$1,625.00

In-Home Design Session

Name: In-Home Design Session
Brand: A Design Lifestyle
Price: 1625.0 USD
Availability: InStock

$1,625.00

As Seen In ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST & FORBES

You don't need more ideas. You need clear, confident decisions, made with a designer in your home.

The samples on the counter. The contractor waiting on an answer. The layout you've redrawn in your head more than once. Each open decision holds up the next.

In ninety minutes, we make the calls together. Paint, materials, layout, furnishings, or whatever your project needs most, decided room by room, with your taste leading and the Family-Proof Method checking every choice. Kid-friendly is the luxury.

You'll leave with: clear decisions on the calls holding your project up · every selection and specification in writing · clear next steps for you, your contractor, or both.

What's included: A short questionnaire before we meet · One hour of tailored preparation: materials pulled and suggested selections narrowed before we meet · Ninety minutes on site: ask anything, as many questions as you have, for the full session · Professional materials and samples, yours to keep for the duration of the project · Detailed notes, resources and clear next steps, written and delivered after.

And a little something to keep, from me to your home.

Who it's for: Families in Albany, Berkeley, Kensington, and El Cerrito with a single room, a stalled decision, or a renovation that needs trained eyes before money moves.

One flat fee. No retainer, no ongoing fees. You book one session at a time and decide whether you need another.

Flexible for families. Life with kids happens. Reschedule for free, any time up to the start of your session. Cancel for a full refund up to 48 hours before; inside 48 hours, just reschedule instead. Miss a session without notice? You get one courtesy reschedule.

Before you book. Pick your time when you book. After, I'll send a short questionnaire, and you'll send photos of your space before we meet.

In-home sessions are available in Albany, Berkeley, Kensington, and El Cerrito only. Anywhere else? Book a Remote Design Session.

“She mapped out how to fill our home in phases, making every room stylish and functional.” — S.M., design client

View full details

Why this designer?

Let me guess. You've hired everyone except the one person whose job is the decisions. The contractor quotes. The showroom sells. The internet has opinions. Nobody is looking at your house through your kids' eyes.

Your taste, not mine. I don't hand you my look. You keep your style, and I make it hold up to real family life.

Tested in 100+ family homes. Every recommendation runs through the Family-Proof Method's four questions, set out further down this page.

Credentials you can check. A BFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and 15+ years of projects.

I've lived it. I'm a parent, and I renovated my own home while working full time with a one-year-old at home. I plan for the crumbs, not the photo shoot.

You leave with decisions. They're made with you in the room, then written up, so they still hold on a busy school night.

A small number each year. I keep sessions few so each one gets my full attention.

As Seen In

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST · HOMES & GARDENS · FORBES · REAL SIMPLE · BETTER HOMES & GARDENS · BUSINESS OF HOME

A designer in the room.

Interior design sessions for family homes

Every session runs the Family-Proof Method. The big calls get made with you, in the room, then written down after, so every decision still holds when the samples come back.

How a session works

Before
A short questionnaire and photos of your space, then one hour of tailored preparation: I pull materials and narrow suggested selections, so we start with options.
During
Ninety minutes on site, room by room. Ask anything: advice, questions, feedback on what you own or have been quoted. There's no limit on questions, and the full session is yours.
Samples
Professional materials and samples, yours to keep for the duration of the project.
After
Detailed notes on every selection, specification and decision, the resources to act on them, and clear next steps for you.

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How many sessions will my project need?

It depends on your project. These are typical ranges, not a promise.

Renovation: 1–6 sessions, depending on the depth of your scope and the length of your construction.

Furnishing: 1–4 sessions, depending on how many rooms and how much you already own.

One room, or one stalled decision: often a single session.

You book one at a time. At the end of each session, we look at what's left and whether another one is worth it.

Design sessions or full-service design?

If you want to hand off the whole project, full-service design is the right call, and a good designer earns every part of it. Design sessions are for running the project yourself, with a designer's decisions behind you.

Design sessions
Who runs the project. You do, with a designer's decisions behind you.
How it's priced. One flat fee per session. No retainer, no ongoing fees.
Commitment. You choose how many, one at a time.
Whose taste. Yours. I make it work for family life.
How decisions happen. With you, in the room.
What you're left with. A written plan to carry out with your contractor or on your own.
Full-service design
Who runs the project. The designer does: sourcing, ordering, trades, installation.
How it's priced. Typically billed hourly or as a percentage of the project, often with a retainer and ongoing fees.
Commitment. Usually one agreement for the whole project.
Whose taste. A shared vision, usually led by the designer.
How decisions happen. Presented to you, then revised.
What you're left with. The designer's team carries it out for you.

Carry the decisions forward. After a session, The Renovation Standard Toolkit and The Furnishing Standard Toolkit keep every selection in order, and the interactive project manager tracks each one.

