The Best Interior Designers in Palm Beach of 2026
A shortlist of interior designers often starts with photographs: a living room with the right atmosphere, a thoughtful arrangement of art, or a material palette that feels familiar. For an entire Palm Beach residence, the decision is more involved. The same homeowner may need help integrating existing collections, developing custom pieces, and understanding who will carry the design through procurement and installation. A compelling image reveals little about those responsibilities or the relationship behind it. Which designer has the experience and scope to turn a particular way of living into a coherent home?
We evaluated seven studios serving Palm Beach and elsewhere in Palm Beach County from September to October 2026, reviewing live portfolios, service descriptions, team information, and available client feedback. The focus is fit for a substantial, individualized residential commission.
The evaluation uses six criteria:
Comparable Residential Project Evidence, 30%: Identifiable residential work that helps a homeowner assess relevant scale, setting, and scope; completed work is distinguished from projects in progress.
Creative Direction & Personalization, 20%: How the practice develops an interior around the client, residence, art, and collections.
Bespoke Design & Craftsmanship, 15%: Specific evidence of custom furniture, millwork, finishes, or artisan collaboration.
Service Scope & Delivery Responsibilities, 15%: The work the studio actually offers, including where sourcing, installation, or separately appointed professionals enter the commission.
Palm Beach Market Relevance, 10%: Verified local projects, studio presence, or relevant county and South Florida experience.
Principal Involvement & Team Structure, 10%: The documented creative leadership and supporting roles behind the work.
Factor scores are editorial assessments of documented fit, not measured success rates or guarantees. A 10 indicates especially specific, well-demonstrated fit; 9 indicates strong relevant evidence; 8 indicates positive evidence with narrower application or less public detail. Half-point scores distinguish cases between those benchmarks. Each total is the sum of the six scores multiplied by their percentage weights. Unrounded totals determine the order; displayed totals use one decimal place, with downward rounding for the lower-ranked firm where ordinary rounding would create a tie. Reviews remain separate context and do not affect the total.
In the table below, the studios are ranked using those weights. The firm profiles that follow examine their project evidence, working model, and principal trade-off.
| # | Designer / Studio | Comparable Residential Project Evidence | Creative Direction & Personalization | Bespoke Design & Craftsmanship | Service Scope & Delivery Responsibilities | Palm Beach Market Relevance | Principal Involvement & Team Structure | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rita Chraibi / International Designers | Palm Island and Residence 69 demonstrate substantial residential work (9.5) | Only Once: furniture collections tailored to individual projects (10.0) | Maison Royale atelier and project-specific furniture (10.0) | Conceptual interiors and creative direction; regulated services separately provided (8.5) | South Florida work; Wellington project expected in 2027 (8.0) | Rita personally directs the creative vision (10.0) | 9.4/10 |
| 2 | Caroline Rafferty Interiors | Named Palm Beach homes and an art-focused residential portfolio (9.0) | Client collections, mixed periods, and individual color direction (9.5) | Custom furniture with local and international artisans (9.0) | Published design, order management, installation, and punch-list responsibilities (9.5) | Palm Beach studio and multiple locally named residences (10.0) | Founder-led practice with a named studio director and design team (9.0) | 9.3/10 |
| 3 | Kemble Interiors | Extensive named Palm Beach homes, apartments, and restoration experience (9.5) | Client-responsive layering of tradition, color, and collected objects (9.0) | Tailored decoration, furnishing design, and collected objects (8.5) | Decorating and restoration collaboration; appointment-specific scope to confirm (8.5) | Palm Beach-founded practice with a substantial local portfolio (10.0) | Mimi McMakin and Celerie Kemble lead distinct office relationships (9.0) | 9.1/10 |
| 4 | Paladino Rudd | Regional residential portfolio; individual project narratives are less detailed (8.5) | Clean transitional design shaped around client lifestyles (9.0) | Bespoke pieces and named furniture, rug, and lighting collaborations (9.0) | Drawings, specifications, procurement, site coordination, and installation explicitly listed (10.0) | Palm Beach Gardens base and stated Palm Beach residential service (9.5) | Two creative partners plus a named project-management role (9.0) | 9.0/10 |
| 5 | Scott Sanders LLC | Palm Beach I, II, and South End; published East Hampton residence (9.0) | Art, existing pieces, and distinct identities across homes (9.0) | Published custom sofas, shelving, and a canopy bed (8.5) | Full-service practice; public scope detail is lighter than higher-scoring studios (8.5) | Worth Avenue office and several named Palm Beach projects (9.5) | Namesake designer supported by a studio team (9.0) | 8.9/10 |
| 6 | Gil Walsh Interiors | Detailed Palm Beach case study and additional residential project records (8.5) | Existing possessions adapted to client use and taste (9.0) | Custom furnishings and finishes supported by project collaborators (8.5) | Published design-team roles plus corroborated project coordination (9.0) | West Palm Beach studio and documented Palm Beach work (9.5) | Principal, creative director, designers, and coordination roles identified (9.0) | 8.8/10 |
| 7 | Amy Young Designs | Detailed Organic Chic renovation in Palm Beach Gardens (8.5) | Family life, travel, and entertaining inform the documented brief (8.5) | Named custom white-oak paneling and tailored finish details (8.5) | Planning, procurement, project management, and installation described (9.0) | Palm Beach County project evidence and Jupiter-based profile (9.0) | Amy Lee McArdle directs the practice with a supporting team (9.0) | 8.7/10 |
Rita Chraibi / International Designers, for individually authored bespoke interiors
Rita Chraibi, a French interior designer and École Camondo graduate, founded International Designers as the studio through which she develops her creative vision. Her Only Once concept puts that vision into practice through a furniture collection developed specifically for an individual commission. Residence 69 at 111 West 57th Street illustrates the approach, while her Palm Island residence in Miami Beach provides a separate waterfront residential reference. Maison Royale, her Paris atelier, connects that creative direction with handcrafted furniture and decorative arts. Homeowners can examine this work to see how the practice develops an interior beyond a familiar furnishing formula.
