thresholds plainly: furnishing projects typically start at $100,000 (full-home from $250,000) and remodels at $250,000 (full-home from $500,000).
The design language is personal and bold, with fearless use of color, and the studio talks about designing for long-term living rather than trends. Hillsborough sits within its stated service area alongside Burlingame, Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Atherton.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 54 reviews on Houzz; 69 reviews on Yelp.
Recognition: 11 Best of Houzz awards including Service 2025 and 2026; a Top 3 listing for San Mateo on ThreeBestRated.
Peninsula work: Hillsborough listed among service areas; projects across San Mateo County.
A family room by Marea Clark Interiors. Photo courtesy of Marea Clark Interiors.
Best for: sophisticated traditional homes that want refined, layered rooms with a West Coast ease.
Marea Clark trained in interior design and fine art at the University of Kentucky, moved west in 2006 and spent a decade at established firms before opening her own studio in 2016. The practice describes its work as refined traditionalism with a modern West Coast sensibility, combining sophistication with approachability, and it has quickly earned a national profile, with projects stretching from Palo Alto to Southampton.
Marea Clark Interiors is full-service residential, with kitchen and bath design, space planning, custom cabinetry, lighting design and project management. The firm is clear about scale: typical projects fall between $300,000 and $1.5 million with a $40,000 minimum design fee. Its 1905 Pacific Heights Colonial Revival renovation with Sutro Architects was featured in Luxe, and a Southampton house appeared in Frederic in 2024.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 7 reviews on Houzz.
Recognition: Luxe Gold List 2023; Traditional Home Rising Stars of Design 2024; AD PRO Directory; Best of Houzz Service 2018.
Peninsula work: Palo Alto and Menlo Park within the firm's service area.
A show house bedroom by House of Ruby Interior Design. Photo courtesy of House of Ruby Interior Design.
Best for: warm, layered luxury interiors from a long-established Hillsborough-based designer.
Melodie Rubin opened House of Ruby in 2007 after training at FIDM San Francisco, a mentorship under Grant K. Gibson and an earlier career designing retail interiors for the Disney Store and Bloomingdale's. The firm is based in Hillsborough and describes its philosophy as relaxed sophistication: warm, layered interiors that are distinctive and highly livable.
House of Ruby's services go beyond decoration into project management with construction oversight, interior architecture and space planning including historic homes, custom furniture design, art curation and sustainable design. The studio designed a room at the Dickens House showcase in Hillsborough and the Woodside Decorator Show House, and its press clippings include the Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle and Gentry.
Reviews: 4.9 stars from 8 reviews on Houzz; 5.0 stars from 6 reviews on Yelp.
Recognition: Best of Houzz 2013, 2014 and 2015; features in WSJ, SF Chronicle, Gentry and Dering Hall.
Hillsborough work: based in Hillsborough; Dickens House showcase room.
A kitchen by Saucy Design. Photo courtesy of Saucy Design.
Best for: colorful, classically grounded family homes and custom kitchens and baths.
Anna Cesario founded Saucy Design in 2002, and the studio's name is a fair summary of its point of view: colorful interiors with a classical sensibility, artfully layered with color, texture and a touch of glamour. Underneath the color is a discipline of classic design principles, careful space planning and timeless furniture profiles, which is why the rooms age well.
Services span interior design and decoration, full-scale residential remodels, custom kitchens and bathrooms for both new construction and renovations, and color consulting. The firm's current Hillsborough Cape Cod project is a case in point: a kitchen redesigned around a large island and wet bar, plus a powder room, primary bath and two teen baths, all with custom cabinetry for a casual family lifestyle.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 10 reviews on Houzz; 5.0 stars from 7 reviews on Yelp.
Recognition: Best of Houzz 2015; member of the US Green Building Council and Build It Green.
Hillsborough work: Hillsborough Cape Cod kitchen and bath project.
Hillsborough Historic, by EJ Interior Design. Photo courtesy of EJ Interior Design.
Best for: historic estate renovations that want traditional elegance with unexpected color.
Eugenia Jesberg founded EJ Interior Design in 1993, and her daughter Emma joined as design director in 2020, making this a mother-and-daughter practice with more than three decades behind it. The firm provides interior design and interior architectural detailing for both new construction and renovation, and Jesberg's background also includes architecture, furniture design and construction management.
