Last updated on July 4th, 2024 at 03:02 pm
Hiring the right Connecticut interior design studio to complete your new custom home project is usually the last step most homeowners think of, but indeed it is one of the most important. The right interior designer will collaborate with your architects and builders to create a cohesive look that suits your needs, budget, and tastes. Whether selecting tiles and hardwoods, crafting custom lighting and custom furniture, or picking the right paint colors and arranging space to suit your lifestyle and the home’s architecture, an interior decorator will put all the finishing touches to turn your house into a home. We researched and came up with the 10 best interior design studios in Connecticut. They have rightfully earned many industry accolades and been published widely. When it comes to completing the look on your new custom home, consider hiring one of these elite companies.
These award-winning CT interior design firms have portfolios that are as impressive as they are diverse. From modern interiors in a high-rise apartment and designing comfortable, high-end vacation homes along Connecticut’s rocky coastline, these professionals are experts at their craft. Although many of these design firms are based in Greenwich and New Haven or seem to be centered in Fairfield County and Litchfield County, they can all work throughout the state and most even design projects regularly in neighboring New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. In some cases, these decorators are even work on projects across the country or internationally.
These designers offer a range of services to suit your needs, from whole house designs to lower-cost options focusing on just a few important rooms, such as the kitchen and master bedroom. They will work directly with you to select materials that match your needs and budget. As decorators, they keep up on all the interior design trends and can help you sort through your design ideas to select the ones that will work for you in the long-term.
About our methodology: We considered hundreds of professionals while making this list of the 10 best custom home interior designers in Connecticut. In addition to professional associations, we heavily weighed recognition the firm has received in the form of awards and press, any prestigious clientele they have worked with, whether or not they collaborate with other top industry professionals, including architects and builders, and what geographic areas they work in, with the more exclusive and high-end neighborhoods having greater influence. We also took into account the value of the projects they undertake, years in the business, customer reviews for quality and service, and range of services offered. Although many CT homeowners have the option of hiring interior designers based in New York City or Boston due to proximity, there are plenty of in-state decorators who can more than surpass your needs, and we decided to focus on those for this list.
If you are thinking about designing a home interior, we recommend checking each contractor’s license with the local licensing board, speaking to past clients, and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes from at least 3 contractors. Getting multiple bids is the best way to ensure you get a fair price and that bids include the complete scope of work.
10) D2 Interieurs
Weston, CT
Where they work: Connecticut and New York
Since 2010, D2 Interieurs has been creating beautiful homes in New York City, Easthampton, Southampton, Fairfield and Litchfield Counties, as well as throughout New York’s historic Hudson Valley. Recognized and sought after for their distinct use of color, pattern, and texture, D2 is helmed by award-winning designer and CEO Denise Davies who infuses her business with an infectious “joie de vivre” and an in-house team of fellow designers, architects and project managers. The D2 team mixes their love of modern sophistication with a little rock & roll to achieve a fun yet timeless look. Their work has been published widely, including in Connecticut Cottages + Designs, athome, New York Cottages & Gardens, East Coast Home + Design, HGTV Magazine, Serendipity, USA Today Home, WAG Magazine, East Coast Home+Design, and New England Home, among others. They have earned numerous local awards, including at the annual CT Cottages & Gardens awards.
D2 Interieurs fuses a fresh, modern and “perfectly current” look with a proven approach to interior design. D2’s signature has become creating sophisticated, chic, family friendly environments matched to each individual client’s needs and tastes.
Design by D2 Interieurs. Photo by Denise Davies
Founder Denise Davies is an avid collector of mid-century modern art, artifacts, and furniture and a sponsor of many local artists and craftspeople. She is active in the local design community and believes in the importance of close collaboration among designers, artists, and craftspeople. These passions influence her design work for clients and ability to procure unique and one-of-a-kind pieces. Prior to founding her design practice in 2010, she had a 20-year career as a fashion executive in New York City, Los Angeles, and Florence.
9) Lee Ann Thornton Design
341 Shore Road Greenwich, CT 06830
Where they work: Throughout the Northeast and elsewhere in the United States
Greenwich-based designer Lee Ann Thornton launched her interior design firm in 2003 and has been designing high-end residences since that time. The practice later opened a second office in New York City to better serve her clients. Thornton’s exquisite home designs can be seen in homes from Greenwich, New York, Los Angeles, and Florida to Rhode Island and Nantucket. Her work has been prominently featured in many articles and publications, most recently House Beautiful, Coastal Living, Connecticut Cottages, and 7 Gardens. Lee Ann Thornton Interiors has received numerous awards, including Connecticut Cottages and Gardens 2015 Innovation in Design Award for Interior Design.
