A little about me...
Mali Efraim
Principal Residential Designer
I’ve always been drawn to figuring out how a home can work better for the people who live in it. I care about making a space beautiful and understanding what people need from it every day. That’s why I started CA Permits & Design.
My background spans residential design, construction planning, and permitting, so I think about all of those things when I’m working on a project. How will the space look and feel? How will it function? What’s realistic to build? Those questions inform the design together.
Since founding the company in 2021, I’ve worked on hundreds of residential projects, from individual spaces to full-home remodels. That experience has reinforced something I believe in: taking the time to listen to the people who live in a home before deciding what it should become.
My Design Philosophy
I don’t believe your home should reflect my style. It should feel like you – just more thoughtful, cohesive, and intentional. My role is to understand how you live, what you’re drawn to, what isn’t working, and what you want from your home, then translate all of that into a design that makes sense for you.
And because my work extends into construction planning and permitting, I’m able to carry those ideas beyond the design itself – into the drawings, details, and decisions that ultimately bring it to life.
To me, good design isn’t only about the finished space. It’s about creating a home that supports the way you live now, while making room for the life that will happen there over time. It should make everyday life easier, add beauty to the ordinary, and create a backdrop for the memories you’ll make along the way.
CA PERMITS & DESIGN: THE ESSENTIALS
We love texture. We love calm. We love neutrals. We love bold. We love modern. We love old. We love pattern. We love cold. But most of all we love the smiles on our clients' faces and the sparkle in their eyes when a project is revealed.
We love design and we love transformations. We think it's beautiful and we love it all. But in the end of the day it doesn't matter what we love. Because the design of your home is about YOU.
Our job is to bring our expertise into YOUR vision and to design a space that is a reflection of YOU and your family.
The design process is demanding and full of challenges. But the hardest part is bringing a stranger into your home and to put your trust in them. We get that. And we reward our clients for putting their trust in us by designing beautiful and well-functioning spaces for them and their families to enjoy and make long-lasting memories in.