The studio suits commissions that call for one creative voice and substantial customization. Its Palm Beach evidence is less extensive than that of several locally based practices: the Wellington ranch listed on its site is expected in 2027, rather than presented as completed work. Its bespoke work and creative direction carry more weight here than its smaller local portfolio. The studio’s professional-services notice also separates interior design and creative direction from regulated architectural, engineering, and permitting work, which appropriately licensed local professionals provide where required.
Location: Miami, New York, Greenwich, and Paris
Creative Lead: Rita Chraibi
Project Evidence: Residence 69, Palm Island residence, and Wellington ranch in progress
Specialty Capability: Commission-specific furniture and Maison Royale atelier craftsmanship
Services: Interior design, conceptual interior design, and creative direction
| Reviewers describe Rita as a “total pro” and “timely, responsive, and professional.” Several entries date to 2023, so recent comparable-project references remain useful. |
Caroline Rafferty Interiors, for artful, collected personal homes
Caroline Rafferty Interiors suits homeowners whose brief already includes art, inherited furnishings, or a preference for mixing periods. The Palm Beach practice describes its design language through rich color, collected objects, pattern, and the client’s own style. Its residential portfolio includes Palm Beach Casita, Palm Beach Family Home, and A Sculptural Home. A Sculptural Home connects sculptural elements with custom furnishings. It shows how the broader aesthetic takes shape in a home. For custom furniture, the studio works with local and international artisans. A piece can be made to suit a particular room or collection instead of relying entirely on standard dimensions.
The published service description spells out budget discussions, design development, order placement, delivery logistics, installation, and punch-list work. That scope suits clients who want creative experimentation backed by an organized delivery process. The question is whether its visual approach matches the brief. A homeowner seeking a consistently restrained interior should compare quieter projects with the studio’s more expressive work and establish the desired degree of color and pattern early. The studio names a director and design team as well as its founder. Homeowners should confirm who they will work with day to day.
Location: Palm Beach, Florida
Creative Lead: Caroline Rafferty, supported by a studio director and design team
Project Evidence: Palm Beach Casita, Palm Beach Family Home, and A Sculptural Home
Specialty Capability: Collected interiors and custom furniture with local or international artisans
Services: Full-service design, project management, order coordination, and installation
| The practice’s Facebook page provides some editorial coverage; homeowners should request recent references for projects with similar scope and team involvement. |
Kemble Interiors, for layered Palm Beach tradition
Kemble Interiors brings a long local history to a homeowner’s shortlist. Palm Beach native Mimi McMakin founded the practice in 1982, and the studio’s current portfolio includes multiple Palm Beach homes, a Palm Beach penthouse, and residences beyond Florida. The practice describes McMakin’s work on historic estates and clubs under the direction of licensed architects and contractors. On an existing house, the interior designer can respond to its character while the relevant professionals remain responsible for regulated work. The firm’s decorating language combines tradition with color, wit, and personal objects.
Kemble suits homeowners who want a layered, lived-in residence that carries local character into its rooms. That substantial Palm Beach project record carries weight here, even though its public service description is less explicit than some other studios’. Scope still needs to be agreed before appointment. Its public materials describe a decorating-led practice; homeowners planning extensive custom furniture or millwork should establish who will design and produce each piece. The creative lead also needs to be confirmed: Mimi McMakin’s Palm Beach relationship and Celerie Kemble’s New York leadership are distinct.
