Meet the designer Yoko Oda. Yoko is an interior designer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was born in Japan, where her mother is a famous floral designer. Yoko didn’t realize she would catch design fever until later in life. “I am a second-generation designer. I was classically trained and educated in both Japan and the United States. I love fashion, solving space problems, and creating something uniquely beautiful for each client. Magic happens when my Japanese mind touches every space.“ “Before I became an interior designer in the U.S., I worked for big Japanese corporations in Japan. I then taught in California public schools after I got my credentials and my Master’s Degree in Linguistics. I learned life lessons from these jobs. “Becoming an entrepreneur designer in the U.S. simply gives me more joy and focus,” she says. She started her interior design firm based in Walnut Creek, California a decade ago.
Design Style
My signature style is Japanese-infused with comfortable timeless modern. My design embodies scale and proportion with simplistic natural beauty.
Current Inspiration
Japanese magazines. Runways on TV. Vogue street style. “I like to clip pictures of people and interiors in big cities such as Tokyo, San Francisco, Paris and Milan. I was born and raised downtown Osaka. I’m a city girl at heart. Clipping pictures is old fashioned in 2020, but it works for me. I have been doing this since I was a teenager.”
Cool Design Project
My Lafayette Hill project. This house was on my clients’ dream property, with ample size and location, sitting on a perfect corner lot. The property faced the valley with a great view. However, the inside was hopelessly outdated and architecturally difficult. As soon as they bought the property, they contacted me to use my vision and rebuild this house into their dream home. I had large windows installed in the new open kitchen to make the view a focal point. Existing sunken family and dining rooms were joined into one level, and I created a more dramatic fireplace in the new space. All new spaces flow nicely together with new furnishings and color. Ultimately, their house became their dream come true, and I feel grateful to have been part of it, and to have helped them achieve their dream.
Favorite Local Décor Shops
Design Within Reach in Berkeley; the San Francisco Flower Mart; Samuel Scheuer in San Francisco. “I like these shops because they provide practical quality solutions with beautiful aesthetics.”
*Featured headshot by: Eva Baker
Contributing Writer By Pamela Camille
Published: April 30, 2020
