Essenza -Interior design Consultations & Intensives
One Session. One Problem. The right answer-from a principal designer with thirty years of practice.
Essenza
Luxury Interior Design Intensives
Sometimes you don't need a full design engagement. You need someone who can look at what you're working with, tell you exactly what it needs, and give you the clarity to move forward without second-guessing every decision.
You already have good instincts. What you need is someone to confirm them-or redirect you before something expensive gets locked in.
These focused sessions give you direct access to the same depth of thinking I bring to full-service projects, applied specifically to your most pressing challenge. One hour for targeted decisions. A full day for the problems that need real working time.
The Expensive Part Isn’t the Decision. It’s the Circling.
A stalled decision doesn’t just sit there politely. The contractor moves on to the job that’s ready. The cabinet order slips a production cycle. The fabric gets discontinued while you are deciding. And the longer a question stays open, the more the decisions around it start bending to accommodate the indecision.
Most of the expensive mistakes I’ve been hired to fix weren’t bad decisions. They were rushed ones, made under pressure, after weeks of circling-because by then, something had to be chosen.
One focused hour, earlier is how you avoid that.
Essenza Ora
The One-Hour Intensive
Investment: $500
This session is for the homeowner who has been circling a decision and needs a seasoned eye to settle it. Materials, finishes, furniture layout, paint, lighting, cabinetry direction — bring whatever has been slowing you down and we'll work through it with clarity and purpose.
You'll leave knowing exactly what to do next. No overwhelm. No second-guessing. No ambiguity.
One room. One challenge. Clear next steps.
Essenza Studio-
The Full Day Intensive
Investment: $4,000
Some projects are too complex — or too important — to solve in an hour. This is a structured, hands-on working session for homeowners navigating multiple rooms, a renovation, or a layered set of decisions that need expert guidance and real momentum.
We work through your priorities in a focused, organized sequence. By the end of the day you have a professional-level roadmap, clear direction on materials and layouts, and the confidence to move forward without guesswork.
Essenza Studio is right for you when you’re:
Planning a renovation or new build and need architectural detail and space planning guidance
Facing multiple rooms or decisions that need to be addressed together
Ready to compress months of decision-making into a single productive day
Planning to execute independently, with a professional plan to follow
Months of decisions. One working day. A roadmap you can trust.
Not sure which session is right for you? Book a complimentary discovery call and we'll figure it out together.
Essenza Ora —
is for one decision that’s been stalling everything around it. A layout that isn’t working. A finish you keep circling. A renovation question that’s too expensive to guess at. One hour settles it.
$500-Book Now
Which Session Is Yours?
The difference isn’t the size of your home. It’s the shape of the problem.
Essenza Studio —
is for layered problems-a whole renovation, several rooms that have to work together, a set of decisions where each one depends on the last. That needs real working time, in sequence, in one day.
$4,000 — Book Now
THE PROCESS
1
Book Your Session
Choose Essenza Ora or Essenza Studio. Both are held virtually and designed to meet you exactly where you are in your project.
2
Tell Me What We’re Solving
You’ll receive a short questionnaire to outline your priorities, your questions, and where the project stands. You set the focus. I bring the strategy.
3
We Work Through It In Real Time
Finishes, layouts, materials, direction-you get clear answers as we go, not a report to wait for. This is a working session, not a presentation.
4
You Leave With Next Steps
Clarity on what to do and the order to do it in. and if the session reveals your project needs more-a complete design plan, or full service-we’ll talk about whether Mezza or Tutto is the right next step. No pressure attached. Most sessions end at step four, and that’s the point.
““I was able to completely put the job in Dawn’s hands. She did whatever it took to complete the project on time.””
Ready to Move Forward ?
Both sessions are held virtually and designed to meet you exactly where you are in your project. You bring the questions. I bring thirty years of answers.
Book Your Session
Not sure which session fits? Schedule a complimentary discovery call instead.
faq-
Ora
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More than you'd think, if the question is focused. In one hour we can settle a finish or material selection, correct a furniture layout, resolve a paint direction, review a renovation decision before it gets locked in, or work through a specific problem that's been stalling your project. Most clients leave with a clear decision made and the next two or three steps named. What one hour can't do is design a whole room from scratch — that's what Essenza Studio or a design plan is for.
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After booking, you'll receive a short questionnaire and instructions on what to gather: photos, measurements, floor plans if you have them, and links to anything you're considering. The more organized you arrive, the more we accomplish. You don't need to be polished. You need to be honest about what's not working.
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You may bring questions about more than one space, but the best results come from focusing on one primary room or challenge. An hour spent deeply on one problem bests an hour skimmed across four. If your list is longer than that, Essenza Studio-the full-day intensive-is built for exactly that situation.
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You'll get a brief email recap of the key decisions we made, and you're welcome to record notes or screenshots during the session. Formal drawings, layouts, or documentation aren't part of a one-hour session — those belong to a design concept plan, where there's time to develop them properly. This session is about judgment and direction, delivered in real time.
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Yes. Sessions are held over Zoom and available nationwide. Design problems travel well over video-what I need to see, you can show me.
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Yes, and many clients do. A consultation often clarifies not just the design question but the scope of what the project actually needs. If that turns out to be a complete design plan (Mezza) or full service (Tutto), we'll talk about it — and if it doesn't, the session stands complete on its own. Most do.
faq-Studio
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A full renovation's worth of direction, in most cases. Over six structured hours we can refine layouts, select finishes and materials, develop complete room schemes, review cabinetry and millwork details, plan lighting and furnishings, and settle the key renovation decisions in the order they need to be made. The day is sequenced deliberately — decisions that affect other decisions get made first. You leave with a professional-level roadmap, not a pile of ideas.
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Yes — that's what Essenza Studio is built for. We begin by prioritizing your goals, then dedicate focused time to the areas with the greatest impact on everything else. Several rooms that have to work together is exactly the layered problem a full day solves and a single hour can't.
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It's arguably the best time to book one. Many clients schedule their day early in renovation or construction planning, when layouts, cabinetry, materials, and design direction are still open — and mistakes are still cheap to prevent. The most expensive design decisions are the ones made by default because nobody asked the question early enough.
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You'll receive sketches, notes, and clear direction during the session, plus a written recap of the major decisions afterward. Formal drawings, elevations, and specification packages aren't part of the intensive — those are developed through a design concept plan (Mezza) or full service (Tutto), where there's time to document properly. Studio is a working session: the thinking happens live, with you in the room.
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We meet over Zoom for the working session, and I continue in my studio from there. Virtual intensives work as well for local clients as for clients across the country — no travel time means more working time, and everything I need to see, you can show me.
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Yes. You'll receive a recap outlining the major decisions and recommendations, and we schedule a follow-up call within five days for any questions that surface once you've sat with the direction. Good decisions sometimes need a few days to settle. The call is there for when they do.
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Yes. Before your session we’ll discuss whether you’d like to purchase retail or through trade sources and that up accordingly.