I cannot say enough about how wonderful my experience was in working Pamela and Urbanism Designs. We moved into our home in Fall of 2018, and, while we were very happy to find a place that did not need anything in terms of a structural remodel, I was less happy to be moving into the style of house this was -- much more traditional than my liking. Not to mention, not much of my stuff from the old house would work in this (and most of my furniture and decor was due a major upgrade anyway.) I had been referred to Pamela by a friend whose house was GORGEOUS after working with Pamela, so I was excited that she had space for me. When we walked the house the first time, we talked about how we could modernize the house while still respecting it's original style and knowing that there were some things that would be major surgery to change and that we could use decor workarounds to downplay them. From our first meeting, I knew this was going to be a great fit, as Pamela has an incredible eye for what will work in a room and tie to an overall aesthetic in the house, while understanding my style preferences (and maybe even getting me to think out of the box for a few decisions, which I am very happy she gave me some options to do!). Pamela worked with us on everything from paint color (we changed basically every wall color in the house and eventually painted the outside too, where she also played a big role in our thinking) to new lighting fixtures (we replaced almost all in the house) to picking new window treatments for most rooms to helping us curate almost every piece of furniture we have in most rooms in the house to also curating other pieces of decor to give each room its own look and feel. I would guess that Pamela and I looked at nearly 1000+ products/options together and took a hundred decisions along the way, and, all through that, Pamela made it incredibly easy for me to look at a curated set of options in a very manageable way, weigh those decisions, see how they would look in the room and ultimately in placing and tracking an order -- she guided each decision soup to nuts and it was an relatively easy lift for me each time. This was one of the most important things to me given I have a super busy job and small kids and am generally always feel busy. She is incredibly fast, very responsive and absolutely attuned to all the things going on in life and strives to make it as turnkey as possible (which doesn't mean rushing decisions at all -- she is wonderful about talking through each one and deliberating with me, even on the smallest of details). She's thoughtful to the needs of a family and does an awesome job balancing practical and aesthetic considerations. (She also has an amazing network of installers and other specialists, which was a huge asset and all were incredibly high quality and professional. Pamela also played a very important coordinating role with these folks, which I very much needed and appreciated.) I have become so enamored with Pamela's taste, especially because she knows exactly what I like and what is needed in our house, that I have even recently asked her to help me pick out door mats!:) I cannot say enough good things about Pamela and Urbanism Designs. Our house has been transformed to the point that it is hard to believe the before photos. It feels like "us" now and reflects our style in way that blends with the architecture. She has truly helped to make this house a home and one about which I'm constantly getting compliments!
--April A. / Los Altos, CA / December 2019
Pamela is exceptional. Her design sensibility is off the charts - unique, modern, clean and beautiful. She pairs things that I would never have thought of and it looks amazing. She is also an incredible person to work with - smart, quick to understand what we wanted, thoughtful, hardworking and always offering many options. Most importantly, she has an awesome attitude - she is always cheerful, upbeat and fun to work with. She just jumps in and figures it all out with you. We moved into a modern house and while we had some of our furniture, we needed a lot of pieces to make the house feel like a home. Pamela came over, understood our style, took measurements and then put together mood boards for each area. Then, she was fantastic at sourcing dozens of options for us to choose from. She helped us narrow it down and choose the best, most unique piece for each room. She was also excellent at working with our existing pieces to find good spots for them and make them work with the new pieces. Pamela also came up with the plan to place all our existing art. We have over a hundred pieces, spanning photos, sculpture and paintings and Pamela spent hours reviewing images of the pieces and selecting the perfect spots. She did this all without the actual art. When the art showed up, we followed her suggestions and it looks awesome. Pam is a joy to work with. I could not recommend her more highly and keep trying to find excuses to continue working with her.
