Testimonials

We have engaged Marie several times to help in remodeling our older home, which illustrates how pleased we have been with her work. Marie is very personable, listens carefully, and has been able to translate some admittedly vague preferences into stunning designs. She consistently searches for innovative materials and technologies to enhance results for her customers. In an effort to consider aesthetics, budget, and practicality, Marie routinely identifies alternatives, along with the pro's and con's of each, to help reach a decision her client will be happy with for the long-term.

In our home, Marie designed a complete renovation of our kitchen, and major upgrades in design, lighting, and furnishings for our living room, a bedroom, den, and dining room. These projects involved the typical complexities of an older home: tight spaces, working with existing walls, plumbing and wiring, non-standard dimensions, and tight tolerances. They also required ongoing consultation with the contractors. In each project, Marie developed a high-level concept, and then carried it through with meticulous attention to detail. Her depth of knowledge and sense of style have truly transformed our home.

In summary, we highly recommend Marie for her work in interior design and space planning.

Marie is a very creative designer that listens carefully to what you want, pays attention to detail, and tells you if an option you chose might be very expensive but recommends an alternative that meets your needs. She helped us refresh our kitchen and master bedroom. She is good at incorporating existing furniture and artwork into her designs and the outcome has an entirely new and updated look.

When she can't find something in the marketplace, she designs what she visualizes and has vendors that she knows will be able to make her products. For example, we have cats and needed a bed cover that was washable. That greatly reduced the options for a new duvet cover. She discovered an almost clear, silky non-permeable fabric which is entirely washable and had it made into a light throw that covers the new duvet. She added a complimentary fabric border to the edges so it looks great on top of the new cover (which you can still see because this cat cover is so transparent) and also it doesn't slip off the bed so easily. Other items she designed for us include appliqueing a beautiful design onto existing cornice boxes and a unique glass ceiling light shade.

Another great service is when she helps you choose new lighting. She brings actual working sample lights with her. This allows you to plug them in and see what the light will look like in your room. It was pretty surprising to us that something as simple as choosing between a "warm" light and a "daylight" bulb can change the look of the room.

Lastly, we really appreciated that she was willing to be as "green" as possible. We re-used our existing kitchen cabinet boxes since they were originally custom cabinets and in great condition. We had the face frames removed and replaced with entire new frames as well as new doors and drawers. Our kitchen has some quirks such as the walls are not square and some of the existing cabinet boxes were not even hung at the same height. She worked with the cabinet maker to overcome all these problems.

Marie Chan is everything you want and expect in a professional designer and space planner. I believe there are many people out there that think they can provide this service but none have Marie's creative talent or professional expertise. I have used Marie Chan several times for very different projects. She has solved space usage questions in my house where space is limited and I was totally stuck as to what to do. Most recently she has helped me design custom window treatments that were unique, one-of-a-kind installations that are artful and affordable. Our next project is lighting, paint and tile design. I continue to use Marie because she has great talent and abilities and she treats me like a valued customer. Thanks Marie!

Marie designed my first office, which was beautiful. Then, 10 years later, I needed to find an office space to purchase, so that she could design it. Marie is so amazing!! She found me the realtor who found me the office to purchase, designed the office exactly how I wanted it, and then found the perfect contractor to build out the space. Marie is THE "Can DO" professional. Now she has designed custom furniture for my home, and found the correct solutions for my impossible-shaped windows in my home. Marie is a 10 out of a 10!!

Marie is very knowledgeable about the latest trends and present issues of LED lighting, and knows how to choose the best products for most effective use (had I done it alone without Marie's professional advice, I would have made costly mistakes). Also, Marie is detail-oriented, considerate, and easy to work with. Highly recommended!

We attempted to work with two other designers before selecting Marie; the difference was night and day. One basically walked us through a design center without any guidance or comment, and another seemed to focus on camouflaging symptoms of poor design or furnishing choice, rather than addressing the real problem

Marie organized the visits to maximize time with suppliers she thought would match our tastes and budget. She was also very scrupulous about her billable hours… The samples always provided a beautiful variety from which to choose, and were of the sort you would not find in home improvement or department stores.

Would we work with her again? In a heartbeat. We found Marie to be very detail-oriented and diligent in her efforts. She was easy to work with, and flexible about design changes, budget considerations, and our work schedules.