Charmean Neithart Interiors

South Pasadena, California, United States

I love interior design and all things houses. It has been my great privilege to create spaces over the last fifteen years for a varied and loyal clientele. The collaborative nature of projects with clients is my favorite part. I like spaces that I design to read like a biography of the clients needs, experiences and travels. I consider it sport to have every detail of the room give a perspective on the client. Charmean Neithart Interiors is a full-service, high-end residential design office with a full-time staff and ten years of experience. We are based in South Pasadena, CA and have projects throughout Southern California.

Services Provided

Bathroom Design, Bedroom Design, Closet Design, Color Consulting, Custom Bathroom Vanities, Custom Blinds & Shades, Custom Bookcases, Custom Built-ins, Custom Cabinets, Custom Entertainment Centers, Custom Fireplace Mantels, Custom Furniture, Custom Home Bars, Custom Kitchen Cabinets, Custom Pantries, Custom Shelving, Custom Walk-in Closets, Dining Room Design, Downsizing, Drafting, Floor Plans, Furniture Selection, Historic Building Conservation, Home Office Design, Home Theater Design, Interior Design, Kids Bedroom Design, Kitchen Design, Kitchen Remodeling, Laundry Room Design, Lighting Design, Living Room Design, Nursery Design, Playroom Design, Space Planning, Sunroom Design & Construction, Wine Cellar Design

Areas Served

Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Burbank, East Pasadena, Glendale, Hollywood, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Crescenta-Montrose, Monrovia, Montrose, North Glendale, Pasadena, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, South San Gabriel, Temple City, Whittier, Santa Barbara

48 Projects for Charmean Neithart Interiors

Soft Modern in La Canada

18 photos

San Marino, USA

Cape Cod in San Marino

104 photos

Pasadena, USA

Multi-Purpose Room with Kitchenette

42 photos

Northeast Los Angeles, Pasadena, USA

Classic Mediterranean in Pasadena

22 photos

South Arroyo, Pasadena, USA

Soft Blush Bedroom in Pasadena

29 photos

South Pasadena, USA

Spanish Kitchen in South Pasadena

11 photos

Pasadena, USA

Elegant Master Suite in Pasadena

12 photos

Pasadena, CA

Asian Inspired Kitchen

34 photos

South Pasadena, USA

Blue Spanish Revival Bathroom

French Colonial in Pasadena

200 photos

South Arroyo, Pasadena, USA

Hot Pink Bedroom in Pasadena

20 photos

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85 Reviews for Charmean Neithart Interiors

Melissa Heuer

Relationship

Client

Project Date

Jan 2018

Project Price

> than £100,000

We built a large home from the ground up and hired Charmean to design all of the finishes (flooring, tile, paint, countertops, cabinet design, lighting, etc.) and furniture for the entire house. Everything that went well with our project is due (almost) entirely to Charmean and her fantastic team. Charmean is extremely talented and a true professional in her field. Not only does she design beautiful spaces with every last detail accounted for, but she is also practical. Her selections take into account the lifestyle of the user(s), not just the aesthetics. We have three small boys, so we didn't want to waste our time and money on furniture that would be destroyed by them instantly, but we also wanted our newly built home to look lovely. Charmean's selections made this possible. We have stunning furniture and finishes that are also still durable. She has been in this business long enough to know which brands will stand the test of time and which will fall short. Charmean and her team are also excellent project managers. We were never waiting on her selections to arrive or waiting for a design of hers to be completed. Everything was where it needed to be when it needed to be there without our any work or worries on our part. Even though Charmean was not hired as a contractor, she and her team are the reason the job kept moving. Her organizational skills saved us time and money. And the end result is breathtaking. We could not be more pleased with our house. We owe it all to Charmean!

23 May, 2018

Lauren Albrecht

Relationship

Client

Project Date

Apr 2016

Project Price

> than £100,000

Charmean and her team at CNI were wonderful to work with - professional, courteous, and insightful. We met several times to look at colors, go over layouts, and refine decisions. Each time, she came back with great ideas that captured our desired look perfectly. Now that our formal living room, family room, and kitchen are remodeled, we look forward to working with Charmean and her team again on other rooms and areas of our house. In addition, Charmean helped us pick out exterior paint colors, which we just finished and we're thrilled with the colors she suggested for us. Thank you Charmean, JR, and Liv!