--S.R. / Hillsborough, CA / March 2019
My husband and I bought our first house last fall, leaving city life for the suburbs. We found ourselves with a much bigger home that needed some remodeling, complete furnishing and a lot of personalization. I was intrigued by Pamela's story of working at Google and then finding her passion in interior design, and her aesthetic really resonated with me. I had never worked with an interior designer or invested heavily in a space, but I really wanted to do this home the right way. I loved Pamela from the first time I spoke with her. She's kind, honest, dedicated, transparent, has great communication, listens closely and is extremely efficient and detail-oriented. Over the past year we have furnished every room of a 3300 sq ft house together and remodeled two bathrooms and a kitchen. I consult her on EVERY decision because she saves me from making mistakes and is often able to guide me towards items that I never would have found and are far more interesting and often more cost-effective than what I would have chosen on my own. You would think that over a year-long project I at some point would feel frustration or disappointment or something negative, but I haven't. She has helped us create a house that suits the reality of our lifestyle with a small child, but that feels warm and beautiful and perfect for us. I would never hire anyone else!
--Tara G. / Los Gatos, CA / November 2018
Pamela is an incredible designer, and the single best of of the many vendors we worked with in 4 years of remodeling our home. I concur with the other reviews that if you want your house to look like Dwell, Elle Decor, Sunset Magazine or other high-end design outlets, and think "but I'm a normal person and no way my house can look like that", hire her. Great ideas, great execution, clear without being pushy, thoughtful, focused - she has it all. No question is too small ("what color towels should I get?", "is this target night-stand OK?") or too big ("i feel like the living room needs flow" or "how can we make this space open but separate if that makes sense?").
In our case, she not only helped us remodel while we lived there to get to a great space for our family, but provided great staging services to help us get multiple offers and a great price on our house. Pamela also detail-oriented and has tenacious follow-up ethic, owing to her prior career as a project manager for a tech company. I don't think I have ever not received a timely response from her - for you Silicon Valley types (which face it if you are reading this you probably are), she will go above and beyond your quality expectations.
--Cecilia K. / Sunnyvale, CA / March 2017
My family and I relocated from New York City to San Jose this past summer and I hired Pamela to completely furnish our new, contemporary farmhouse style home. Coming from a small pre-war house in Queens, we had no suitable furnishings and basically had to start from scratch. Pamela was a lifesaver!
Our work together began immediately following an initial site visit in February. Right away I knew that Pamela was the perfect fit for the project. She earned my trust instantly. Pamela is the real deal: professional, thoughtful, thorough, and supremely talented.
What I appreciate most about Pamela is her work ethic. She is very organized and keeps progress moving. Her design services are fluid and flexible. She brings you along on a collaborative process that is always on point and really enjoyable. Pamela is, in a word, accessible. I never knew how many clients or projects she had going on, because it never mattered to me. She always provided immediate personal attention for action items small and large. Our project spanned the length of this year. Beginning with the idea and design phase conducted long distance, to a full furnishing procurement phase for each room in our home, and finally placement and finishing touches. Pamela was there every step of the way, bringing the project to life and sustaining its every need.
Pamela has impeccable taste and a keen eye for all things design. Yet, she is skilled at listening and making things work to your tastes. What matters to you, matters to her. Pamela gives you options so you can feel ownership over the design. She gives good guidance, but is not afraid to give you her honest opinion, which for me was extremely valuable.
Always generous with her top-notch sense of style, I have learned a lot from Pamela and I am grateful to be one of her clients. I am also quite certain that we will work together for the long term, because at this point I don’t want to pick out even a hand towel without her blessing!
Pamela has given our home a top to bottom design that reflects my family’s personality and lifestyle. Her work, in all respects, is classic and timeless. I recommend her without reservation!