“My intention is to design homes where my clients will make memories. I envision how they will live and celebrate. I like all things pretty and that is the driving force behind my designs.” – Lee Ann Thornton
Thornton’s design aesthetic was informed growing up in New York City, Connecticut, and Los Angeles and she manages to seamlessly blend the bi-coastal influences into an original, trademark style. Her homes are both warm and luxurious with a playful and lively tradition, infused with fine details and loads of personal touches. She works closely with clients to create spaces that reflect their individual lifestyles, making her a top-choice for all styles, from contemporary homes to classic houses for busy families. Hallmarks of her practice are the use of beautiful fabrics, inviting palettes, and colorations combined with original and graceful furniture.
8) Lynn Morgan Design
111 Rowayton Ave, Norwalk, CT 06853
Where they work: Nationwide
Over 20 years, Lynn Morgan Design (LMD) has become a highly respected interior designer throughout New England. LMD has been recognized as one of America’s top design firms by House Beautiful and has been featured in almost every top shelter magazine. Published projects have been featured in Coastal Living, CT Cottage & Gardens, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Renovation Style & Traditional Home, athome, and Connecticut Cottages & Gardens. She personally has been featured in Colefax & Fowler’s “Interior Transformation”, “East Coast Rooms” by Anne Kasabian, and an A&E Television Special “Beautiful Decorating”, which featured her own home. Morgan is also listed in the Franklin Report and has worked with top architects on residential projects, including Beinfield Architecture.
“…I’d say my ‘hallmark’ is what I’d describe as refined simplicity with dashes of color and modernism – but sophisticated. Although I’d characterize my taste as traditional, I do have great appreciation for contemporary details and how they contribute to the overall design effect.” – Lynn Morgan, on her decorating style
Lynn Morgan’s designs are clean, crisp, and fresh with a touch of whimsy. Although traditional in style, each home blends a range of aesthetics with personalized choices designed to reflect each client’s lifestyle. LMD’s projects have been primarily in Metropolitan New York, and Connecticut with the addition of many vacation properties in Nantucket, Vermont, Martha’s Vineyard, Palm Beach, and the Rockies.
7) Carol Flanagan Interior Design
PO Box 31063 Greenwich, CT 06831
Where they work: Connecticut, New York, Colorado, and Nantucket
Carol Flanagan Interior Design is a Greenwich-based interior design and decorating practice that has gained an impressive following and loyal client-base. For over 20 years, principal designer and founder Carol Flanagan has applied her unique eye to countless residential spaces in New York, Connecticut, Florida, Colorado, and Nantucket. Her signature style is simple and yet distinctly timeless and elegant, with a focus on color, texture, and space. Her overarching goal is to enhance the everyday lives of her clients through her thoughtful design. A graduate of the Parson’s School of Design, Flanagan launched her practice after a successful career in product marketing in the cosmetics business. Her home designs have been included in Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, New England Home, and Elle Decor’s Dering Hall and won awards from CT Cottages & Gardens.
6) Beth Krupa Interiors
259-A Sound Beach Ave, Old Greenwich, CT 06870
Where they work: Mainly northeast region
Beth Krupa has won 3 Designer of the Year awards from the Interior Design Society, among other national awards. Created out of her own Greenwich-based interior design studio, Krupa designs are both inspiring and sophisticated. The full-service boutique design firm seeks to create highly personalized spaces that capture individual personalities and needs. Creating what they call ‘lifestyle environments’, Beth Krupa Interiors’ designs impact how clients live, work, and move throughout their newly finished space. The work of Beth Krupa Interiors (BKI) has most recently been seen in East Coast Home + Design, Design + Decor, Serendipity, and Social Life Magazine.
“As a designer, I believe that design transforms not only our homes, but also our outlook.” – Beth Krupa
BKI designs spaces with a global perspective that comes from Krupa’s experience living and working abroad for several years in London, India, and Hong Kong. This, along with her experiences in NYC, continue to influence her firm’s designs. Her goal in any project is to “create a distinct and meaningful sense of place for her clients, and she loves seeing how everyone thrives when this is accomplished at the end of each project.” She leads her talented support team with the perspective that great style is all about editing, and editing well. Her spaces are defined as much by their usefulness as they are their beauty.