28 September, 2017

Kimberly Sutantyo

Relationship

Client

Project Date

Aug 2016

Project Price

> than £100,000

I am proud to share my home with people because of Charmean's design. People describe my home as - comfortable, welcoming, family friendly with the perfect touch of elegance, well thought out, relaxing. Charmean designed my living and family rooms, master bedroom, full remodel of the powder and master bathrooms, and color tones for the remaining parts of the house. She was quick, and efficient both financially and with time. She had approximately 3 months to transform the house before we moved and and had our baby, and she made it happen! She recommended our General Contractor (was was excellent!) and they communicated with each other, never having to involve me in the stress of change orders or issues. She was very mindful of our budget and and advised us on where we should spend our money on materials and furniture. I love how each piece of furniture is unique to our house, compliments each other, and is durable. Charmean created a beautiful flow for our house, using a warm and soothing color palette. She layered patterns and textures in each room. We love CNI's work so much that we intend to continue to work with Charmean to remodel the our kitchen, mud room, and bonus living area in the future.

13 March, 2017

Waterford Construction

Relationship

Colleague

Project Date

Oct 2016

Project Price

> than £100,000

Hands down, Charmean and her team are the absolute best I've ever worked with. She really listens to the clients’ needs and wishes and delivers beyond expectations! She is so considerate to not only the clients’ needs but also my needs as the contractor. She understands how important it is to have all the materials ordered and ready to go prior to construction. She is honestly the only Designer that has every detail figured out before we start the construction process so there are literally no questions needed. Of course questions do come up during the construction process in situations where we are unable to do what the drawing are specifying and Charmean asks what our options are and her team waste no time getting me answers I need to move forward to keep the job on schedule and within budget for the clients. And the most joy I think I get with working with Charmean has to be at the end of the project and the clients walk in to see it fully furnish and you truly see the joy in the clients’ eyes and can't believe what we were able to do for them. It’s very rewarding what we do, and Charmean takes great pride in what she does. She does it because she loves it and I think that sets her apart from the rest. She’s the whole package! So if you are thinking of hiring a designer look no further then Charmean Neithart Interiors!

9 February, 2017Last modified:8 March, 2017

Saxum Tile Design Studio

Relationship

Colleague

Project Date

n/a

Project Price

n/a

We have worked with Charmean Neithart Interiors on several projects and she and her team are very special. Their attention to detail but having the vision to see the whole project is such a rare quality.

9 February, 2017Last modified:9 February, 2017

A. G.

Relationship

Client

Project Date

Apr 2014

Project Price

> than £100,000

Charmean is a master at creating a space/design that reflects the best of what you want and what you need. She will take away all the worry and second guessing you'd have trying to do the project yourself or with someone less astute. Instead, you will get to enjoy the process of your dream home unfolding. My favorite part of working with Charmean is staging day. You will need to get out of the house for a few hours but when you come back..Viola! After months of anticipation, Charmean and her team will have actualized your exclusive design no detail spared...I am talking "candy in the bowl" done. Perfection...Charmean makes it look so easy. We have down almost every room in our house with Charmean. She is a pleasure, personally and professionally.

27 October, 2016

patricia winters

Relationship

Client

Project Date

Nov 2015

Project Price

£50,000 – £100,000

Charmean Neithart Interiors (CNI) just completed a "head to toe" kitchen remodel in my 1939 California Spanish home. Not only am I stunned by the beauty of the final work, but extremely happy that I found a design team who are ethical, professional, and communicative. I found CNI via a happy accident after a very poor remodel that began unraveling a year after the work was completed. Moreover, the kitchen space was a challenge as it was inefficient and poorly constructed. CNI came in, we made plans, worked a budget, and made what was once a fantasy, reality. My family and I now have a kitchen that is as beautiful as it is usable. It literally stops people in their tracks as they view the holistic design and layout. Without breaking down walls, CNI made the kitchen seem bigger and magically made what was once an eyesore, art. Not only do I highly recommend CNI, but I am planning on using the design team for every room in my home. It turns out that when one works with talented people, hours of stress disappear and thousands of dollars are saved. CNI is that team. I will never go back to trying to do it on my own, nor will I work with anyone else.

