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Interior Designers in Montville and Kinnelon, NJ
By Tiffany Slowinski
There is a particular kind of home-design frustration that sounds like this:
“I like everything in here. So why does the room still look wrong?”
That is usually not a shopping problem.
It is a design problem.
Scale.
Layout.
Lighting.
Color.
Too many things competing.
Not enough contrast.
The rug that should have been two feet bigger.
The console table that is somehow making the entire wall angry.
If you are searching for an interior designer in Montville, Towaco, Pine Brook or Kinnelon, this guide is designed to help you figure out who can solve the version of the problem you actually have.
Maybe you need decorating.
Maybe you need full-service interior design.
Maybe you are renovating a kitchen or bathroom.
Maybe you are changing the layout.
Maybe you bought a new home and need help making the rooms feel connected.
Maybe you have lived there for 15 years and are ready for it to stop looking like 2011.
Fair.
The first question I would ask any designer is what size and type of project they are best suited for.
Some firms want whole-home or renovation work.
Others are great at room-by-room design.
Some focus on furnishings.
Some have stronger construction and space-planning capabilities.
Some offer virtual design or a one-time consultation.
You do not need to hire a full project team to pick wallpaper.
You also do not want a decorating-only scope if you are moving walls and redesigning a kitchen.
Match the service to the job.
If the project includes construction, ask how the designer works with the contractor and architect.
Who creates the plan?
Who selects finishes?
Who tracks decisions?
Who checks that the lighting, millwork, hardware, plumbing and furniture all make sense together?
This is the part that sounds boring until one pendant is centered over the old island location.
Then it becomes fascinating.
If the project is furnishing, ask whether the designer will use your existing pieces.
Most homeowners do not want to start with an empty house.
We own things.
Some of them we even like.
A thoughtful design can mix old and new instead of replacing everything for the sake of a cleaner presentation.
Budget should be part of the first conversation.
Not because the designer is trying to spend it.
Because she needs to know what she is solving for.
There is a huge difference between furnishing a room for $15,000 and furnishing it for $75,000.
Both can be good design.
They just require different decisions.
This Garden State Circle guide compares interior designers serving Montville and Kinnelon based on what each practice publishes about its services, credentials, service area and consultation structure.
Use it if you are searching for interior designers Montville NJ, interior designers Kinnelon NJ, interior designers Towaco, interior decorators Pine Brook, full-service interior design, home renovation design, kitchen and bath design, furniture selection, custom window treatments, space planning, new construction design or home design consultations near me.
Start with what bothers you.
Seriously.
That is often more useful than trying to describe your “style.”
A good designer can work from there.
The Guide: Interior Designers in Montville and Kinnelon, NJ
How We Selected These Designers
This guide covers Montville (mailing names Towaco and Pine Brook are inside Montville), Kinnelon.
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. Five 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 Montville and Kinnelon. 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 |
| Laura (site gives first name only) | Interiors By Laura, Whippany | Not published | Interior design and home staging | Not published | 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.
More Garden State Circle Guides
Every guide we publish is listed at Garden State Circle Guides.
Part of Montville-Kinnelon Guides