Home Redesign
Residential Home Design
Experience the beauty of functional design in our residential projects. We create spaces that harmonize aesthetics with practicality, tailored to your lifestyle.
Art of transformation
A floor plan that fits how you live
You get a layout for the rooms you actually use, drawings a trade can follow, and a clear next step if you want the work built.
- Floor plan remodeling and spatial planning
- Plans trades can follow
- A team ready to bid and build
- Boston roots, Santa Barbara project work
The layout first
Start with how the house has to work
You come here because the rooms do not match the way you live. We specialize in floor plan remodeling and spatial planning, so the first question is circulation, storage, and where people actually gather — not a dream-home slogan.
Sophie looks at existing floor plans and provides suggestions and changes prior to final permits or home remodeling. You can judge a layout before you commit to a contractor.
Understanding how you will live in the home is as crucial to the design as the visual elements.
Three ways in
Choose the help that matches where you are
Spatial Innovation
Design Consultation
I can join you on the house tour to provide insight of potential remodel options while you are considering purchasing a home.
Plans the trades will follow
Design Plans for DIY
If the Client wants to remodel the house on their own or already has a team ready to do the work... I can provide the essential plans that the trades will follow.
From start to finish
Full Design Remodel
I am a independent designer but I work with multiple architects, contractors, trades, and designers.
The first visit
You leave with ideas you can use
01
On a house tour, you hear verbal ideas about remodel options while you are still deciding.
02
With plans in hand, you get suggestions and changes before final permits or remodeling.
03
If you are buying or selling, you see how the space could function for a lifestyle, not only how it looks today.
If you are building it yourself
Plans, materials, and function — without a full-service fee as the only door
You might be a DIYer and still need help with selecting materials, design, and how the space will function. That is a complete path here, not a side note on the way to a full remodel.
Sophie provides the essential plans that the trades will follow, and helps organize appliances, materials, and the details the project requires so the design is carried out properly.
Before you buy or sell
Show what the house could become
If you are a real estate agent or a home buyer, Sophie can show potential clients the possibility of their spaces, so a purchase or a sale is based on how the home could work.
On the tour
She can join the house tour and talk through remodel options while you are still comparing houses.
A picture of the layout
Viewers see the potential in the home and what will work best for their lifestyle needs — not only the listing as it stands.
A design people used
On one project, buyers liked the rendering enough that they bought the house, and they used the design.
When you want it built
A bid and a team, after the concept is right
Homeowners often stall after the idea and before trades are hired. If you love the concept developed together, Sophie can go beyond consultation and DIY plans.
She has a team ready to provide a construction bid and execute the design. That step saves you having to search for qualified trades and manage them on your own. The work is kept in one organized place.
She aims to build a team of talented trades to best suit each project, and works with multiple architects, contractors, trades, and designers.
Proof a space can work
They bought the house, and they used the design
This seller did not want to spend money to remodel the home and kitchen. Potential buyers could not see the vision, given the state of the house.
Sophie’s solution was a 3-D rendering of how she would design the space to function better and provide a larger kitchen. She oriented the kitchen to keep the appliances in similar locations, to save cost, and to have an ocean view. She kept a post in the design to show how the island would work without spending money on an expensive beam.
The new homeowners liked the design so much that they bought the house, and they used the design. The portfolio shows the before images, the design, and the finished home — listing photos, what was proposed, and what the client executed.
Rooms you can judge
Projects planned around how they are lived in
Sophie has designed a variety of homes with different styles. Spatial planning stays constant. There are examples of Italian-made kitchens as well as full house remodels. Residential work harmonizes aesthetics with practicality, tailored to your lifestyle.
Publications
Three articles in Dining and Destinations Magazine
Dining and Destinations Magazine published three articles featuring projects Sophie designed while working at Reed Interiors / RD Homes in Santa Barbara.
The person planning your rooms
Sophie Paolino
My name is Sophie Paolino. She is highly skilled in finding solutions, including jobs with unforeseen issues, and in identifying problems before they arise. She keeps learning, works with others, and takes criticism because there are always ways to improve a space. Good design, in her words, requires observation and recognizing there are many variations to improve a space.
She grew up in Boston with a large Italian family. Every Sunday is spent cooking with family in the kitchen. She developed a love for cooking and for organization. Her mother is the ultimate host and an incredible cook who hosted many parties. Sophie helped plan the furniture in the room, the decorations, the food, the flowers, and the details. That is where she learned how people live in their homes, and the different kinds of organization each person needs.
At PAOLINO Design, design is meant to transform spaces and lives. We work closely with you to understand your needs.
The work, up close
Spaces, kitchens, and the rooms in between
Start with the house you have
Tell us how you live in it
Call, email, or open the quote note. Say whether you want a house tour, a review of existing floor plans, DIY drawings, or a full design remodel.