Tess Leeds Redesign

I had never used a designer before but I'm so glad I did! Tess was great. She really listened to what I want and responded to that. The colors I ended up with are exactly what I wanted but could not have chosen on my own. I highly recommend Tess and I would love to use her services again for furniture.

Working with Tess was fun, informative, and inspiring! She helped me create a better space plan and vision for my fairly large and asymmetrical living room --- which already looked better by the time our appointment was finished. Tess is full of great ideas and resources --- and she provided an easy step-by- step plan for completing the redesign on my own timeline and budget. I highly recommend Tess and hope to work with her again.

Hired Tess to help with selection of furniture for foyer. She was able to take the photos of the space as well as information I had provided about pieces that appealed to me and my goal for the space and provide me with a terrific design. She sketched it out and made me feel part of the process and in the end, it feels like I selected the items, but deep down I know that I would have never found items as amazing as she did. Scheduling was easy and Tess is prompt and professional in her communication and approach. I can't wait to use her for other rooms.

I met with Tess to develop a plan for my living and dining rooms. They are odd shaped rooms in a nearly 200 year old house. I have spent tons of money trying to decorate and pick functional pieces only to feel like i wasted my money. I decided before I bought one more piece of furniture, painted a wall or moved anything I was going to get someone to help me. Thank God I found Tess. She was amazing. In a matter of minutes she was able to help me articulate exactly what I was looking to create in my home! She arrived with tons of samples and a "magic" ipad that allowed me to see my room and the changes she suggested. At the end of the session I had in my hand and my mind the image of exactly what I wanted. I had pictures, ideas, samples, a to do list and most importantly the exact sizes of the items i should purchase. I immediately started organizing ideas and samples as she suggested. I am so excited by the prospect of FINALLY having my home look like I imagined. Our home is not fancy and we don't have tons of money to spend. I never imagined myself hiring someone to help me decorate. However, when I tallied the cost of bad purchases that dont work and end up in storage or the attic, the cost of the sesssion will actually save me money. For example I was ready to retire our sectional to another room and start over. By the end of the session I was delighted by what the sectional will look like with a slipcover and the other furnishings that Tess recommended. In my dining room I found that I barely have to purchase anything. Just removing a door and placing the furniture in slightly different ways produced beautiful results. Tess also helped me think about the flow from the kitchen into the dining room into the living room. Again, we are not fancy folks with a fancy house. Never imagined a decorator crossing my threshold, However I am so glad I found Tess on Angie's list. I'd recommend anyone thinking about purchasing furniture, painting or redecorating, consider a session with Tess. I consider the money a well spent investment in my home.

I have now had the benefit of Tess' help in several rooms...I just keep going back to her, because her services are worth so, so much. She has an amazing sense of color and style, and an incredible gift for listening and tact. She puts in so much time and thought to help with the details. She works creatively and flexibly with you, your starting point, your sensibilities, and your budget. Most recently, I was in doubt about a furniture color choice- she gracefully shared her opinion about what she thought would be the best option, while also exploring alternatives more in line with another approach...In the end, her best option was 110% right, and the purchase has transformed a room for the better. Thank you for everything, Tess - you are a genius :)

We have just moved into a new apartment and needed help with how to decorate some rooms and wanted to "do it on the cheap". I reached out to Tess as I didn't know where to start and am so thankful I did- she really helped us to design spaces that work for us and our budget. She is professional, organized and responsive and also a lot of fun to work with. I highly recommend Ruby Shoes Redesign.

It was incredibly fun and deeply valuable! Tess brought her artistic eye, listened with her heart, and didn’t spare a single detail. For each room, we talked about how I wanted the space to be, and then went to work creating a plan together. To use my bedroom as an example, which was a blank slate with a few choice pieces I had, we began by picking the wall color. Then Tess measured every inch of space with extreme care and –– guided by her imagination and vast knowledge of retailers online (with a shout out to the best flea markets), we chose the rug, headboard, bed linens, accent pillows, night stands, lamps, reading chair, window dressing, and more ... add to that the art I already had, and the room unfolded before me. Tess gave me a VERY clear and detailed checklist of what to do when, and where to go, and I was off and running! For me this experience has been a joy because in one extraordinarily thorough and valuable consultation, I saw a vision come alive and my ability to implement it become possible!