1 August, 2016

Peter Neeve

Relationship

Client

Project Date

Mar 2016

Project Price

> than £100,000

Disaster to Dream Home! After a pinhole leak turned our home of 15 years into a decontamination zone, my wife & I realized we were in for a long slog. In the past we had hired architects & designers to improve our home but were never satisfied with their proposed solutions. My wife is cursed with a husband that has strong (usually wrong) artistic opinions. This resulted in us not moving forward on our house because we did not want to put our marriage in jeopardy… Enter Charmean. Our first meeting she came nicely dressed & talked to us about creating a home that reflected OUR priorities. She took note of each of our areas of emphasis & listened intently to our shared vs. individual preferences. The 1st moment we realized that Charmean was different from the rest was when she grabbed her flashlight, got down on her hands & knees, entered a crawlspace & found a leak that our restoration team had missed- a full-blown Nancy Drew power move! Up to that point, I never truly understood or properly respected the scope of what top Interior Designers do. Her work-rate, nuts & bolts knowledge of home construction, awareness of client remodeling realities & design aesthetic are awe-inducing. My favorite quote of hers was when, after an extensive conversation/interview with us & examining our home her goal was “to reveal what our home wants to be when it grows up.” I then began to think that my marriage just might make it through the remodel. The 2nd meeting involved a collaboration with Charm, her heavy-hitting associate JR, our architect & general contractor. It turned out to be a fun, hopeful day for my wife & I, but not for the CN Interiors team. They worked HARD & for a very long time. We noted that they kept focussing on an existing feature window my wife & I both liked that depicted leafy bamboo stalks. Even after the meeting ended, Charm & JR sat in their car on the driveway while periodically scrutinizing our home exterior for 40 minutes furiously scribbling away before they left. What was that all about? Shortly after, Charmean unveiled their recommended design aesthetic- Polynesian Soft Modern. I had never heard those three words in that combination before. After a moment to digest the concept, my wife & I were floored by how much we loved it. Thank you Charmean Neithart Interiors for allowing our shabby beach house to grow up & for giving our family so much joy!

21 May, 2016Last modified:21 May, 2016

tanyapitre

Relationship

Client

Project Date

Nov 2014

Project Price

£10,000 – £49,999

Charmean, with Charmean Neithart Interiors, has been wonderful to work with. She is gifted at creating a warm, clean look that allows each room to flow well with the others in the home. She has a commendable balance between listening to her clients needs/desires and offering her concise opinion. I appreciate her attention to detail. We have hired her twice, and would again if the need arises.

16 February, 2015

ejocap

Relationship

Client

Project Date

Jun 2009

Project Price

£50,000 – £100,000

Charmean is a highly talented, creative, fun and trustworthy designer. What sets Charmean apart from many other designers is her ability to make your home/space look elegant and sophisticated without looking like you hired a professional designer. She makes it about you and not about her. That said, she has both a broad and a deep sense of style that transcends culture and time. She knows what she is doing and she is one of those people whom I consider "at the top of her game" yet she continues to strive for new ideas and growth. I would highly recommend her to anyone who wants a partner in making your home as "rooms of one's own."

1 February, 2015

eve1yn

Relationship

Client

Project Date

Apr 2013

Project Price

less than £1,000

While Charmean has a charming personality and skillful eye for design, I had a very negative experience working with her. While I am aware my negative review is an outlier amongst her many positive reviews, I still thought it would be helpful to share my experience in case I can prevent someone from experiencing the same thing. I hired Charmean to help decorate part of my new home when I moved. I was hoping to find a professional who would collaborate with me in designing my new home, while also being respectful of a reasonable budget. The first few pieces she recommended for me were not at all my taste (despite our 2 hour discussion about my preferences), and far more expensive than I found reasonable. I looked for pieces on my own as well, as I think design is fun and wanted my home to reflect my own tastes. Charmean's response to the pieces I sent her to consider was (to quote directly): "It's kind of a waste of time for me to keep checking everything you are finding because the big picture is what we need to focus on, not piece by piece." I can respect that a designer needs to keep the big picture in mind, but is a client's desire to incorporate specific pieces that they really like a "waste of time"? I found her response disrespectful and indicative of her desire to be left alone to do the job without my input, which I found odd, since it is MY home, and I thought my input would be important and respected. At one point I shared with Charmean that I wanted to buy a retail sofa for our family room. She said ok but suggested I stay away from retail after that because retail service is horrible and quality is generally poor. While these might be valid points, I personally have never found that to be my experience, and have almost exclusively had positive experiences buying retail. Later, in a phone conversation, she told me I "could not" buy everything retail. When I asked her why that was (I did not remember discussing such a rule), she stated that she did not receive a commission on pieces I purchased retail. It was embarrassingly apparent that her main goal was profit, and not doing the job well -- which in my opinion, includes finding the right pieces for the home at the best price, no matter the source. It is both my fault and Charmean's that we were not clear on setting a budget before starting work on the project. It was I that finally initiated a clearer discussion of budget. I told her I had never decorated an entire house before and asked her to recommend a budget. She recommended $100k. I told her that I thought half that amount would be sufficient since I was not asking her to work on many rooms in the home, and we already had existing furniture that would fill up much of the space we needed to work on. I did not hear from her for two days, after which I received an email firing me as a client. She said the main issue what that I had questioned certain fees/prices. However, I thought it was no coincidence that she wished to terminate our contract right after I stated that I thought a lower budget was sufficient for the project. I was frustrated that so little was done in the time we worked together, and we arrived to our new home with time lost and very little accomplished. We waited for almost 5.5 weeks for fabric samples that she told us would take 2 weeks to arrive. She told us she spent hours of effort ordering a sofa bed for us -- through a company which would award her a commission for the order. The order was never completed. After our contract was terminated, it took me less than 10 minutes to call a retail store and complete an order for the exact same sofa bed for an equivalent price. She knew the sofa bed was the one piece of furniture we needed in a hurry, yet prioritized ordering it through a company that would give her a commission, rather than ordering it from a store that would have completed the process much faster. If you are at all mindful of budget and prefer to work together with a designer in choosing items for your home, I caution you against working with Charmean. If you have a high budget and would prefer someone to just get the job done without your having to be involved, then you may have a very good experience. My experience with Charmean was my first working with a professional designer, and sadly it soured me to the entire experience of professional interior design.

