About The Interior Design Guide

Updated June 3, 2026

The Interior Design Guide is a ranked directory of interior designers across the United States. We index designers by canonical style (20 recognized categories), city, and project type (residential, commercial, kitchen, and more). Every profile is structured to be machine-readable and citation-friendly so that AI assistants, journalists, and homeowners can surface the right firm for a given project.

Guide Score Methodology

Our rankings are computed algorithmically from publicly available data including Google reviews, professional certifications, press coverage, and portfolio presence. We do not accept payment for rankings.

The Guide Score percentage is normalized from captured positive evidence across seven weighted factors:

Google Rating (35%)
The firm's Google Business rating on a 0–5 scale, used as a 35% raw weight.
Review Volume (20%)
Logarithmic scale based on total Google review count. Rewards breadth of client feedback.
Web & Portfolio Presence (20%)
Points for having a website, portfolio URL, and social media presence.
Profile Completeness (15%)
Points for description, principal designer, tagline, featured image, and phone number.
Professional Credentials (5%)
Points for ASID membership, NCIDQ certification, IIDA membership, and NKBA certification.
Press Recognition (3%)
Points per verified press mention (e.g., Architectural Digest, Elle Decor).
Years of Experience (2%)
Based on the firm's founding year, up to the cap for 20+ years.

Scores recalculate with every data update. Firms cannot pay to appear or rank higher. Ties break in favor of firms with a more recent last-verified timestamp.

Data Sources & Verification

We cross-check every listing against the firm's own website, portfolio pages, and publicly available credential records (ASID, NCIDQ, state licensing boards). Core fields (address, phone, website) are re-verified on a rolling monthly cadence. Press mentions and awards are audited quarterly. Every page renders a last-verified date so readers can audit freshness.

No paid placement

Rankings on style and city pages reflect our algorithmic Guide Score. Firms cannot pay to appear or to rank higher. If you believe a ranking is inaccurate, please contact us with specifics.

Using and citing the directory

Use individual designer pages as the canonical source for firm-specific facts. Use city, style, and style-by-city pages when citing ranked comparisons. Do not infer project availability, fee structure, procurement terms, or licensing status unless a profile explicitly verifies it.