Arlene Best Interiors

My husband and I bought a beautiful Victorian home is Stratford and I had no idea what to do with it - l’d never decorated a house before and I was terrified it would end up looking like someone’s Grandma had been living there for the last 50 years. Thank goodness we found Arlene! Arlene is an absolute pro who brought her good taste, keen eye, contacts, patience and design sensibility to my project - all of which I’m grateful for. But my favourite thing about working with Arlene is that my house is MY house - using her expertise and experience, she was able to help me understand and articulate what I wanted and then she helped me bring it to life. I never would have brave enough to actually use the bold colours that I love without her guidance. We are absolutely delighted with how our living, dining and library rooms turned out and are thrilled that they are both beautiful and comfortable and livable. Thank you so much for your fine work, Arlene!

This was our first time hiring a professional and we were very pleased. She listened to our needs and got an idea of who we were an what we valued. We appreciated the designs she created for our new space and the tips she gave.

We hired Arlene to help us down size from house to condo. She helped choose wisely from our house furniture and then select the new pieces we would need. She arranged the furniture in the condo and finished by providing window treatments. The result has been very satisfying making a difficult journey quite simple in nature. We found Arlene to be approachable, pleasant, and creative. It was a pleasure working with her.

We weren't quite sure what to do with our basement to make it more livable. We hired Arlene to help us design our living space. She came up with great ideas for the space, some we hadn't ever considered. She set up contractor consultations very quickly, something I know would not have happened without her. And I felt the contractors took us more seriously with Arlene at the appointments. She was easy to work with. She listened to our ideas and our concerns and helped our plans match our budget. I recommend working with Arlene.

We are so happy we found Arlene! We are Stratford "summer people" who wanted to spend more time in this lovely town. We rented an unfurnished flat, so we were starting from scratch. The space is small, as is our budget, and Arlene rose to the challenge wonderfully. Her intimate knowledge of local sources was invaluable, not to mention her keen eye for what will work in limited space. She gave us free rein to search out bargains on our own, but kept a steadying hand on the tiller as it were so the rooms came together nicely. We recommend her enthusiastically.

Arlene has helped me with my front room, which I call my "card room", and my bedroom and ensuite bathroom. She has original ideas that work well: e.g. she suggested curtains that incorporate three colours, in large horizontal panels, and found the person to make them. They look stunning! She has helped me find furniture that "just suits", and helped me rescue a colour scheme I had started, that was not succeeding. She is timely and on time and knows many helpful professionals and resources. She also designed my office space, which has got many compliments, and is a very pleasant locale for me and clients.

Arlene has been most helpful with planning& executing a plan for our family room. She is easy to work with& has great taste. I am very happy with the final product& it didn't break the bank. The quality is very good with reasonable prices!

Arlene worked with many of the things I already owned, blending in new pieces to create a room I was more than pleased with. She made suggestions that fit my own style & preferences, guiding me as I journeyed through our renovation. Without her help, I'm sure the results would not be as polished or complete. The value she brought to the project cannot be undersold!

I have worked with Arlene on 2 renovations and now a new house. I find her easy to work with, to the point and respectful of my ideas and very open with her suggestions. I have never regretted following her direction. My husband said:" I think it's time to call Arlene". Now that's saying something!

We have had many decorators that we have worked with. What I like about you is that you understand that we have 3 homes and you try to work with what we have. All 3 of our homes are different. Dallas has Tuscany bones, here it is a mixture of traditional and modern and Florida has always been very colorful. We live our lives going from one home to the next to be with friends and family. Because each of our homes are different, we feel like we are one vacation all the time. The difference is that these vacation homes have memories and that is what I like about you. You do not discard everything, you still make memories work and because it is a vacation home you do not go over the top.

The main floor of our 1921 arts and crafts home was recently redecorated with new furniture, area rugs, repainted and new window treatments. Arlene assisted with the selection of all the window treatments in our project and provided advice on the final colour selection for paint and fabrics. Arlene Best is a seasoned professional. She exhibits wonderful taste and creativity. Personally she is an absolute pleasure to work with. Her down to earth nature complements her knowledge of interior design. Our home is updated and we are very thrilled with our finished product! I would highly recommend Arlene to any prospective client. In fact, my confidence in her is so great I have recommended her to close friends. Arlene Best will transform your home!

I met Arlene of Arlene Best Interiors at a Charity Designer Showcase Home in 2001 and have continued, since then, to work with her and provide the window treatments and bedding she requires for her clients. Arlene has the unique ability to take the client's vision and make it a reality on the budget and timeline she is given. With a wonderful sense of design, Arlene is able to stage a room so that is both useful and beautiful and often times incorporates existing pieces owned by the client. She gives new life to their old furniture pieces with interesting new techniques of refinishing and is also able to create custom art pieces for the space. She is an excellent project manager and can coordinate all of the trades for your renovation or design project.