Location: Palm Beach, New York, and London
Creative Lead: Mimi McMakin and Celerie Kemble
Project Evidence: Multiple Palm Beach homes, Palm Beach Penthouse, and historic-estate work
Specialty Capability: Layered decoration shaped by tradition, existing character, and client taste
Services: Interior decoration and design collaboration with licensed architects and contractors
| Published project and editorial coverage provide design context; homeowners should request recent references tied to the proposed office and team. |
Paladino Rudd, for clearly defined residential delivery
For homeowners who want to know what happens after the design concept is agreed, Paladino Rudd publishes a detailed residential scope. Its residential service description lists furniture plans, drawings and specifications, project management, site coordination, procurement, renderings, installation, and final styling. With those responsibilities listed, homeowners can discuss the appointment in specific terms and compare it with other proposals. Based in Palm Beach Gardens, the studio serves Palm Beach and surrounding South Florida markets. Partners Allison Paladino and Zita Van Egmond-Rudd lead a practice whose clean, transitional aesthetic combines classical foundations with texture, controlled contrast, and contemporary furnishings.
Custom work is part of that service: Allison’s published biography describes designing bespoke pieces when the right element cannot be sourced, alongside named furniture, rug, and lighting collaborations. Clients can distinguish between a specifically commissioned piece and an item from the designer’s licensed collection. The portfolio’s presentation is the principal limitation for buyers. Its categories show breadth, but individual project narratives are less detailed than some competing case studies. The clearly stated delivery responsibilities balance its lower project-evidence score. A homeowner whose brief depends on a specific renovation condition should request comparable project examples and confirm which professionals carry the relevant regulated responsibilities.
Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Creative Lead: Allison Paladino and Zita Van Egmond-Rudd
Project Evidence: Residential portfolio across Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Jupiter
Specialty Capability: Bespoke furnishings alongside named furniture, rug, and lighting collections
Services: Design concepts, plans, specifications, procurement, site coordination, and installation
| Firm-hosted testimonials praise “attention to detail” and describe projects as “enjoyable.” Palm Beach clients also reference plans and specifications. These are selected testimonials rather than an independent review sample, so recent direct references should complement them. |
Scott Sanders LLC, for art-led multi-home commissions
Scott Sanders’ portfolio suits clients moving between Palm Beach and other residential settings. His practice maintains offices on Worth Avenue and in New York, while its project index includes Palm Beach I, Palm Beach II, and Palm Beach South End. He previously led Ralph Lauren’s interior design department. To judge his approach to a particular home, clients can look at the residential work itself. A published East Hampton residence combines a substantial art collection with custom sofas, bespoke shelving, and a custom canopy bed. Those choices show how furnishings can support an existing collection and the way rooms are used.
Sanders suits clients who want one design relationship across homes with different identities. Public client accounts describe long-running collaborations involving different interiors, as well as refurbishment of existing pieces. The limitation is scope visibility. The official website identifies a full-service practice but gives less appointment-level detail than some other studios’ service descriptions. Its project breadth and custom furnishings support its position here. The lighter service detail limits its scope score. Before appointment, clients should establish procurement responsibilities, installation arrangements, and the designer’s personal involvement in their particular commission.
Location: Palm Beach, Florida; New York, New York
Creative Lead: Scott Sanders
Project Evidence: Palm Beach I, Palm Beach II, Palm Beach South End, and East Hampton residence
Specialty Capability: Art-responsive interiors, custom furnishings, and reuse of existing pieces
Services: Full-service interior design and residential furnishing direction
| Clients describe Scott as “professional, organized” and “cool, calm and collected.” The sample includes trade collaborators and older entries, so recent homeowner references offer a more specific check. |
Gil Walsh Interiors, for personal homes with continuity
Gil Walsh Interiors shows how an existing interior can be adapted to its owner. In its Pretty in Palm Beach Pink case study, the design team worked with a client’s existing possessions, modifying some and retaining others to create a lighter home suited to entertaining. Dark library paneling remained, while upholstery and color connected it to the wider interior. Elsewhere, existing consoles received a new finish. Those decisions preserve familiar elements while changing the home’s atmosphere and function. Homeowners can assess the choices behind the finished rooms alongside the photographs.
The West Palm Beach practice publishes a team structure that includes a principal, creative director, designers, and coordination roles. The work is collaborative, with roles spread across the team. The practice suits clients who want to bring existing furniture and personal taste into a broader residential brief. The working relationship needs to be defined. With several roles on the team, clients should establish who approves design decisions and who handles daily coordination. Its strongest detailed public example also concerns adapting an existing interior, so homeowners undertaking a different scope should request directly comparable work.