6 January, 2015Last modified:16 January, 2015

Comment from Charmean Neithart Interiors:

Evelyn,
I regret learning you were not fully satisfied with your experience even though we ended our contract two years ago on amicable terms. I noticed in your review you attributed a statement to me that was taken out of context, misunderstood, or both. Let me clarify a few things from my perspective about what I said and our relationship in general:

My actual statement to you was that “hiring a designer and then shopping retail is a waste of YOUR time and money”.

This is my opinion because I seek to add value by designing a space that feels custom and exclusive. The purpose of hiring a designer is to achieve a custom look while having all (or the vast majority) of the work done for you . Additionally, designers will have access to a much broader selection of products than retailers. A designer's prices may be more or less than retail. For identical product designers often cost less, even after commissions. But for custom product, prices are often considerably higher. Hopefully a designer creates a space just for you that suits your needs and tastes while exposing you to things you would not have found or considered on your own.

Fee Structure and Contract
As it clearly stated in my contract, I get paid for design time and commissions on product. I am neither embarrassed nor secretive of that fact. This is how the design business model works and a business without any profit won’t exist for very long. Profits are how we pay overhead which includes payroll, insurance, rent, utilities, etc. It is a bad business decision to remain in a contract in which the fee structure, that was agreed upon by signature, is not respected by the client. As you know, I would not discount my fees or commissions because I feel it is unfair to charge clients different prices for the same service.

Retail vs. Custom Built Furniture
As far as your views about retail product, I disagree. I explained that retail quality is inferior to custom quality. This is my opinion based on quite a bit of experience. For this reason, I prefer custom pieces in high traffic areas because there are fewer problems associated with higher quality. I believe that I should recommend the highest quality product that a client's budget allows.

Establishing a Budget
Establishing a budget is one of the first and most important things that I discuss with a client. I want to exceed client's expectations and this is only possible if budgets are respected and projects are completed. Sometimes, as in your case, clients don't know how much things cost. In these cases, I will explain what I feel is realistic and assist them in establishing a budget and setting priorities. Budget constraints are often not flexible so this often requires changing the scope of the project. As you may have read in my numerous reviews, this is one of my strengths.

The contract that you signed clearly explained how my process works. Nevertheless, it became clear quite early that there was a lack of trust between us and that you were not comfortable with my process. That is unfortunate, but it is also the simple truth. I felt it best to terminate the contract as my services were not commensurate with your needs. To put our entire relationship in context, it is important to keep a few things in mind, about which we do both agree:

1. CNI did terminate the contract
2. CNI did issue a refund for all design fees minus a nominal amount for meeting time
3. CNI did not place any product in your home

I hope you found an interior designer that was able to assist you in the manner in which you wanted and that your new home is complete and to your liking.

Best regards,
Charmean Neithart

8 January, 2015Last modified:22 January, 2015

Curt Feldtkeller

Relationship

Client

Project Date

May 2014

Project Price

£10,000 – £49,999

Charmean was so incredible for us and our home. She really took the time to understand what we wanted and then took it to a whole new level. We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome of our home. Thank you Charmean, you're the best!

10 December, 2014

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4,307 Comments

Commented: Love the butcher block, where was this purchased?Hi there, we bought this at Susanne Hollis, an antique store in Pasadena, CA

12 February, 2018

Commented: Duvet cover sourceThe duvet is custom made with fabric sold to the trade.

11 February, 2018

Commented: would you please share the tile brand and color?This is an Italian Travertine called Noce, I installed the honed finish with chiseled edges in a Versailles pattern.

10 February, 2018

Commented: What is the name and source of the wallpaper used here?The wallpaper is the Erna line (NS 7009) from ABA Interiors.

10 February, 2018

Commented: Is granite Costa Esmeralda?Yes, this is Costa Esmeralda Granite.

4 February, 2018

Commented: where is the towel rack from?This is the Dillon Train Rack from Restoration Hardware.

12 January, 2018

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