Your Designer

Jacqueline Norrise

I'm Jacqueline Norrise, an Architectural Digest–featured interior designer and a parent, with a BFA in Interior Architecture & Design from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. 15+ years of projects, 100+ family homes, zero judgment. Families kept telling me the same thing: "I have kids — I can't have a nice home." They can. In a session, we make the calls for your home together, and you leave with every one of them in writing.

About Jacqueline

THE STANDARD BEHIND EVERY RECOMMENDATION

The Family-Proof Method

Every recommendation in a session answers four questions: Is it safe for kids? Is it washable? How many years will it last? What does it cost per year? Most design advice skips straight to "buy this." A session doesn't.

The part nobody photographs

Family homes see it all — mine too. Beyond the 100+ family homes I've designed, I renovated my own, while working full time with a one-year-old at home. Portfolio photos show a finished room on its best day. They don't show the crumbs, the fingerprints, or the decisions made at 10 pm. I get it, because I've lived it. The Family-Proof Method doesn't ask for perfect. It plans for the daily, so life gets to happen around it, beautifully.

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From design clients

Andrea T.

"Jacqueline has an incredible eye and is an amazing listener. I trust her completely to get it just right, every time."

Family home designed by A Design Lifestyle

C. N.

"She kept us from making expensive mistakes by guiding us to the best choices. Jacqueline is such a gift. My husband and I call her our ‘Design Therapist.’"

Lee M.

"Thanks to Jacqueline, our house is truly a home!"

STILL WONDERING SOMETHING?

Questions, answered

Is this for one room or a whole house?

Either. Bring one room or the whole house. The session is planned around the decisions your project needs most right now.

How many sessions will I need?

Typically 1–6 for a renovation and 1–4 for furnishing. A single room or a stalled decision often takes one. You book one at a time.

What happens before we meet?

A short questionnaire and photos of your space. Then one hour of tailored preparation, with materials and suggested selections ready, so our time together goes to decisions.

Can I ask as many questions as I want?

Yes. Ask for advice, questions answered, feedback: there's no limit on questions within the session. The full ninety minutes are yours.

What do I get after?

Detailed notes on every selection, specification and decision, the resources to act on them, and clear next steps for you.

Where do sessions happen?

In your home, in Albany, Berkeley, Kensington, or El Cerrito. Ninety minutes on site. Anywhere else? The Remote Design Session.

What if I need to reschedule?

Reschedule for free, any time up to the start of your session. Cancel for a full refund up to 48 hours before; inside 48 hours, just reschedule instead. Miss a session without notice? You get one courtesy reschedule.

Why these prices?

One flat fee covers the complete Family-Proof Method applied to your home: one hour of tailored preparation before, the session itself, and detailed notes after. It's calibrated from 15+ years of real client projects. There's no retainer and no ongoing fees.

Want to keep going on your own?

The Furnishing and Renovation Standard Toolkits carry the decisions from there, with the interactive project manager holding every selection after. Or get both in one purchase with The Standard Toolkit Library.

Infusing Our Lifestyle Into Every Aspect of Design

When we decided to completely renovate our Half Moon Bay home, Jacqueline created a clever three-phase plan over three years. This kept us from having to move out and disrupt our family. It also gave us the opportunity to make changes along the way as we went from redesigning rooms to choosing the final accessories and unique, custom artwork. We loved collaborating with Jacqueline. She took the time to really understand our tastes, lifestyle and interests and presented each of her ideas so clearly, making it easy for us to make decisions. We also learned a lot throughout the design process. It was a great experience.

Incredible designer, master organizer, and a pleasure to work with!

For our 800-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment, Jacqueline replaced the furnishings and decor my wife & I had cobbled together and made it feel like a real home.

When we moved into a larger home in San Francisco with our two young kids, Jacqueline thoughtfully designed the space to reflect how our tastes and needs have changed. She vastly improved the spaces throughout our home – we have a playroom that's comfortable and durable and puts us in the mood to have fun. My home office has a bold green theme that complements the view out into the valley. Jacqueline brings so much creativity and organization to the partnership that working with her feels like having a true ally: she's extremely talented, easy to work with and always made it easy for us to move forward at our own pace. Thanks to Jacqueline, our house is truly a home!

We had already worked with an architect, engineer and contractor for our major house renovation but were overwhelmed by all the finishing options. We spoke with several interior designers in the San Francisco area and Jacqueline was the only one who offered consultation services. She kept us from making expensive mistakes by guiding us to the best choices. Jacqueline is such a gift. My husband and I call her our ‘Design Therapist.’ She provided that expert, creative, unbiased perspective that allowed us to blend our different styles and personalities. With two young children, sustainability is important to us. She introduced us to materials that are environmentally friendly and nontoxic. From the tile and hardware to the unique lighting, thanks to Jacqueline, our home feels like us.

In-Home Design Session