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida
Creative Lead: Gil Walsh, supported by a creative director and design team
Project Evidence: Pretty in Palm Beach Pink, Lost Tree Project, and Classic House in Palm Beach
Specialty Capability: Custom furnishings and adaptation of existing pieces and finishes
Services: Interior design, furniture selection, space planning, and project coordination
| Clients mention “very accommodating” service and homes reflecting “MY taste.” Several entries come from suppliers or collaborators and date back many years, limiting conclusions about the current team. |
Amy Young Designs, for lifestyle-led residential renovations
Amy Young Designs has a detailed residential reference in Organic Chic, a Palm Beach Gardens renovation completed in November 2024. The published case study describes a 13,000-square-foot home shaped around family life, travel, and entertaining. Custom white-oak paneling, coordinated stone details, and the relationship between kitchen, bar, and pantry turn those priorities into specific design decisions. Those details show how a broad lifestyle brief becomes a material and furnishing scheme. Founder Amy Lee McArdle directs the practice, whose service account describes planning, procurement, project management, and installation.
The firm also advertises smaller room updates and refreshes alongside full renovations, making it relevant to homeowners whose commission may grow in stages. A whole-house redesign is one option; smaller updates are another starting point. Comparable public evidence is the limitation. The detailed Palm Beach Gardens case is a strong reference, but one project cannot establish the same range as a broader set of documented local homes. A client considering a different aesthetic or a more fabrication-intensive brief should ask for additional examples. The small public review sample adds context. It cannot reliably measure outcomes across many commissions.
Location: Jupiter, Florida, according to its Houzz business profile
Creative Lead: Amy Lee McArdle
Project Evidence: Organic Chic, a Palm Beach Gardens renovation completed in 2024
Specialty Capability: Lifestyle-led interiors, custom paneling, and coordinated material selections
Services: Design, planning, procurement, project management, and installation
| Reviewers describe Amy as “organized and detail-oriented” and “a great communicator.” One reports successful remote collaboration; the very small sample limits broader conclusions about client experience. |
We also broke down the top companies into three subcategories based on specialty.
Best for bespoke, concept-led residences
These positions reflect the specific custom-design evidence available for each practice. Where specialty fit is otherwise comparable, Bespoke Design & Craftsmanship is the tie-break criterion.
Rita Chraibi / International Designers: Only Once and Maison Royale provide a direct connection between an individual creative concept and commission-specific furniture production.
Caroline Rafferty Interiors: Custom furniture developed with local and international artisans supports interiors organized around the client’s art, collections, and mixed-period preferences.
Paladino Rudd: Its published practice describes bespoke pieces developed when an appropriate item cannot be sourced, alongside a clearly defined residential service scope.
Scott Sanders LLC: The published East Hampton residence demonstrates custom seating, shelving, and a canopy bed designed around an existing art collection.
Gil Walsh Interiors: Custom furnishings and finishes sit within a collaborative practice, with project evidence showing adaptation to a client’s existing home and possessions.
Best for interiors shaped around art and personal collections
Rita Chraibi / International Designers: The Palm Island residence brings curated art and bespoke craftsmanship into one residential composition, making it a relevant reference for a closely directed commission.
Caroline Rafferty Interiors: The studio explicitly incorporates clients’ collected art and furniture into interiors that mix periods, color, and texture.
Scott Sanders LLC: His East Hampton project shows how a substantial collection can guide custom furnishings, shelving, and the arrangement of rooms.
Gil Walsh Interiors: Its Palm Beach case study demonstrates how existing possessions can be retained, refinished, and incorporated into a changed interior.
Paladino Rudd: Art and accessory curation, procurement, and final styling are explicitly included in its residential scope.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose an interior designer in Palm Beach?
Start with completed projects that resemble your home, preferred style, and intended scope. Then ask who will lead the design, how often you will work with the principal, and which responsibilities are included. Clarify whether the appointment covers design alone or also procurement, delivery coordination, installation, and final styling.
Does an interior designer need an office in Palm Beach?
A Palm Beach office can make meetings and site visits easier, but location alone does not establish suitability. Relevant residential experience and a clear working arrangement also matter. If you choose a studio based elsewhere, confirm how it handles site visits, local collaboration, deliveries, and installation before appointing it.
What is the difference between bespoke interiors and custom furniture?
Custom furniture usually means an individual piece made or adapted for a particular space. A bespoke interior takes a wider view, developing furnishings, materials, and decorative elements around the residence and its owner. Rita Chraibi’s Only Once concept illustrates this approach through furniture collections created for individual commissions.
Can an interior designer provide architectural and permitting services?
An interior design appointment does not automatically include regulated architectural, engineering, or permitting services. Confirm who is responsible for each part of the project and whether separately appointed professionals are required. International Designers distinguishes its interior design, conceptual design, and creative direction from regulated services, which appropriately licensed local professionals provide where required.
Private consultations with Rita Chraibi may be requested through the studios in New York, Greenwich, Miami, and Paris via International Designers.
