We had been living in our home for a year and a half, but my husband and I work full time and we have two little boys at home, so my time for decorating was nil. Velvet helped me design our bedroom, entry way and other areas of the house. I saw photos of a project that she did that was similar in taste to mine, so I met with her and liked her. I met other designers as well on the phone, but Velvet had the kind of sensibility and the taste I was looking for. I feel very good about the work she did. My house is Mediterranean in style and a little formal for my taste. The layout of the house was great already, but I wanted to contemporize it and tone it down. We have an enormous bedroom, and Velvet helped make it warm and inviting and romantic, but not cheesy. For me, it was a lot of about being minimalist, but also adding some color and giving it a serene feel. Velvet has great contacts in the area. We used a furniture builder she knows to make some furniture. He was able to make chairs, ottomans and our bed, and we got to choose fabrics from nicer fabrics stores. The furniture was reasonably priced and really great! Velvet is very easy to get a hold of. I am a big email person and we did a lot through email. As far as pricing, she isn’t cheap, but as I said, I had no time for decorating and she was able to save me money in certain areas. She was great at staying on budget and keeping me up to date on the service budget, the furniture budget etc. She has been extremely fair, but it’s an expensive endeavor. If you are going to hire someone to do this you should be clear what you want to spend and what you are getting. For me, it was very helpful to be guided by Velvet. She was great at working with my time constraints. She would do a ton of stuff, and we’d meet for an hour and go over everything. Communication is the biggest thing and she was good at learning what I wanted to spend more on and what I wanted to save money on. She had an associate in her office, Rachel, who is also great.
- Wendy M., Bel Air

Eight years ago we were watching a “design off” competition on TV that Velvet was on. We had just purchased our first home, and we were a little skeptical, thinking she might too high-end for our budget. She was the most responsive of the designers we interviewed. She shared our enthusiasm and was a good listener. She was professional from beginning to end, always responsive and reliable, with a fast turn-around. Even though we were new to this, we felt respected and heard. And we got exactly what we wanted. She is great about mixing and matching high-end custom pieces with off the rack items. Velvet respected not only our ideas, but our budget, and found mindful and creative ways to work within it. For example, my husband had some chairs that that he had bought from IKEA when he was in grad school. Velvet had them refinished and found a table that would work with them. They were transformed and fit perfectly in our breakfast nook. When the project was finished, there were no loose ends. Thanks to Velvet nothing fell through the cracks. We did not have to follow up on anything.
- Tiffany Scurry, Playa del Rey

We were looking for a designer to re-do my husband’s law office like Mad Men, a style we love! This is our first time designer experience and we were feeling our way along. I was impressed with her elegant, sophisticated website. That’s what sold us! She turned us on to Knoll, who specializes in mid-century modern furnishings. Velvet is extremely professional and absolutely on top of everything! She took the time to make a formal presentation of her ideas and thought through alternatives for us, so we had choices. She treated us with the utmost respect; she knew she was the expert, but did not treat us like morons, and was very sensitive to our time. She has her stuff together, with a fast turnaround; she doesn’t waste anyone’s time, hers or ours. I knew what I wanted but she’s the one who pulled it all together. She really knows what she is doing, is very down to earth, responds to emails within two hours, and has a great eye! And she’s right in Santa Monica. I felt like I was in good hands. The fee was right where we expected it to be. She does not cut corners, nor does she have an investment in the more expensive choices. Another amazing thing is that she does not charge a mark-up on her purchases. She billed strictly for her time and passed the trade discounts on to us. Even though this was not a big buck gig for her, she took our project as seriously as we did. We were a small fish in her big pond, but I felt she was always completely available to us. The best high five I can give Velvet is, “Let’s do it again!”
- Anna Lefler, Santa Monica

Velvet added a bathroom and bedroom to our house and it looks like it was built when the house was built. She did it all: the windows, lights, floor tiles and doors. We showed her the space and she brought us material boards and photo boards. Her drawing skills are well honed, with great attention to detail. She is really good at AutoCAD, too. She is “on it” at the business level and I admire her design aesthetic. She is great at giving professional attention to the business end of her business. She is as much in tune with the business side of her design company as the artistic side, always very punctual and time efficient.
- Patrick Gogerchin, Malibu

Velvet was our personal friend so I was a little nervous about threatening our friendship. She was efficient and prompt with phone calls, emails, always professional. She was always on time, answered any questions and never felt pushy. I told her up front that too many concepts overwhelmed me so she kept my choices to a minimum, three ideas or less. I also appreciated that she did all the legwork. She had great ideas and found items that fit our budget. Velvet is easily accessible, always available, responsible, reliable, positive and enthusiastic!
- Marie Wexler, Malibu

We are first time homeowners and decorators. I interviewed twelve designers; cold calls off of the Internet. Velvet was the best fit for our personalities. We liked her design direction. She is with-it professionally and very confident! We have since then become friends. Velvet advised us to do our homework before we started the project. We researched color palettes, floor plans, age appropriate fabrics, as we had very young children at the time. Velvet is astute enough to read us. We are practical people, not precious people. We put our feet up. We also entertain a lot. Ours is not a turnkey house. Every bit of floor space is lived in. I was a little nervous about her remodeling our kitchen. That can be a friendship-breaker, for sure! We obviously trusted her, though. We went on a vacation for a month and a half and came home to our new kitchen! The exterior of our house is Tuscan-inspired but once you get inside, we go for clean lines, modern and contemporary. She is a highly skilled designer in her own right, and designed our bookcases for us. We have a ton of books in our house! A lot of her work is virtual. Sometime she emailed pictures on hold at a store, with choices. Then I went to the store and picked out what I wanted. Another great thing about Velvet is that she does not mark up what she finds for us and shares her designer discount. We pay what she pays. And she was flexible about the payment plan, another bonus! When we went shopping together, she charged an hourly rate. For two weeks we went everywhere, from Macy’s to Costa Mesa, and she held our hands through it all, like a babysitter.
When she worked with us, we felt like we were her only clients. That is her special gift.
- Moira Mayer, Pacific Palisades