--Laura G. / San Jose, CA / December 2016
Pamela helped us to design the layout of our kitchen and bath remodel for our Eichler home. She also provided consultation on interior paint colors (there are so many whites!) and helped us to reaffirm finishes throughout the home. This is our first home, and our first remodel, and Pamela helped to put our renovation nerves at ease. She was instrumental in helping us to understand the process and set a realistic plan. It was very seamless and easy to work with her: she is very responsive with quick turn around time on drawings and feedback, has a great sense of how a space should flow, and a good eye for functional modern design. As we only needed design help for parts of our remodel, we really liked that we could hire her for only the amount of advice we needed. We definitely recommend working with Pamela and will seek her advice again on future projects.
--J.H. / Sunnyvale, CA / January 2016
Pamela was amazing! She took the time to fully understand us and our needs. We could not be happier with the result. Our front room looks beautiful and she has really captured the look we wanted.
There were some moments when we thought that we would never find a particular item but she was so patient and diligent in searching for all the different options that we always found the perfect piece for our room.
We have found her to be patient, communicative, creative, incredibly stylish and a lot of fun to work with. Highly recommend her to anyone looking for interior design help!
--Olivia M. / Menlo Park, CA / December 2015
If you are looking for someone efficient, conscientious, responsive, trustworthy and professional (not to mention very talented), I highly recommend Pamela! 10 stars!
We wanted to get new furniture and art for our living room and bedroom, but got overwhelmed with the choices and how time consuming the search can become. I found Pamela on Yelp, sent her an email and set up an appointment. When she came to our house, she accurately measured and examined the rooms. We then went through the process of picking items. Pamela gave me choices of different styles/moods to pick from (all via email). At the end of the day, after the choices were made, everything came together and looks fantastic! I told her what I was looking for and that we were on a pretty tight budget. Within two weeks everything was done and the furniture delivered. The furniture fits perfectly and actually makes our small rooms look larger!
Pamela has a great eye for color, design and placement of furniture. I appreciate her candidness and practical way of thinking. She made some great suggestions and we are 150% satisfied with her services.
Pamela also recommended vendors to us that worked out great! I would use Pamela again for any remodeling or design project (and probably will in the near future). Oh, I forgot to mention how nice Pamela is too! Again, 10 stars! You won’t regret using Urbanism Designs!!!
--Linda D. / Sunnyvale, CA / July 2015
Urbanism Designs – beautifying our lives, one room at a time…
After purchasing our home, our living room stood bare for almost 2 years. Faced with too many choices, differing opinions, and fear of commitment (design-wise) our “blank slate” room remained just that, blank and devoid of any character. We were in a design funk and needed professional intervention.
Thankfully, I found Pamela [Urbanism Designs] through Houzz. After reviewing numerous portfolios and online reviews, I was drawn to Urbanism’s story and unique sense of style – there is something organic and unpredictable in her designs. Rooms seemed tailored to the client, each was an individual work of art – no cookie-cutter rooms here. You can clearly see that Pamela has an innate gift for design; pairing colors, textures, patterns, and finishes in unexpected but aesthetically pleasing ways.
Our experience with Urbanism Designs has been a very positive one. On our own, we felt overwhelmed and debilitated by all the choices. With Urbanism, choosing was fun and exciting.
Pamela simplified the process and presented us with her carefully curated choices. She understood our needs, learned our tastes, incorporated our wish-lists, and stayed within our budget. Each suggested piece was carefully chosen with cost (including taxes, shipping, restocking fees), quality, and ease of shipping/exchange/return/installation in mind. Pamela even researched discounts and upcoming sales from multiple suppliers to ensure we got the best price.
Working with Pamela was a harmonious collaboration. During the many times that my husband and I had differing opinions, we would use her as our tie-breaker. She gave us as much creative control as we desired but all within a tasteful framework that she provided. We were able to choose all our favorite pieces/elements and Pamela was able to tie all our [what seemed like random] selections together beautifully.
The result is a room in which we love every single piece of furniture and every thoughtful detail. Pamela has given us a living room that is cozy and inviting while dramatic and elegant. As we had hoped, the room looks collected and unique. Thanks to Urbanism Designs, our living room is finally a reflection of both of our personalities/styles and it has become our favorite room in the house. I look forward to working with Pamela again on beautifying the rest of our home.