The house style is crisp and sophisticated, with accents of color and unusual combinations of rich materials; Jesberg is clear that maximalism is "not our thing." The firm's Hillsborough credential is a substantial one: Hillsborough Historic, an extensive remodel of a Georgian-style home, including the main house, gardens and a guesthouse. Its Carmel-by-the-Sea project was featured in Luxe in 2025.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 8 reviews on Houzz.
Recognition: ten Best of Houzz awards; Luxe, California Homes, Marin Magazine and Wall Street Journal features; multiple San Francisco Decorator Showcase rooms.
Hillsborough work: Hillsborough Historic, a whole-house Georgian remodel.
A California Mission-style Hillsborough home by Jane Antonacci Interior Design. Photo courtesy of Jane Antonacci Interior Design.
Best for: large, complex estates and vacation properties with an eclectic mix of contemporary and traditional.
Jane Antonacci spent five years at a Menlo Park design firm before opening her own practice, which was based in Menlo Park until the office moved to San Francisco in 2010 while continuing to serve Peninsula and Carmel clients. The firm describes its specialty as large and complex luxury projects, estates and vacation properties, working closely with local architects, builders and artisans, and it has collected 11 awards from ASID and California Home + Design, including first place in the national ASID residential competition.
Its Hillsborough project, a California Mission-style home designed with the architect, paired a warm mix of contemporary and traditional furnishings with the owners' extensive contemporary art collection. Note that the firm's own website was not reachable when we checked, so we have linked its Houzz profile instead.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 16 reviews on Houzz.
Recognition: 11 ASID and California Home + Design awards; ASID member.
Hillsborough work: California Mission-style Hillsborough residence; Hillsborough listed in service areas.
An outdoor living space by Mondolfo Interior Design. Photo courtesy of Mondolfo Interior Design.
Best for: complete remodels and design-build projects that want one point of contact.
Amy Fregosi's Burlingame studio positions itself around three services: custom home design and build, complete remodels and commercial interior design, with kitchen and bath design and custom furniture as the connective tissue. The firm is affiliated with ASID, the National Kitchen & Bath Association and the San Mateo County and Burlingame chambers of commerce.
Mondolfo describes its work as timeless elegance and modern sophistication, spaces that feel effortlessly modern yet enduringly classic, with a philosophy rooted in authenticity and a global perspective. The portfolio leans toward kitchens, baths, outdoor kitchens and whole-house remodels on the mid-Peninsula.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 10 Google reviews at the time of writing.
Recognition: ASID and NKBA affiliations.
Peninsula work: Burlingame-based, serving the mid-Peninsula.
A primary bedroom by Kerstin Dieterich Designs. Photo courtesy of Kerstin Dieterich Designs.
Best for: practical, light-filled remodels with a Scandinavian sensibility and a long review history.
Kerstin Dieterich grew up in northern Germany near the Baltic Sea, trained in residential, kitchen and bath, commercial and sustainable design at Cañada College and has held California Certified Interior Designer status (CID 6765) since establishing her business in 2003. Her Houzz record is remarkable for a small studio: 12 Best of Houzz awards and more than 50 reviews averaging 4.9 stars.
The practice handles everything from design consultations and kitchen and bath remodels to complete new construction, acting as the liaison between homeowner, contractor and other professionals. Dieterich's own words sum up the style: living with natural light in practical and uncomplicated spaces, with a generous use of color and influences from ancient architecture and Scandinavian design.
Reviews: 4.9 stars from 53 reviews on Houzz; 5.0 stars from 8 reviews on Yelp.
Recognition: 12 Best of Houzz awards (2014 through 2026).
Peninsula work: Hillsborough, Burlingame, Atherton and Woodside within the service area.
A living room by Jaimie Belew Interior Design. Photo courtesy of Jaimie Belew Interior Design.
Best for: timeless furnishings and full-service decorating with a showroom you can visit.
A Bay Area native and graduate of Arizona State University's interior design program, Jaimie Belew has more than two decades in the field and now works from a showroom on Laurel Street in San Carlos. Her full-service offering runs from concept to completion: spatial layouts, furniture arrangements, construction documentation, finishes and millwork, then the selection of furniture, lighting, art and accessories and a white-glove installation. Consultations and a room-by-room design option sit alongside.
Belew's rooms blend traditional, modern and contemporary with a strong interest in culture and story, and she has designed spaces at the San Francisco Decorator Showcase in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019, including the 2019 catering kitchen with architect David Armour.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 13 reviews on Houzz.
Recognition: four San Francisco Decorator Showcase rooms.
Peninsula work: San Carlos showroom; Peninsula residential projects.
