Comparisons
October 20, 2026
Planning a renovation in Nassau County? Here's a practical look at the interior designers serving Long Island — and how to put together a team that actually delivers.
If you’ve been searching for an interior designer on Long Island, you’ve probably already noticed how hard it is to figure out who’s actually good, who covers your area, and whether you even need a designer or just a contractor. It’s a lot to sort through, especially when you’re already managing a job, a family, and a home that needs serious work.
This guide cuts through that. We’ve put together a practical overview of the interior design landscape in Nassau County and western Suffolk — who’s out there, what they specialize in, and how the whole process fits together when a real renovation is involved.
Long Island’s interior design market is larger and more varied than most homeowners expect. New York is consistently one of the top five states in the country for interior design activity, and Nassau County sits right at the center of that — a dense, high-value suburban market full of homes built between the 1940s and 1970s that are overdue for serious updates.
The designers working here range from solo practitioners who specialize in kitchen and bath to full-service firms that handle everything from space planning to material sourcing to project oversight. Some work exclusively on luxury estates along the North Shore. Others focus on the more practical renovation projects that define most of Nassau County — split-levels in Bellmore, Cape Cods in Wantagh, colonials in Syosset, ranches in Massapequa.
Knowing the difference matters before you start making calls. A designer who excels at high-end North Shore estates may not be the right fit for a practical first-floor renovation in Levittown — and vice versa.
The designers actively working in Nassau County cover a wide range of specialties and price points. Here’s an honest look at who’s out there and what they’re known for.
Regina Brodley Interiors is based in North Bellmore, right in the heart of Nassau County, and offers full-service residential design with a focus on renovations and new builds. They serve Nassau, Suffolk, and even extend into New York City and beyond. If you’re planning a significant renovation and want a designer who understands the local housing stock, they’re worth a look.
Interiors by Just Design, led by Robyn Baumgarten, has been operating for over 25 years and positions itself toward the luxury end of the market — estate homes, new construction, and large-scale renovations throughout Nassau and Suffolk. Their process runs from initial concept through final installation, which suits homeowners who want a single point of design accountability.
Twice As Nice Interiors, based in East Islip, serves both Nassau and western Suffolk County. They take a notably collaborative approach, involving clients in every construction and design decision. If you want to stay closely involved in the process rather than hand it off entirely, that approach tends to work well.
CAZ & Company offers something slightly different — design paired with construction management. For homeowners who want design and execution handled under one roof, this kind of design-build model can simplify the process considerably.
Keith Mazzei Interiors handles high-end custom projects from Nassau County out to Montauk. If your project leans toward the premium end — custom cabinetry, bespoke finishes, architectural-level detail — this is the kind of firm built for that work.
Annette Jaffe Interiors focuses on the North Shore and Hamptons market, with a specialty in upscale residential projects ranging from stately homes to smaller pieds-à-terre. If your home is in Great Neck, Manhasset, or Roslyn and you’re after a more refined, luxury-forward result, they’re a natural fit.
Melissa Sacco Interiors and Enspire Design, Architecture & Planning are two more names that appear consistently in Nassau County searches. Melissa Sacco’s work leans toward timeless, custom residential interiors. Enspire brings architecture into the mix, which is useful when your renovation involves structural changes that need both design and engineering input.
For homeowners who want something more budget-conscious, Affordable Interior Design by Uploft appears in Nassau County searches and positions itself explicitly on accessibility — design services without the luxury price tag.
The IDS Long Island chapter — part of the Interior Design Society — is also worth knowing about. Member designers are held to professional standards and have demonstrated education and experience in residential design. If you’re vetting someone independently, IDS membership is a meaningful signal.
The most useful thing you can do before reaching out to any designer is get specific about your project. Not vague — specific. “I want to update my kitchen” is very different from “I need to reconfigure the layout of a 1960s split-level kitchen in Merrick, open it up to the living area, and replace everything from the cabinets to the floor.” The second description tells a designer whether they’re the right fit.
Portfolio match matters more than reputation alone. Look at their past projects. If you don’t see homes that look like yours, or projects at the scale you’re planning, ask directly whether they’ve done similar work in Nassau County.
Responsiveness during the inquiry process is also a reliable preview of what working together will actually feel like. If it takes a week to get a response to your first email, that’s not going to improve once the project starts. This is one of the most common complaints Nassau County homeowners have about contractors and designers alike — and it’s avoidable if you pay attention to early signals.