Tess was great. I have never used an interior designer before and struggle with furniture choices and as a result had not made any changes to our decor in some time and probably wasted money on some furniture choices. Tess was great and really listened to me and seemed invested in the project. She is very personable as well. I will definitely use her in the future.

My husband, Eric and I have struggled with finding the correct palette of colors for the rooms of our home. We spent 2 hours with Tess and had each room figured out AND the colors all lead well in to each room. We couldn't be happier with the consultation Tess provided and look forward to working with her in the future on consulting on signature pieces for our home. We highly recommend using Tess for your interior color consulting and design.

It went so well! It was such a great experience working with Tess that I hired her to come back for additional work. Tess was punctual - which I greatly appreciated. She also strikes such a lovely balance of professionalism with being so personable. She listened to me, understood clearly what I was envisioning, and then helped me thoughtfully select the colors. If I didn't like something, she helped me clarify what I didn't like so I could better clarify what I do like. It was such a great experience working with Tess and I'm so glad I found her through Angie's List.

Tess is very knowledgeable about design. She brought a lot of samples of fabrics and paint colors and spent five hours with me to redesign the layout of the two rooms and help me find the right furniture for the two spaces. She finished by sending me a mood board that I can bring with me when I go shopping. Through her guidance on the design and where to buy the pieces for the room, I believe I will end up saving a lot of money.

Excellently. Would recommend her. Listened well to our plans. Helped us clarify what we were thinking as well as offering alternatives.

I have to echo all the positive comments already made by Angie's List members about Tess. She was wonderful. She managed to wedge me into her schedule at the last minute, turned up promptly, and was very likeable and clearly expert at what she does. Her suggestions were great; she listened very well, and made eye-opening suggestions. By the time she left I felt about 10 times better about our repainting project. It was terrific to work with her and I may hire her again for a more extensive redesign project. Thank you, Tess!

Great to work with and helped me get a better vision of what I could do with the space and other ideas to pull the room together. A very wonderful experience with Tess. She's professional, non-judgmental and open. Definitely would recommend her.

Tess was great! She showed up on time and got right to work. We had purchased a new condo and were basically starting from scratch. She had large poster-sized paint samples of hundreds of colors that we used to select paint colors for every room/hallway. My boyfriend and I had slightly different ideas of the colors we wanted before Tess got there, but after working with us together, she found an awesome middle ground. There are definitely days when I am sitting in the living room or bedroom and think to myself "man, I REALLY like this paint color!" Once we had the paint colors sorted out, Tess helped us come up with a floor plan for our living room and our guest room/office. These rooms were completely empty when she came so she had large muslin shapes for couches, chairs etc that she laid on the ground and really helped us visualize how furniture would fit in the room. We then both hopped on our computers and she directed us to some websites with furniture in our budget to select the key pieces (rug, couch, chairs) and also suggested art for the walls, curtain heights, etc. We walked away with a detailed floor plan, suggestions for colors and styles of furniture, and links to ideas for furniture and furnishings. Tess then emailed us the inspiration boards that really helped us picture the completed room. Tess was lovely to work with, creative, and super helpful. Next time we need to redesign a room we will definitely call her.

She was excellent. She had a good eye for color and she was very easy to work with. She was very patient because we didn't have a clue as to what color we wanted.

Tess was warm and friendly from the moment we met her, and I thoroughly enjoyed having her in my home. We met for about 3 hours and came away with a great vision for the room. She created sketches for us on the spot, helped us select a paint color and various items for the room (new lighting, small furniture, artwork), and provided a detailed, written list of those items and where we could find them. For example, we agreed on two new chairs to flank the existing DR table and introduce color into the room; we then looked online together at some possible options for those chairs, and then she jotted down the names and locations of the top couple options, so that we can make the purchases when we're ready. We went through a similar process with lighting, artwork, etc. One thing she did that I loved was make the entire process feel manageable. I'm easily overwhelmed by the choices that need to be made when redesigning a room, but Tess helped create an overall vision and then worked with us step by step through each decision point. She also left us with a set of immediate next steps, so that after our appointment, we could move right ahead with the room. Another great thing was that immediately after our appointment (I'd say within just a few hours of her leaving), she emailed me a mood board based on what we'd talked about. I was really impressed and have found that board incredibly helpful. I will definitely contact Tess as we tackle additional rooms in our house!