A kitchen remodel by Simply Situated Interiors. Photo courtesy of Simply Situated Interiors.
Best for: livable remodels and room refreshes with hands-on project management.
Maureen Shaw Bravo came to interiors after roughly fifteen years in technology and holds certifications in interior decorating, redesign, home staging and color from the UC Berkeley Decorating and Staging Academy. Simply Situated Interiors specializes in two things: managing renovations, from a half-bath update to a full-home remodel, including vendor selection, flooring, countertops, tile, cabinetry and paint; and interiors, from furniture placement and upholstery to window treatments, lighting, art and rugs.
The style is beautiful, timeless and livable, tailored to each client's lifestyle and budget. It is the right scale of firm for Peninsula families who want an experienced guide through a remodel rather than an estate-level design office.
Reviews: 5.0 stars from 33 reviews on Houzz; 23 reviews on Yelp.
Recognition: Best of Houzz Service every year from 2021 through 2026.
Peninsula work: serves the San Francisco Peninsula from San Carlos.
Every firm above is capable. The differences that will matter to you are scope, style and working relationship.
Match the firm to the project. For a ground-up build or a down-to-the-studs renovation, prioritize studios that explicitly offer new-construction interior design and produce construction documents: Saga Interiors, Niche Interiors, Heather Hilliard, Interior Solutions, Kelly Hohla, Studio Michael Hilal, Atelier Noël and EJ Interior Design all do. For furnishing a finished house, almost everyone on the list qualifies, and the decision comes down to taste.
Look at the portfolio for your kind of house. Hillsborough's stock runs from Spanish Revival and Georgian estates to midcentury ranches and glass-walled contemporaries. A designer who has done beautiful work in one idiom may not be the right hand for another, so look for a project that resembles yours.
Ask about process and money early. The firms that publish their fee structure, hourly or per-square-foot rates, product markups and typical project minimums tend to be the ones that run smoothly. Ask how change orders, lead-time delays and trade coordination are handled, and who you will actually be working with day to day.
Talk to more than one. Because the right answer depends on your style and goals, book consultations with two or three firms. Most offer a paid initial consultation, and an hour in the room with a designer tells you more than any ranking can.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best interior designer in Hillsborough, CA?
In this independent ranking, Saga Interiors takes the top position for Hillsborough on the strength of its whole-home, renovation and new-construction services, its transparent process and pricing, its Hillsborough and San Mateo project work and its perfect client rating on Yelp. Niche Interiors and Heather Hilliard Design round out the top three. The right firm for you still depends on your style and scope, so speak with several.
How much does an interior designer cost in Hillsborough?
Published figures from firms on this list range widely. Saga Interiors lists design fees starting at $10,000, averaging $20 to $25 per square foot on larger whole-home projects, with renovation scopes typically from $150,000. Kanika Design lists furnishing projects from $100,000 and remodels from $250,000. Niche Interiors describes typical furnishing budgets starting around $1 million for the estates it works on. Always confirm fee structure and markups in writing.
Which Hillsborough interior designers handle new construction?
Firms on this list that explicitly offer new-construction interior design include Saga Interiors, Niche Interiors, Heather Hilliard Design, Interior Solutions Designs, Kelly Hohla Interiors, Studio Michael Hilal, Atelier Noël, EJ Interior Design and Kerstin Dieterich Designs. For a ground-up home, bring the designer in while the architect is still drawing.
Should I hire a designer based in Hillsborough or in San Francisco?
Both work well. Hillsborough, Burlingame, Millbrae and San Mateo studios offer proximity for frequent site visits during construction, while several San Francisco firms have long Peninsula track records. Choose on fit, process and portfolio first, then weigh travel time.
What is the difference between an interior designer and an interior decorator?
In California, a Certified Interior Designer (CID) has passed an examination and can produce construction documents for non-structural work, which matters on remodels and new builds. Decorators focus on furnishings, finishes and styling. Several firms here hold CID status or NCIDQ certification; others are decorating and renovation-management practices, which is the right fit for furnishing and lighter remodels.
How long does a whole-home interior design project take?
Expect 12 to 18 months for a substantial remodel and two to four years for a custom new build, according to timelines published by firms on this list. Furnishing-only projects typically run several months because of custom furniture lead times.
How were these interior designers ranked?
We compared each firm on six criteria: full-home and new-construction capability, Hillsborough and Peninsula track record, verified client reviews, industry recognition, process and pricing transparency, and range of style. Information comes from each firm's website, Houzz and Yelp profiles and published press, reviewed in October 2026.