Ask about their process for working with a general contractor. A good designer will have a clear answer. They’ll explain how they communicate specs, how they handle changes during construction, and whether they stay involved once the GC takes over. If that answer is vague, or if they’ve never thought about it clearly, that’s a gap that will cost you later.
Finally, ask what their fee structure looks like. Some designers charge hourly, some charge a flat project fee, some charge a percentage of the total project cost. None of these is inherently better — but you need to understand it upfront so there are no surprises.
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This is the part most homeowners don’t fully think through until they’re already mid-project. A designer creates the vision — the layout, the materials, the aesthetic plan. A general contractor builds it. These are genuinely different skill sets, and on any large-scale renovation, you typically need both.
The mistake most people make is treating these as two separate, sequential hires. In reality, the earlier your designer and GC are communicating, the fewer expensive surprises you’ll hit. A designer who specs a structural change without knowing what your contractor knows about your home’s framing is setting up a problem. A GC who starts demolition before the design is finalized is setting up a different one.
This is one of the most common questions Nassau County homeowners ask when they’re planning a major renovation, and the honest answer is: it depends on the project, but leaning toward the designer first is usually the smarter move.
Here’s why. A designer will help you clarify exactly what you want before any money is spent on construction. They’ll identify layout issues, flag potential structural constraints, and help you make material decisions that affect the entire scope of the project. When you bring that clarity to a GC, you get a more accurate estimate — because the GC is pricing a defined project, not a vague one.
When a homeowner hires the GC first and skips the designer, what often happens is this: the contractor starts, the homeowner starts making decisions mid-project, those decisions cause changes, and those changes cost more than the design fees would have. It’s a pattern that plays out constantly in Nassau County renovations, and it’s almost entirely avoidable.
That said, there are situations where bringing the GC in early makes sense — particularly when the project involves significant structural work, like a dormer addition or a rear extension, where the contractor’s knowledge of what’s feasible should inform the design from the start. In those cases, the best outcome usually comes from getting both professionals in a room early, before either one has committed to a direction.
Start with a designer if your project is primarily about aesthetics, layout, and finishes. Start with conversations that include both if your project involves structural changes, additions, or anything that will require permits and engineering input. Either way, don’t let them work in isolation from each other.
Once a designer is involved, the GC’s job becomes more specific — and more accountable. They’re not just building to their own interpretation of what you described. They’re building to a set of documented specifications, and the quality of the result depends heavily on whether they actually follow them.
A good GC in this situation communicates with the designer throughout the project, not just at the beginning. They flag issues early — if a spec calls for something that won’t work given what they’ve found behind the walls, they say so immediately, before it becomes a problem. They keep the job site clean and organized, because a chaotic site is a site where mistakes get made and things get missed. And they stay accessible — to you and to the designer — throughout the entire project.
In Nassau County, where most of the housing stock was built between the 1940s and 1970s, large-scale renovations almost always surface unexpected conditions. Old plumbing. Knob-and-tube wiring. Framing that doesn’t match what the plans show. The GC who handles those moments well — who calls you the same day, explains the situation clearly, and lays out the options without inflating the scope — is the one worth keeping.
We’ve been doing this kind of work in Nassau County since 1972. We’ve seen what happens when the GC and designer are aligned, and we’ve seen what happens when they’re not. The difference in outcome is significant. When both sides communicate, when the GC respects the design intent and the designer understands construction realities, the homeowner gets exactly what they were hoping for — and usually on the timeline they were promised.
More than 60% of our projects come from referrals. That’s not an accident. It’s what happens when you answer the phone every time, keep the job site clean every day, and don’t disappear when something unexpected comes up. That’s what Nassau County homeowners deserve from their GC — and it’s the standard we’ve held ourselves to for over 50 years.
If you’re planning a kitchen remodel, bathroom renovation, dormer addition, or first-floor overhaul in Nassau County or western Suffolk, the path forward is clearer than it might feel right now. Start with a designer who has done work at your scale, in homes like yours. Get specific about your project before your first conversation. And make sure your GC is someone who will actually execute the design — not just approximate it.
The designers listed here are a strong starting point for the design side of that equation. For the construction side, if you want a general contractor who has been working in Nassau County for over 50 years, answers the phone every time, and treats your home like it matters — reach out to Ray Coleman Home Improvement. We’d be glad to talk through what your project involves and whether we’re the right fit.
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