IllustrationHow the scores are made
Seven criteria, 100 points, every input read from a public page on 15 October 2026. This page prints the whole rubric so a reader can recompute any score on the site.
The rubric
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Google reviews | 25 | Rating and review count on the studio's Google Business Profile, read on the stated date. Points come from the count on a log scale (1 review is near zero, 10 is about half, 100 is full) multiplied by the rating out of 5. Under 5 reviews can never score above 8 of 25. Why: The only public signal written by past clients. Thin counts are capped so three reviews cannot outrank a studio with forty. |
| Published portfolio | 15 | Number of distinct projects shown on the studio's own website, counted on the stated date. 1 to 3 projects: 5 points. 4 to 7: 10. 8 or more: 15. A photo gallery with no project pages counts as the 1 to 3 band, 5 points, however many photos it holds. No website or no projects: 0. Why: A reader can judge taste only from finished rooms. A site with no projects gives them nothing to judge. |
| Works in English | 15 | 15 if the studio's site is in English or has a full English version, or states that it works with English-speaking clients. 7 if the site is Hebrew with English testimonials or partial English pages. 0 if Hebrew only. Why: This site is for English-speaking homeowners. A design process runs on dozens of small conversations; the language has to work. |
| Scope of service | 15 | 3 points for each of five services the studio's site states it provides: interior design, architectural or renovation planning, on-site project management or supervision, kitchen design, home styling or furnishing. Maximum 15. Why: Most Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh projects are renovations or kablan apartments. Whether the studio will also run the contractor changes the whole job. |
| Based in the city | 10 | 10 if the Google listing or the site gives an address in the city (Beit Shemesh includes Ramat Beit Shemesh). 5 if the site states the city as a service area, says the studio is based there without an address, or shows named projects in the city. 0 otherwise. Why: Site visits, supplier runs and snagging are easier for a studio that lives here. |
| Track record stated | 10 | 10 if the site states a founding year or years of experience of ten or more. 7 for five to nine years. 4 for any stated figure under five, or a stated founding year within the last four years. 0 if nothing is stated. Why: Years are not quality, but a studio that has run many projects has met the contractor problems a reader is about to meet. |
| Credentials stated | 10 | 10 if the site names a licensed architect on the team or states a degree or diploma in interior design or architecture. 5 if it names the person and their title (interior designer) with no qualification. 0 if no person is named. Why: Structural changes and permit drawings need an architect. The reader should know whether the studio has one or will bring one in. |
- Every input is read from a public page on a stated date and linked from the profile. Nothing is asked of the studios before scoring, so a studio can raise its score by publishing more on its own site.
- Unknown is scored as zero and printed as 'not stated on their site', never guessed.
- The rubric does not measure taste, price, punctuality or how a studio behaves when something goes wrong. Those need a call and a visit to a finished project.
Ranking order: score, then Google review count, then name. Ties are rare and shown as the same score.
Who is in the ranking
Studios that came up in Google Maps searches for "interior designer" in Jerusalem, in English and in Hebrew, on 15 October 2026, and whose own website we could read. Listings with no readable website are shown under the ranking as "also on Google Maps, not ranked" so you know they exist.
Furniture shops, kitchen showrooms and studios based in another part of the country with no stated service here are left out. A studio outside the city that states on its own site that it works here is included and scores five of ten on location instead of ten.
What we read, and how
Google rating, review count, address and phone come from the studio's Google Business Profile as returned by a Google Maps search on the reading date. The rest comes from the studio's own website, read page by page. We quote what the site says; we do not infer. A service the site does not mention is counted as not stated, even when a client review mentions it.
AI tools helped read the sites and draft the pages. A person checked every listing's inputs against the source before publishing.
What the score does not tell you
Taste, price, punctuality, and how a studio behaves when a contractor goes wrong. Those are the things that decide whether you were happy, and none of them is on a website. The score gets you to a short list; a call and a visit to a finished project do the rest.
A low score mostly means a studio has published little. It is not a judgement of the work. The lowest-scoring studios on this site can move up by publishing projects, a team page and a founding year.
Corrections, updates and freshness
The reading date on every profile is the date the inputs were read. A studio that updates its site after that date is not rescored until the next reading. To ask for one, email zack.tokar@gmail.com with the studio name and a link to the page that changed.
A studio can also claim its listing and send facts we missed. Claims are read by a person, checked against a public page, and dated. Nothing a studio sends changes the rubric or its weights.
Money and independence
No studio pays to be listed or to move up, and there are no paid placements on this version of the site. Zechariah Tokar, who publishes the site, does marketing work for businesses in Israel, including in home design. Because of that, the rubric and every input are public, so that anyone can check that no score was adjusted.
Rubric version 1.0, published 2026-10-15. Inputs read 15 October 2026. 20 studios ranked.