“When my husband and I decided to buy and completely renovate a co-op overlooking San Francisco Bay, we knew that the aesthetic we had lived with since our days in London, English Country, updated by our years in Connecticut, would not work in the nine floor high rise built in the 1950s. And yet there were three or four pieces of furniture that we were unable to part with in the huge purge we did moving from 9000 sq ft to 4000.  Darlene made it work! Our new apartment can be described as almost minimalist, and yet the antique dining table and sideboard work with the help of modern rugs, fixtures and dining chairs.”

“We are happy to recommend Darlene Fridstein based on our experience with a recent extensive master bedroom remodel. Darlene excelled at listening to us and transformed our vague vision into a beautiful reality. There wasn’t a style or look pressured upon us; she helped us express what we ourselves couldn’t articulate. She found just the right balance of integrating a more contemporary design into our traditional mountain house. 

During the construction process, she watched over every detail and did a great job communicating with all of the construction team consistently treating them with respect. She was flexible, professional and patient with our endless questions. We are very happy with the finished result thanks to Darlene!”

“For me, Darlene has overseen the design of two historic houses, one built  in the 1740’s for a whaler who was a friend of George and Martha Washington and the other built for his captain of industry son-in-law in 1820.  She paid strict attention to the details of the original American bones of the houses while bringing a modernity to the rooms making them chic, comfortable and livable.  For our city loft, now underway, Darlene is bringing Paris city living into the renovation of a cast iron loft building in Soho.  We are envisioning old parquet flooring throughout.  

Darlene is a pleasure to work with, she truly loves the details of hardware, floors and finishes and indulges the pleasures of fabrics for soft furnishings, draperies and bedding.  You will have fun designing a home with Darlene at the helm.  She has my utmost admiration and undying loyalty.”

“We hired Darlene to help us understand what’s possible in the odd-shaped living room in our Colorado home. She presented several options to make this challenging space more inviting, modern and ultimately more livable. We appreciated her endless patience and depth of knowledge. We loved working with Darlene and are looking forward to the next project!”