5) Charlotte Barnes Interior Design & Decoration
173 Davis Ave, Greenwich, CT 06830
Where they work: Across the United States and abroad
Founded in 1995, Charlotte Barnes Interior Design creates stunning residential spaces from their Greenwich studio, ranging from a refined New York City apartment to a vacation estate in Martha’s Vineyard, and residential and commercial spaces in England, Spain, Colorado, Florida, The Adirondacks, and beyond. Founder Charlotte Barnes was honored with an Innovation in Design Award and inducted into the New England Design Hall of Fame in 2015 for her elegant, warm, and intimate spaces. Her designs have been included in CT Cottages & Gardens, House & Garden, athome, New England Home, Serendipity, Kitchen + Bath Ideas, ID Boston, British House & Garden, Elle Decor, US House & Garden, and New American Luxury, and won awards including from CT Cottages & Gardens.
“In every project we have one goal — to deliver the most satisfying, individual experience for every client and to leave them with a space that feels inspiring, authentic, evolved and collected. We take the time to truly understand how our clients want to live and in doing so, we are able to layer in the elements that make the space both personal and successful.” – Charlotte Barnes
Her aesthetic is “grounded in a stylistic mélange of luxurious materials — an eclectic mix of the contemporary and antique with attention to detail and a measured restraint.” Her spaces are distinctly classic, but with a clean and modern infusion. She began her creative career in fashion and honed her visual decoration skills while living and working abroad. Her own interior design practice was born after her own Londo home was published in British House & Garden in 1995. In addition to her interior design work, Barnes also runs a 30-piece furniture collection, Collection Charlotte Barnes, which was launched in 2014. Her goal in the line’s creation was to offer her clients special pieces that can pull a room together. Each design combines classical and contemporary references in a sleek, elegant way.
4) Last Detail Interior Design
45 Mansfield Ave, Darien, CT 06820
Where they work: Connecticut and New York
Last Detail Interior Design is an award-winning interior design studio run by Carey Karlan. With 20 years of experience, Karlan — a three-time winner and finalist of the A-List Awards and a finalist for Cottages and Gardens Innovation in Design Awards — creates clean, timeless interiors throughout Fairfield and Westchester Counties extending to Manhattan, San Francisco, Florida, the Cape, Nantucket, and the Hamptons. Her work is frequently featured in athome, Greenwich Magazine, Cottages and Gardens, New England Home Connecticut, Serendipity, and Open House NY.
“A unique aspect of my design method is that I offer a “Finishing Touches” service near the end of a project. Once the basic special order items have arrived, I come with a truck and a team and we add whatever accessories/art/bookcase items/throws/lamps etc. are needed for a completely finished look. There is a big reveal, and the client keeps only what pleases them. This is a very successful program as those last details are often the hardest to complete.” – Carey Karlan
The approach of Last Detail embraces the concept of flexibility which enables the team to create spaces that suit their specific style, habits, and budget needs. Karlan has a keen ability to translate clients’ personal designers into sophisticated, stunning spaces, which has enabled her to build an impressive and loyal portfolio of repeat clients. Her projects have ranged from sprawling country estates to Pied a terre’s to in urban apartments and cozy vacation homes.
3) Pimlico Interiors
215 Elm Street, 2nd Floor, New Canaan, CT 06840
Where they work: Nationwide
Recognized for luxurious yet approachable spaces, Pimlico Interiors has rightfully earned a place at the top of the Connecticut interior design scene. Their homes are completed in a range of styles — from traditional to rustic to modern — yet all the while remaining highly refined and sophisticated. The Pimlico Interiors team collaborates closely with a team of architects, builders, craftsmen, and clients to turn a vision into a reality. They are known for focusing on every last detail of a project and working tirelessly to understand a client’s needs. Pimlico Interiors has been featured by athome gardens, Luxe, and HGTV Magazine, among others.
