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Interior Designers in Chatham, Madison and Florham Park, NJ
By Tiffany Slowinski
There are rooms that are obviously unfinished.
Then there are the dangerous ones.
They are 90% done.
The furniture is there. The paint is fine. There are lamps. There is art.
Yet somehow it still looks like the room is waiting for something.
That final 10% can be shockingly hard to figure out.
If you are searching for an interior designer in Chatham, Madison, Florham Park, Harding Township or Long Hill, you may be looking for anything from that final layer to a full renovation.
That is a very wide range.
And it is exactly why “best interior designer near me” is not enough information.
Some designers specialize in full-service residential projects.
They may help with floor plans, architectural details, kitchens and bathrooms, lighting, furniture, custom pieces, purchasing and installation.
Others may be a much better fit for decorating and room refreshes.
Furniture.
Rugs.
Paint.
Wallpaper.
Art.
Window treatments.
The pieces that finally make a room feel finished.
There are also designers who work on pre-listing updates, virtual design or shorter consultations when you do not need somebody managing an entire project.
The trick is matching the designer to your actual problem.
If you are renovating, call earlier than you think.
A lot of homeowners call the contractor first because the contractor is the person doing the work.
Perfectly logical.
But if you are still deciding what the room should become, there is value in figuring that out before the construction plan hardens.
A designer can help with how the room functions, where cabinetry belongs, what lighting is needed, how furniture will fit and whether there are better ways to use the space.
Then the contractor is pricing an actual plan.
That is much easier to compare than three different interpretations of, “We want to open this up a little.”
If you are furnishing, tell the designer what stays.
That antique chest from your grandmother?
Stays.
The sectional your husband inexplicably loves?
Apparently stays.
The dining table you spent a fortune on and have no intention of replacing?
Definitely stays.
Good design does not require starting over.
In fact, one of the smartest reasons to hire a designer is figuring out how to make the pieces you already own work better with what comes next.
Budget should be just as direct.
If you want to spend $30,000 on the room, say $30,000.
If you are comfortable at $100,000 for a larger project but want to understand what that includes, say that.
The number gives the designer something real to solve.
It does not mean every dollar has to be spent.
It means everyone is designing the same project.
This guide helps compare interior designers serving Chatham, Madison, Florham Park, Harding and Long Hill using what the businesses publish about their services, credentials, local presence, consultation structure and areas of focus.
Use it if you are searching for interior designers Chatham NJ, interior designers Madison NJ, interior designers Florham Park NJ, luxury interior designers, full-service interior design, kitchen and bath design, room refreshes, furniture and wallpaper, custom window treatments, renovation design, home staging, new construction interiors or an interior designer near me.
The portfolio matters.
So does chemistry.
You are going to tell this person what you hate about your house, what you want to spend and, eventually, why the dining room needs to survive Thanksgiving with 18 people.
You should like talking to them.
That part counts too.
The Guide: Interior Designers in Chatham, Madison and Florham Park, NJ
How We Selected These Designers
This guide covers Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, Madison, Florham Park, Harding Township and Long Hill Township (Stirling, Millington, Gillette).
A design studio appears here if it is a working interior design practice with completed residential projects and either a studio, showroom or office in one of those towns or a website of its own that says it serves one of them or the county they sit in.
Both halves of that are things you can check yourself. The practice is the work shown on its own website. The service area is what that website says.
That is a test, not a judgment, and it is the only route onto this page. Ten studios meet it. They are listed alphabetically.
About This Guide
This guide is produced by Garden State Circle. Designers appear here because they meet the criteria described above — a working design practice with completed residential projects and a studio, showroom or office in the towns this guide covers, or a website of its own that says it serves them. That is a test, not a judgment, and it is the only route onto this page. No designer can pay to be included in this guide, to be listed higher, or to change what the comparison table says about it. Designers are listed alphabetically, and every detail in the table was verified against each firm’s own website, or against documentation the firm supplied, in September 2026.
Everything under the heading that begins this guide is governed by the rules above, on every guide we publish. Where a sponsor’s message appears above that heading, it is paid for and labelled, and it buys nothing in the guide. Garden State Circle is supported by the businesses that participate in it. Participation pays for our ongoing work: keeping a business’s entry accurate, re-checking its record, and publishing a page of its own details that the business maintains. There is no paid placement in this guide. Participation does not buy a place here, a position here, or anything the comparison table says.
