Synthesis Interiors & Color

Spare yourself the frustration of accidentally creating an overpriced DIY mess.
Rachelle will create a space for you that is fluid, beautiful, and makes your life better in every way.
She isn’t some designer who reads a few magazines and thinks she knows all about color and design.
She is a trained, educated, and experienced professional full of creative talents. She looks at your space and design choices from a global perspective and selects colors that seamlessly tie your areas together, to balance your cabinets or floors or tile or throw pillows
or drawer hardware, etc.
Her talent is something that just can’t be taught. She has an eye for picking vibrant colors that are warm and inviting.
She truly takes all of your interior elements into consideration so that the design becomes a flawless backdrop for your life. It’s funny, you don’t notice the actual elements when it’s done, you just see how lovely the «space» is, because her colors and layout choices will enhance and accent your interiors or exteriors so fluidly.
Rachelle has an endless cache of design ideas and offers consulting as well. Just being around her will have you racing for a pen to capture the creative ideas that spill out of her so fast. So be ready and have a writing instrument and paper at all times!
If you are looking for consultation for any type of project, from the exterior of your house, to interior rooms, to furnishings, fixtures, etc., working with Rachelle is the best investment you can make.

Rachelle is the house whisperer! She has a calm, grounded and confident demeanor. She helped us to see color options for our bedrooms that we’d never even thought of before, and took into consideration our budget when making her recommendations. She gave us leads to different local businesses we might need, such as an eco paint store, and a cabinet store to change out knobs on our dressers (her suggestion). She even went that extra mile, making herself available by text and in person at the last minute when the painters were already in the house and issues came up about colors, where we had to make last minute decisions! And her fee is very reasonable too! You’re in good hands with Synthesis Interiors & Color!

Rachelle helped me with an extensive remodel of a duplex apartment. We had a wonderful time working together and she really made the project come alive. I was going for a very modern look, keeping things minimal but also wanted it to feel warm and inviting. Rachelle spent oodles of time with me and showed me the ropes of picking out colors that could complement each other and not distract. I learned so much by working with her. She also had lots of advice for me on managing the team as I was trying to be the general contractor. What a learning experience that was. I didn’t take all of her advice but I wish I had, since it turned out her concerns were right with some of the choices I made in setting up contracts and schedules.
I couldn’t have done the project without her as she was also a moral support and encouragement to me when unexpected issues came up that threatened my peace of mind. She had been through it before and was able to remind me that things would be ok and we’d get through it. In the end the apartment looked amazing, and the transformation went way beyond what I would have imagined on my own.
Talk to Rachelle and see what she can do for your project, big or small. I learned it’s never too early to engage her interior design services, especially if you’re doing any structural changes first. By letting your interior designer consider the end product from the beginning, you can integrate design and finish features better, avoid rework, and improve final aesthetics and usability.
Thank you Rachelle!

Rachelle was a pleasure to work with. We remodeled the kitchen and two bathrooms. Rachelle helped us choose tile, paint, and finishes for all three rooms, plus helped us choose paint colors for the interior of the whole house and helped with some of the furnishings. We had to make decisions very quickly, and Rachelle made the time to respond to questions that need quick answers. She was easy to get ahold of and very responsive via email, phone, and text. Most importantly, she has a great eye for color. We have gotten many compliments on the paint colors and the tile we chose. Rachelle knows how to use different colors and textures in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to come up with all on my own. Working with our contractor was sometimes very frustrating, but Rachelle was always there to provide support (emotionally and practically).
I felt that her fees were very reasonable give the type of help she provides. She can either point you in the right direction or provide you with the royal full service treatment. (We did a little of each.) I have nothing but great things to say about Rachelle and would use her again in a heartbeat!

Having had the pleasure of not only seeing the finished work for multiple of Rachelle’s clients, but also seeing how she personally decorated her own home, there is NO ONE else in the Bay Area I would ever trust to handle my interior design needs. Rachelle had the perfect combination for my office design needs, blending creativity and professionalism into one environment that I could not be more thrilled to now spend my days in. I look forward to having her some day do my home as well.

Rachelle came to my house for an hour’s consultation as I needed another set of eyes before making additional living room purchases. The hour was incredibly helpful as Rachelle made a number of great suggestions. She has a wonderful eye for color as well as a feeling for details that make all the difference in pulling together a room. She was delightful to work with, asked a very fair price, and really made a difference in my buying decisions. Highly highly recommended!

This review is long overdue. Rachelle came over to my house twice and I can 100% recommend using for the following reasons:
1) Saved mental anguish and time dithering about wall color choices and get it «right» the first time with her input!
2) She’s very reasonably priced
3) She’s really fun to work with
4) You’ll learn an amazing amount about color, placement of items, and so much more — she is very happy to dispense her knowledge to help you make informed choices even after she is finished consulting with you. I felt like I saw things differently after meeting with her!
Result: My place is Mieko-​fied and I always get compliments on how my place is so «me,» cohesive, and sometimes people ask if I’m a designer! It’s in large part due to Rachelle’s help!