“I help shape and define my clients’ vision while creatively pushing them just enough to create a home that is optimally functional, beautiful and better than what they expected.” – Melissa Lindsay, co-owner and principal of Pimlico Interiors
Pimlico Interiors also runs a high-end shop that is arranged by Jill Saunders, co-owner and principal of Pimlico, to elevate client’s moods and rouse their sense. She has put together a superb and unique collection of accessories that help homeowners find the perfect ‘statement-making’ piece. In addition to full-scale custom home designs, Pimlico Interiors also offers ‘PIMLICO POLISH’ — a more limited service designed for those with small projects or the desire to freshen up an existing home or work on just one room.
2) Douglas Graneto Design
61 Ridgeview Ave, Greenwich, CT 06830
Where they work: Nationwide with select projects abroad
Douglas Graneto Design is a prominent award-winning design firm based in Greenwich, CT. Since launching his own firm in 2006, Douglas has expanded his design work across various projects in a variety of locations such as New York, Connecticut, Florida, Virginia, the mid-west, and the Caribbean. He has been in the interior design industry for over 20 years and specializes in luxury decor as well as designing custom furniture and vintage restoration. He took this background and melded it into his signature style, becoming known for his classically influenced modernism with a flawless dedication to individuality. Today, he is widely recognized for his ability to create a “classic juxtaposition between vintage and modern.” He has been featured in top tier media such as Architectural Digest, ELLE Decor, CT Cottages & Gardens, NYC Cottages & Gardens, Yahoo!, HGTV, Home + Design, and more. His environments are both timeless and livable and have the sense that they only improve over time.
“The client – that’s the biggest inspiration. Every client has a different personality, style, and agenda with their home – whether that be a newly married couple settling into their first house together or a family of four looking for a kid-friendly space. I create a marriage with the client that leverages their goals and their taste with what I find inspiring. That could be museum artwork, sightings during travel, or rising trends in the decor industry. I find a way to bridge the gap between those things and the client so the outcome is a creation embodying the client’s desires and classic design..” – Douglas Graneto
1) Rinfret Ltd. Design & Decoration
39 Lewis Street, Greenwich, CT
Where they work: Across the United States
Rinfret Ltd. Design & Decoration is a top-tier interior design practice based in Greenwich and run by internationally renowned principal designer Cindy Rinfret. Rinfret is known for her luxurious yet comfortable design aesthetic and has gained a loyal following for her sophisticated and one-of-a-kind designs. Not surprisingly, she has earned many high-profile clients, including Tommy Hilfiger and Regis Philbin. Rinfret was inducted into the New England Design Hall of Dame in 2013. Her practice is consistently honored with important design awards and editorial coverage in the most respected interior design magazines, including Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, and Traditional Home, among many others. Awards include multiple CTC&G Innovation in Design Awards and athome A-List Awards, as well as inclusion on Luxe Interiors + Design’s Gold List and having one of their recent projects named Mountain Living’s Home of the Year. Rinfret herself has been recognized three times by the Andrew Martin Interior Design Review as one of the world’s leading interior designers (most recently in 2017 and 2016).
“Your home should be like your favorite outfit – comfortable, yet luxurious, like the perfect cashmere sweater with your most comfortable and understated, yet elegant, jeans.” – Cindy Rinfret, on her design philosophy
Rinfret has been creating iconic interior design and defining true “Classic Greenwich Style” for thirty years. She has an enviable background with an education from the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Copenhagen School. She has assembled a talented design team at her practice which includes an in-house architect, allowing her to offer sophisticated and well-rounded full-service design options. She has come out with two books: Classic Greenwich Style (Rizzoli 2006) and Greenwich Style: Inspired Family Homes (Rizzoli 2013).
How can I find a contractor or home builder near me?
Read our latest articles on the best residential contractors and home builders in and near Connecticut. If you don’t see your city or project type below, just let us know – we are happy to create a tailored recommendation list just for you.
The Best General Contractors in Connecticut
The Best Custom Home Builders in Connecticut
The Best Residential Architects in Connecticut
About Our Rankings
This list takes a range of ranking criteria into consideration, including but not limited to: work history, customer satisfaction, awards and recognition, geographic area of work, cost, building permits, and clientele. We spent over 40 hours researching local contractors before calculating the final ranking for this post. If there is additional information about your business that could affect these rankings, please fill out this form and we will take it into consideration
Get Bids For Your Build
If you are thinking about designing a home interior, we recommend checking each contractor’s license with the local licensing board, speaking to past clients, and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes from at least 3 contractors. Getting multiple bids is the best way to ensure you get a fair price and that bids include the complete scope of work.