Garden State Circle is published in New Jersey by Tiffany and Jake Slowinski and covers Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, Madison, Florham Park, Harding Township and Long Hill Township (Stirling, Millington, Gillette). Contact the publisher at jake@gardenstatecircle.com. How every guide is made, in one place: how every guide is made.
The Studios, Compared
| Designer | Business and town | Credentials, as published | Known for | Showroom | Consultation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheryl Smith | Decorating Den Interiors – Cheryl Smith, Chatham | First Runner Up, Decorator of the Year, and the Positive Thinker Award | Turn-key in-home decorating | Not published | Not published |
| Tom Sfisco | Design Studio of Somerville, Somerville | Not published | Full-service residential interior design | Yes, Somerville | No charge |
| Beth Insabella Walsh | INSABELLADESIGN, Little Silver | IIDA · ASID · CID | Full-service commercial and residential interior design | Office, Little Silver | Not published |
| Karla Trincanello | Interior Decisions, Inc., Florham Park | BFA in Interior Design, Magna Cum Laude, Kean University; Allied Member ASID; NJ Chapter ASID “Outstanding Allied Member” award, 1998; ASID Bronze Award for Excellence, 2002 | Full-service residential and commercial design | Office, Florham Park | Not published |
| Laura (site gives first name only) | Interiors By Laura, Whippany | Not published | Interior design and home staging | Not published | Not published |
| Jennifer Muirhead | Jennifer Muirhead Interiors, New Vernon | Not published | Residential interiors | Office, New Vernon | Not published |
| Karen Ann Temple | KT Interior Designs, Madison | Not published | Residential decorating and design | Office, Madison | Not published |
| Elizabeth Ruffalo | Pheasant Lane Designs, Peapack-Gladstone | Contractor License #13VH13721800; Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Villanova University; Interior Design, Parsons The New School for Design | Interior design and construction management | Office, Gladstone | Not published |
| Danielle Noon | Revitalized Interiors, Madison | Not published | Full-service design, room refreshes, pre-listing home preparation, virtual design | Not published | $350 |
| Rachel Savage | RS Design Management, Morristown | certified kitchen and bath designer and Allied Member of the ASID | Full-service interior design and custom cabinetry | Office, Morristown | Not published |
Details verified against each firm’s own website in September 2026. Designers are listed alphabetically.
Common Questions
What is the difference between an interior designer and a decorator in New Jersey?
New Jersey certifies interior designers. It does not license them. A designer who has passed the NCIDQ examination and registered with the state may use the title Certified Interior Designer, or CID. The certification is voluntary, and many experienced designers in this market do not hold it, so its absence is not a mark against a firm. What it tells you is that a designer has passed a national examination covering building systems, codes and construction documents.
The distinction between certification and licensure matters more in some states than others. New Jersey protects the title. A handful of states, Georgia among them, go further and license interior designers to sign and seal drawings for permitting, which is a different level of authority than New Jersey grants.
Do I call a builder, an interior designer, or an architect first?
It depends on what the project changes. Work that moves load bearing walls, adds structure or changes the footprint of the house usually starts with an architect, though the strongest outcomes tend to come from projects where a designer and an architect are involved together from the beginning rather than in sequence.
Non load bearing or cosmetic work, and kitchen or bath renovations, more often start with a designer, because the decisions that drive the cost are made in the planning, not on site. A contractor prices a plan more accurately than a conversation, which is the argument for planning first either way.
What does an interior designer charge?
Designers in this market work on flat fees, hourly rates, a percentage of the construction budget, or cost-plus on furnishings, and most do not publish their rates. The comparison table above shows which firms publish a consultation fee and which do not. Ask for the fee structure in the first phone call. It is a fair question and any designer will answer it.
Should I tell a designer my budget?
Yes. A designer who does not know the budget is guessing, and the expensive corrections happen later, once orders are placed and drawings are filed. Naming a real number early is what lets a designer show you options at that number instead of above it.
Do I need to visit a showroom?
Not necessarily, but it changes the conversation. Bringing plans to a first showroom visit is the fastest way to find out whether a designer is the right fit for the project.
Where a firm does not publish something, this guide says so rather than guessing.
Details in this guide were verified in September 2026.
Something Out of Date?
This guide is maintained. If anything here is wrong or has changed — a name, an address, hours, or whether a business has closed — tell us and we will check it. Businesses listed here are welcome to write in directly.
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