I just remodeled my bathroom and painted my study and they came out great due to Rachelle Padgett. She really helped me make the final selections for the plumbing and lighting fixtures, pedestal sink, tile for the floor, and even the shower curtain. Her input was invaluable and I appreciated that she could push me into a direction I might not have thought about or taken.
Rachelle has an excellent eye for color. She has the ability to know what colors will work in your room and with the rest of the house. She did a great job selecting the right colors for the bathroom and study.
Rachelle is a very good listener, patient, and conscientious. She is pleasant to work with, professional, and her rates are reasonable. I would highly recommend Rachelle to help you on any remodeling or interior design project for your house.

I was referred to Rachelle by EcoHome Improvements is Berkeley. I could not have been more pleased with her timely response and her knowledgeable, professional yet down to earth manner. I needed help with some new flooring choices, a repair item and some placement decisions. She was just great and helped me so much in a short period of time. Rachelle’s talents are a treasure and I will be calling upon her again and again for projects big and small.

One more update– I continue to get compliments on my paint colors, which was probably Rachelle’s top strength as far as my home was concerned. She also pointed me to a great resource for eco-​friendly tiles, which I used for a DIY project.

Rachelle is easy to work with, a great communicator and decisive about what she thinks will work in your space. I called her up needing a quick consultation on colors and materials and she was at my house within a week giving me great advice and new ideas. She’s definitely the best bang for your buck in this area.

We just bought a new home and had a completely blank canvas. After spending hours on our own looking at hundreds of paint chips, we had no idea where to begin and couldn’t decide on colors. We found Rachelle on Unilocal.Her schedule was flexible and although she was completely booked, she fit us into her schedule easily. Other color consultants were less available and charge a lot more. Not only does Rachelle offer her services at a reasonable rate, she’s EXCELLENT at what she does. She came in with a few different paint brand options and color wheels — we were immediately drawn to the Benjamin Moore Aura line. It took less than an 2 hours and she had our colors picked for us! AND we LOVE them!!! Also, she put us in touch with an amazing paint company MoonDance Painting (Steve and Angel were AWESOME, friendly, reasonable and professional). Rachelle is friendly, professional, and quite talented with an eye for design and color. We highly recommend her.

We just finished a major addition on our home, and I was at a loss for how to choose colors, flooring, and finishes, especially for the bathroom. The number of design options was baffling to me – bamboo vs carpet? Subway tile vs mosaics? And how to avoid painting every wall my go-​to green?
I found Rachelle online, and told her what I was looking for: someone who could show me how to approach these design choices, steer me towards some good local resources, and be around to validate or challenge my decisions. And, who could help us stay within our tight budget. I wanted to do the legwork, but I needed someone to show me the ropes. Rachelle was completely game to consult with us as needed, charging us an hourly rate for her services.
Rachelle provided great guidance on how to approach design decisions, giving me the «homework» of reviewing lots of design blogs and magazines and keeping a file of design ideas I liked. When I had honed my vision for the bathroom design, she joined me at Import Tile and EcoHome, piecing together the color motif and tile layout. She even lent us a book about tile-​setting so that we could do the work ourselves.
The result is a bathroom that is cohesive and stylish, with a killer tile shower.
Rachelle’s flexibility and ability to understand our needs to provide solid guidance made her a great partner.

I was desperately in need of help and advice from a color consultant. I knew I couldn’t afford $ 180/​hr that most experienced consultants were charging and as luck would have it I found Rachelle to help me with my project. I had no referral for her and didn’t know what to expect. I did know I needed someone fast.
Rachelle was at my house the next day. She asked me if she could see any art work or fabrics that were going to be displayed. This was a bit tricky as most my things were in boxes due to a major remodel that I was going through. I managed to take out a few art pieces and pillows as well as an area rug. Moments later she was able to see a pattern of colors that tied together. She then created a family of colors and asked me to take out anything I truly didn’t like. Our session was over in about two hours.
The colors are absolutely awesome. My artwork has never looked so beautiful. The colors make everything «Pop». Everyone who visits my house comments on how great the colors are. One person even asked me if I used a famous color consultant that has been working in Berkeley for years! (name omitted on purpose– you don’t need that person… you need Rachelle! Her hourly rate is extremely reasonable for the service that she provides).
Rachelle is brilliant as a color consultant and I am sure the other services she offers are just as good as her skills at picking out paint colors. You can’t go wrong with Synthesis Interiors & Color.

Rachelle came in just when we needed help on our remodel. We were lost in tile and backsplash color and design choices. She carefully listened to our basic ideas, took what we had and made some brilliant suggestions which got us moving towards completion.
I think it is better to work with a colorist/​designer who has experience rather than wing the whole thing yourself. The orchestration of floor, wall, counters, backsplash, lighting and cabinets is overwhelming. We are glad we gave Synthesis I&C a call.