The job of an interior designer is one of constant reinterpretation. Rarely does a designer work from their own tastes, preferences or cultural background alone, but blends them with those of the client to create a space that best suits their tastes and preferences while meeting their needs. For the last 12 years, New York interior designer Nina Barnieh-Blair has become an unquestioned expert in the art and process of collaboration with her clients. Blair brings to each client a full background of design influences starting with her native Ghana, through her British upbringing and design education at Parsons. So when her client, a clinical psychologist in Manhattan’s West Village, wanted to turn her 522-square-foot pre-war apartment into an “urban treehouse,” she found herself in incredibly good hands. 

Alvin Wayne is the quintessential New York interior designer. Originally hailing from Florida, the well-followed designer has made himself an indelible part of the city’s design landscape through a series of amazing projects and collaborations as well as appearances on a variety of design and home tour shows. When artist and music producer Greg Griffith caught a tour of Wayne’s home on one of his favorite design programs, he knew that he’d found the right designer for his new home.      

For a city that’s famously only seven-by-seven in square miles, San Francisco carries a lot of history, a lot of stories — and even more dreams. One dream that’s come true in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood is that of Swiss-born interior designer, Eva Bradley of Studio Heimat and her husband, artist Cory Bradley. The creative couple’s Victorian home boasts 3,000 square feet, including 5 bedrooms in addition to generous outdoor space, breathtaking views and a historic, century-old facade. But for them, the magic started years ago and thousands of miles away.

For Hana Getachew, the Bolé Road is a lot of things. It’s the name of her celebrated textile line, a gorgeous collection of traditionally-inspired Ethiopian pillows and accessories, currently enjoying a collaboration with West Elm. It’s a popular thoroughfare in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the designer was born. Most of all it’s a metaphor for all of the important journeys she’s been on in life, starting with the first one.

Malcolm Simmons has been designing all of his life. A native of Virginia who spent years living abroad before studying graphic and interior design, he’s now known as the owner of the design consultation company, Mas Means More. For the last two years, the self-styled “environmental graphic designer,” has made his home in a 2-story colonial-style condo in Arlington, Virginia.

New York City is full of hidden gems, places that seem ordinary enough on the outside, but inside they are marvels of design creativity. Interior designer Heavenly Gaines has created one such oasis. Her apartment in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn is a beautiful mix of colors, textures and eras.

With a burgeoning business in interior design and an equally energetic practice of buying and developing real estate, Joy Williams, the designer and chief creative behind Joyful Designs Studio has designed the ultimate getaway. She and her partner own a fully renovated getaway in the city of Augusta - in a 1920s-era building converted into 3 apartments, including her own 600 square foot pied-e-terre. 

Interior and production designer Chanae Richards is the founder and principal creative behind Oloro Interiors. The firm provides locations and design services for a variety of photo and video projects in addition to Chanae’s residential design work.

Stephanie Watkins has a full plate. For most of every day, she’s a nursing professor at a Maryland university, with 15 years of experience in her field. The rest of the time, she’s a full-on creative, the mind behind Casa Watkins, a lifestyle, interiors and content creation site that serves as an outlet for all of her many creative endeavors. Her other major outlet for the past 11 years, has been her home - a gorgeous, 3100 square foot single family home in Aberdeen, Maryland. 

As anyone who’s ever been there will tell you, North Carolina is a beautiful place. Rolling hills, fantastic beaches, and a sky that seems to go on forever are just the start of its charms. It’s also one of the nation’s largest banking hubs. That makes it a natural place to find someone like Marie Cox. An accomplished executive and one of the few female Vice Presidents in banking, her Raleigh home is the perfect blend of comfort and culture, all presented with Marie’s eye for beautiful details and a remarkable collection of art. 

Sarai Reed is the woman behind Apron Saint, a design and lifestyle brand that offers home consulting services. The brand’s tagline, “home is wherever you are and whatever you make it”, sums up Sarai’s approach to design - home can be created absolutely anywhere, no matter how big or small one’s space is. In Washington DC, Sarai has made her apartment, that’s just a little over 500-square-feet, into a beautifully curated home for herself, her girlfriend April and their dog Lambo.

Life is about passion, finding it and pursuing it. So when life in the corporate sector failed to ignite his, David Quarles IV set off to find it on his own. What he found was that he was a man of many passions, among them his new careers in jewelry design, interior design and fitness. With so much pursuing to do, he needed the right space to do it in, which he found in an artsy mid-century ranch, in Memphis, Tennessee.

To say that Anthony Dunning has an eye for design would be an understatement. As the lead designer for his own company, Dunning is responsible for the creation of beautiful spaces in many homes and businesses. His own home is a living portfolio of his design ideas. His two-story apartment, located in the Riverdale section of The Bronx is a design-lover’s dream.

New York is a busy place. For those who don’t plan ahead, the hustle and bustle can run them right over. Fortunately, for Kalyn Chandler, the founder and creative director of the lifestyle brand, Effie’s Paper, the solution to the constant run between work and life was to put the two together in one amazing space. Living and working in the same place might seem confining at first thought, but for this creative the answer laid in making sure that there was enough room to fit both sides of a full life.

Kingston born and Brooklyn-based, artist Paul Suepat is a student of contrasts. Focused constantly on the nebulous space between ambiguity and definition, his art moves between sculpture and painting, whimsical figures and strong abstract shapes, specific emotions and imaginative contexts. His home too is a class in the power of opposites. Here, trend-forward rooms defined by bright splashes of color sit beside (or beneath) spaces where restrained motifs speak more of the past than the future. And everywhere there is art. Art that Paul creates and art that he admires; pieces gifted from fellow creatives and pieces left from his massive installations for public works and private galleries. The effect is magical, and each room, no matter how different, feels like somewhere that deserves further exploration.

New York City is often touted as one of the nation’s great melting pots - a place where people of all nations come together to create a culture and a city that is like no place else on earth. And while that is undoubtedly true, New York is also a nesting doll, made of cities within cities, all constantly in the act of being built, with more popping up all the time. One of the newest places to explore is Long Island City. Not to be confused with Long Island itself, the city sits on the western edge of Queens, right at the point where the Queensboro bridge ends its trip from Manhattan. There, in a luxurious twenty-third floor apartment with commanding views of both Brooklyn and Manhattan, interior designer Tanika Goudeau Hochhauser makes her home with her husband, Brian, using all of her styling ability to ensure that the view inside her space is every bit as breathtaking as the one outside her window.  

“My life is art,” remarks Julio Leitao, upon entering he and his wife Kenza’s five-story brownstone in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. The home that the Leitao’s have built is truly a work of art. A home that had been in the family for generations, the Leitao’s were tasked with a modern update. Transforming an outdated interior into a refreshing interior, perfect for them and their girls, Luena and Zeza. 

Reuben Reuel’s womenswear brand, DEMESTIK, is making waves in the fashion world. The designer has a celebrity clientele that includes Beyonce, Jill Scott, Tamron Hall and Andra Day, and is dedicated to creating culturally-inspired pieces that truly make women shine.