Staff Cherry Picks: Spotlight on Elisabeth Wagner Berkowitz

HD Buttercup interior designer Elisabeth Wagner Berkowitz is a traditionalist with a current point-of-view. Although she is drawn to elegant classic interiors, the UCLA-educated designer likes to mix it up by adding unexpected elements that make a space fun and current.

Elisabeth is inspired by the work of Suzanne Kasler, whose line of furniture for Hickory Chair is carried at HD Buttercup. She also loves the work of Rose Tarlow, Suzanne Rheinstein, Michael Smith (designer of the Obama's private quarters) and the Belgian designer, Axel Vervoordt.

Although you might get the feeling you'll need a housekeeper and a nanny to maintain a space designed by Elisabeth, that’s hardly the case. She and her husband have a six-year old daughter so she knows firsthand how to create family-friendly homes that are beautiful yet durable. “I love polished and clean environments, but they don’t evoke genuine emotion until they are personalized.” She explains.

Elisabeth is composed, upbeat, and almost without exception you’ll find her smiling. When she’s not designing spaces for HD Buttercup clients, she’s on her smartphone playing Words with Friends, watching HGTV (unless the Beverly Hills Housewives are on) and planning slumber parties for her daughter.

Below are a few highlights of her work, some of which are collaborations with other HD Buttercup designers (aside from the kitchens which were designed with Ami Judah).