Tess was great! She was very punctual and brought so many large paint samples. She did the whole house in a little under 2 hours and helped me select a color palate of colors I liked that went together. I really had no idea where to start, and she guided the process while still ensuring that I was making the final decisions. I had a question the following week about one of the paint colors and she responded really promptly. We haven't painted the whole house yet, but we've finished the second floor and the colors look really nice together.

She is the best! Her professionalism, warmth, knowledge, efficiency and artistic sense and quality made me very very happy. I am so lucky to get to know her. I am thinking to ask her to go shopping together and need her advice to choose things. I highly recommend Tess @ Ruby Shoes Redesign!

It was great, she was there all day and really listened. We picked out curtains, pillows, accent furniture. We also moved some furniture around and repurposed some furniture. She also helped me with wall color.

We had a great time. It was money well spent. I would absolutely hire them again!! Tess was great. She helped me pick out the perfect living room. I love it and have gotten a ton of compliments from others!!

I really liked Tess's approach to working with my husband and I. She was direct yet pleasant in her approach. I had been stuck on how to decorate and design our living room as it is a large room and some our two couches were difficult to design around. Tess broached the topic of getting rid of one of the two couches (I was sold immediately but my husband needed a little convincing). After Tess shared her ideas for how to redesign and restructure the room, which she had drawn out, my husband and I both were convinced this was the right move. Tess helped us select paint colors, two new chairs, keep some of our old furniture and select lamps and stools to complete the look. Even after she left, she continued to send us ideas via email! In fact, after we bought some of the paint samples, we sent her photos of the samples on the wall and she continued to help us narrow down the choices. She is helping us design our room that is modern (which is our style), put together and will look like a room out of a design magazine. All at a price we can afford! I will continue to utilize Tess's services for our next project which is our hallway. I can't imagine doing it alone ever again!

Tess is very easy to work with. She has a very good sense of color and how colors work together. She has a keen eye for how things flow in a room (the number and placement of pictures, furniture, and accessories). She spends the time needed to understand what we like and don't like and doesn't try to suggest things that might please her eye best, but that we might warm up to. Basically, she knows what she is doing and is also a good consultant. A winning combination. Plus, she is very responsive and follows up quickly with additional resources and options.

Working with Tess was so much fun and a huge help. My spouse and I had reached impasse on paint color choices for our home and were also going in a million different directions with updating my son's bedroom. She listened and observed carefully to understand our budget, our needs and our taste, then guided us in the right direction. She also gave really helpful referrals (e.g. painters, seamstress, where to shop, etc) to take the guesswork out of the process. She was extremely prompt and professional. Everything was clearly spelled out and documented. She is very quick with follow up. We really weren't up for a traditional full-service designer (neither the budget nor the inclination). Tess provides you with as much or as little design help as you need to get you unstuck and move a project forward. The $575 was money well spent, considering the time and money otherwise wasted on wrong items and wrong colors. We can't wait to see it all take shape! Will definitely use her again for future projects - in fact I wish she could help us redo our whole house!

Tess is a friendly professional and very stylish individual. She understood my taste right away, asked all of the right questions about my budget, what I hoped my new bedroom would "Feel" like, and what I was hoping to accomplish. She then, in record time, found just the right layout, furniture, color scheme, and even went as far as specifying the curtain hardware! All the time taking me on the process and getting my buy-in and choices along the way. I could not believe that I had a beautiful design all ready to implement in only 4 hours for our initial consultation. It would have taken me 4 years and even then I would not have the skills or know how or vision required! Love Tess and you will too!