Highlights:
-professional and personable
-very responsive to email (sometimes replying immediately)
-helped push the project along while not being pushy
-tactfully and constructively honest
-flexible and harmonious collaboration – creative control within a tastefully provided framework
-tastefully pushes you out of your comfort level (that’s why I hired a professional)
-simple and uncomplicated pricing system
--Judy M. / Sunnyvale, CA / March 2015
We have LOVED working with Pamela! I would give her 10 stars if I could! We were planning a cosmetic remodel of our Brown and Kaufman style home and I knew I needed help with the project. The best decision of the project was hiring Pamela!
We were on a tight budget and Pamela was very respectful of the budget and worked with us to stay within it. She is extremely easy to communicate with. We did a lot of e mail corresponding, meetings at the house and work through an online spreadsheet. I have a toddler so working with her in a variety of ways was so helpful!
We love her style and taste and have had fun designing various rooms in the house with her. She had ideas that we loved and never would have thought of on our own!
She has a network of professional and reliable contractors and vendors that really helped during our project. She was the point person in working with them which gave me more time to work on various other aspects of the remodel.
We highly recommend Pamela! You will love working with her!
--Rebecca M. / Palo Alto, CA / February 2015
We were preparing to open a new restaurant, VONS Chicken, in the area and were feeling overwhelmed with the idea of thinking through the layout and decorating the place. At the same time, a lot had already been spent on construction and we didn’t want to spend an exorbitant amount on the interior design.
That’s when we found Pamela at Urbanism Design on yelp. We decided to use her as we wanted to work with a personable individual (vs a corporate company that would charge an arm and a leg) and had a great first impression at our first meeting. As it was her first time working on a restaurant design and our first time using an interior designer, we felt it was a great fit. Throughout the entire process, she has been dedicated to the project and very responsive. It was clear that she felt a great deal of ownership and pride in her work and we greatly appreciated that. We were able to easily collaborate with her and felt very comfortable in expressing our opinions on her design choices to make it fit what we were looking for. She was very easy to work with and flexible based on our feedback.
At the end, we were pleased with how the restaurant turned out and received many compliments from our customers, who expressed how much they enjoyed dining in the restaurant’s atmosphere. The design was clean, bright and simple, exactly what we were looking for. Now that Pamela has tackled her first restaurant design experience, we hope that she will be able to learn much more through working with others and successfully grow her skills in this industry. We wish her the best of luck!
--Stephanie H. / Sunnyvale, CA / December 2014
The paradox of choice is true.
We bought a home and I wanted it to look amazing. I started shopping for furniture and décor. Soon enough, I was exhausted and defeated. There were too many choices and I felt completely overwhelmed.
I thought house decorating would be fun and exciting; it turned out to be nothing but stress and more stress. Just looking for a wall paint color was taxing. There were literally hundreds, if not, thousands of colors to choose from.
I was close to suffering from a breakdown and I was ready to succumb to the choice of using boxes as furniture, just like my friend Will’s home. I was done shopping! It’s no longer fun when you go into a store and see about 200 rugs to choose from and not knowing where to start.
Then one faithful day, while browsing through Houzz.com, I saw a picture of Urbanism’s work. I never thought about hiring an interior designer because I thought it was too expensive and needless. However, after trying to do it on my own, I definitely needed help; using a designer seemed more plausible than I once thought.
I did my research based on the designer’s style and price base, Urbanism Designs won on both counts. Her pricing was less complicated than the other designers and her aesthetics were spot on. I decided to shoot her an email and see if there was a way we could work together.
Pam is easy to talk to but completely takes control (in the best way possible) of a design idea. I had an idea and she worked with it. She used her knowledge to find something that she knew I wanted, even though I never knew I wanted it before. She doesn’t just pick items that she wants; it’s a total collaboration where she curates amazing items based from the information she gathered from me. She reads your wants very well and finds the greatest items to choose from.
