Karen LaCuesta Design

I have long admired Karen's impeccable taste, reflected in homes in which she has successfully lent her magic touch. Naturally, when it came time to sell my beautiful Victorian home, it was Karen who immediately came to mind; I needed advice with various aspects of the project to modernize the kitchen and bathroom for the current market, without destroying the integrity of the vintage house. I also wanted to re-upholster my antique sofa prior to moving it to my new home. All these tasks were time sensitive, as the house had to be on the market within one month of my decision to sell; I was so relieved when Karen promptly leapt into the breach with advice that helped me immensely. She suggested using a color for the kitchen cabinets that I would never have thought of myself, but which picks out colors in the ceramic tiling and has really made the whole space so much more exciting and a place that is fun to be in. In the bathroom she led me to tiling & paint choices that transformed the room into a bright, modern space that does not fight with my 140 year-old home. She also helped find a vanity mirror that not only complemented the rest of the decor but also worked in a very hard-to-fit space. To get the right look for the sofa, Karen made several trips to wholesale showrooms to find a fabric/color that would not only look attractive in my new home and complement the existing upholstery of other antique lounge chairs, but would also wear well and fit my budget. As it had been a last minute decision to re-do this sofa, I was especially appreciative of her attention to availability of both the fabric, and a competent upholsterer who was able to squeeze in the job to accommodate my moving date! Karen was also able to put me in touch with a trusted area rug cleaner which saved me a lot of time doing research. Above all, Karen is a delightful person to work with, who obviously knows her industry thoroughly and has the experience and esthetic ability to guide client's choices to an end result that is both pleasing, and respectful of constraints. I would not hesitate to recommend Karen's services to anyone.

I was referred to Karen by a dear friend and I am forever grateful for the referral. I have worked with decorators in the past, but none who reached out to me as Karen did, seeking my thoughts and desires with respect to transitioning my home into the beautiful place it has become. It truly was a collaboration working with her. As I was in the process of downsizing from a large ranch to making my condominium in Walnut Creek my full time residence, I needed help on what to keep and what to give up. Karen helped to make this a much less painful process, guiding me in the right direction, suggesting what she felt would work best for the space. In doing so, she was very sensitive to what antique and sentimental pieces I wanted to keep. She transformed my home into a bright and cheery place with a soft palette and splashes of color. I plan to continue to work with her to make sure my home is fresh and updated as time goes by.

Karen was referred to me by a close, artist friend, as I downsized into a townhouse. When we met, Karen took note of my room uses, preferred style and desired color palate and came back with a variety of choices, many with samples, and her design was fantastic. She even created renditions on her computer and those gave me 'in-context' visuals of how it would all look together. When we were finished, everything was exactly what and how I wanted. I had price, fabric and many other choices along the way, but all within the parameters we had discussed. I now have a warm, clean and inviting townhome to both reside and entertain friends. I'm very proud of it's look and feel.

My husband and I asked Karen LaCuesta to help us replace the badly worn carpet on our beautiful curved stairway and the upstairs landing. She: •checked our preferences, •located a marvelous selection of wool carpet samples at FloorDesign in San Francisco, • brought the samples to us along with FloorDesign referrals on experts to lay the carpet, and •recommended installing the carpet with a 3" reveal of hardwood on each side of the treads. What a difference Karen made! The carpet was installed on time with marvelous custom craftsmanship on site. We love it.

I wish everyone could experience such a perfect working relationship..... As an artist I felt respected from my abilities ...... I am so happy that the customer was satisfied.