If it weren’t for her work, my bedroom would have looked too folksy for my tastes. I was trying to work with some of my boyfriend’s pieces but instead of creating a eclectic design, my lack of design knowledge went straight to country-chic even though I was looking for something more modern. I am glad that Pam was there to save me from that design idea, that I once held as ideal, and steered me towards something that was much more modern and bold. I completely love the color scheme of my room and all it’s furnishings. I love how is has a nice balance of masculine and feminine designs. It totally suits our taste.
Also, another bonus about hiring Pam is her furniture placement techniques. I am opinionated and so is she, but she knows how to communicate her ideas without being too pushy. She opened up my mind to new ideas and furniture placement, and I couldn’t be happier. In the end, my living room has an open feel and we were able to create an ample dining space using little room – this was extremely helpful since our condo is very small in space. She was able to maximize the space usage!
Finally, her eye for color is amazing. There were times I was weary of her choices, but when she placed them together, she was extremely correct. For example, who knew dark blue and wine colors go well together? I thought they were too dark to compliment each other, but when you placed them together with golden yellow accent tones, they enriched the feeling of the room. My boyfriend was skeptical about teal and orange working together in the living room. Then she showed us the color palette, and again, it was spot on. She pushes the boundaries in colors to the best result! She blends unique color combinations but it works well together. It is aesthetically pleasing!
In the end, we love our home and everything about it. Everyone compliments my home and they state that it belongs in a magazine. I couldn’t have done it without Pam’s help. Honestly, I would have given up without her – paralyzed by too many choices! With her help, she narrowed down the choices to an amazing small array of choices – perfectly curated based on what I was looking for. Thankfully we made the right decision and hired Urbanism Designs!!!!
--Elsvette B. / San Jose, CA / November 2014
Pamela at Urbanism Designs exceeded my expectations. She not only is personable but also organized and persistent. She was able to take my ideas and successfully redesign our formal living room and dining room. The change has been dramatic but I absolutely love it.
Pamela has a lot of great ideas- some out of my comfort zone. But she was able to steer me in the right direction, pushing the envelope a bit. That’s why I hired her- to push me to the next level. One of Pamela’s outstanding skills is her ability to envision how pieces of furniture will look together. To help me understand her vision, she created several storyboards that were so helpful to me. I was impressed with the storyboards and they helped me make more sound decisions.
Pamela has been nothing but an exemplary designer. I love her ideas. She is quick yet thorough and simple yet tasteful. And I am beyond happy with her work!
--Keets D. / San Francisco, CA / May 2014
My wife and I have been working closely with Pamela at Urbanism Designs for our new place in San Francisco. We prefer a modern style but have been slow to decorate as: a) we are just slow, and b) we’ve been hesitant to make big choices that seem so “final” to us. Luckily we found Pamela. She’s visited our place multiple times, listened to our preferences, and then provided us with an overall plan. We love the way she’s (gently) pushed us to select furniture and a style that really “pops” while not being too crazy. We could have gone very conservative and still had a nice place but with Pamela’s help, we’ve made our home a place that is something you’d see in Houzz! ;-) We are really proud and happy with it.
Part of what made working with Pam so great was that her plan was easy to visualize. She has a system of using a shared spreadsheet that breaks each room down and provides web links to furniture she selects that we can view at our convenience. This lets us know what she is thinking, allows us to give immediate feedback, and shows us what she is working on. On that note, we were really worried that working with a designer would mean they would work a ton of hours, select some furniture we might not like, then stick us with a big bill. With this spreadsheet, you can see what she is working on and tell her yes or no, and why. She’ll then adjust the spreadsheet and you can see the results. It’s a really great, fast way to iterate.
Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that it is really obvious she loves doing this. It shows. I’ve seen her light up when she comes up with a great idea. We’re thrilled that we took a chance in hiring an interior decorator and that we hired her!
--Andrew Y. / San Francisco, CA / December 2013
