Discover 7 Up-and-Coming Interior Design Studios on the Verge of Breakout Success

Studio Montemayor

Regina Pérez Montemayor credits movie watching as an early inspiration. As a kid, she was so obsessed with interior arrangements that she studied films such as The Sound of Music expressly for their sets and drew up her own, improved versions. The Studio Montemayor founder, who divides her time between San Francisco and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, also cites a gap year spent with family friends in the French countryside as a pivotal influence. “I lived with art collectors in a 200-year-old mansion filled with contemporary art, furniture, and lighting,” she recalls. “The mix was so romantic and exciting.” Now she creates her own captivating mixes—operating as a design chameleon and giving each project its own distinct narrative, a talent she honed during stints at architectural firm Hart Howerton and with interior designer Nicole Hollis. Guiding philosophy: “A smaller, more intimate setting allows me to be immersed in every detail. I’m more emotionally invested,” Montemayor says. “I love being involved early and carving out the space.” Current projects: A modern farmhouse in Marin County, California, as well as a contemporary interior in a traditional Brooklyn, New York, brownstone.

Breland-Harper

Partners in life and cofounders of Los Angeles studio Breland-Harper, Michael Breland and Peter Harper trained as modernists but are obsessed with history and craft. Breland counts the time he spent at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas, as his most formative experience. Harper pursued studies in architecture, preservation, urban planning, and architectural conservation before landing at Atelier AM. They consider their first home, a tiny stucco bungalow on the Los Angeles River, their breakout project. “The interior was a rabbit warren of dimly lit rooms, and the main design treatment was to remove more than we put back,” says Breland. Guiding philosophy: The pair continues to push a message of integration—of architecture, interior, and landscape— with everything from adaptive reuse sites to homes for Hollywood actors. Current project: A 10,000-square-foot, ranch-style house in Ojai, California, is on the drafting table. “One of the most important questions we ask ourselves in any new project is, Where are we?” says Breland. “It’s thrilling to work on a high-design residence of this scale in which the focus is sustainability,” adds Harper.

Tala Fustok

Tala Fustok determined early on in her architecture studies that she did not want to take that path exclusively. “There was no leopard print involved,” explains the West London interior designer. After six years in Paris working for Culture in Architecture—the Hôtel de Crillon was among her projects—Fustok was lured back to England by The Mandrake, a boutique hotel by her entrepreneur brother, Rami. In London, she also crafted interiors at the exclusive LayLow club and a showstopping space at the 2023 WOW!house. Guiding philosophy: Fustok’s English mother loved print and color, while her Palestinian father adored classical architecture. Their divergent tastes informed her ability to blend disparate styles; marrying English comfort to the elegant proportions synonymous with French design is her superpower. “Architectural discipline mixed with something wild and a little bit out there— that’s what takes my breath away,” she says. Current projects: A 34-unit development in a refurbished building for an Austrian client who lives in the U.S. A furniture and lighting collection is also on the horizon.

Rob Johansen

Rob Johansen has a flair for combining art and design, a skill he developed in the studio of Tony Ingrao, a firm known for layering. But his experience with art goes back even further, as he had majored in painting at NYU Steinhardt. Although not all his clients are millennials, many are— especially the ones who grew up in fabulous apartments surrounded by major works of art and collectible design. “This generation wants to live in a way that reflects its tastes,” says the designer, who launched his own firm in 2020. They’re quite informed, and he’s there to tailor-make an experience with furniture and art that speak to them in a very personal way. Guiding philosophy: “I never really want people to feel like they’re going into a Rob Johansen home. I want to understand each of my clients individually. My main purpose—which might sound lofty, but it’s true—is I do this because I love to see people become who they want to be.” Current projects: A three-year renovation of a townhouse on the Upper East Side of New York with architect Nicholas Deramo as well as a midcentury ranch-style home in Beverly Hills, California, and a new building in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Chloé Nègre

In the ten years since she launched her namesake studio in Paris, Chloé Nègre has cultivated a reputation for her intuitive approach. Her projects range from retail to restaurants, hospitality to residential, and she likes to highlight the historical elements of a space to create an environment that evokes a sense of a place. With her dazzling résumé, including studying at the prestigious École Camondo and working for India Mahdavi, that attention to detail completely tracks. Most recently, she partnered with the Invisible Collection on several furniture pieces, and in September she unveiled her own showroom, called Laclaux in Paris, where she’ll debut new designs in January during Paris Déco Off. Guiding philosophy: “If you have a look at our projects, you can find some similarities around this idea of feeling good inside and about generosity with a lot of colors and textures.” Current projects: In addition to several residences, she has three concepts opening over the next two years, including one for the luxury residential apartment group Highstay; a hotel in Lille, France; and a renovation of a 200-room, mixed-use space for The Babel Community.

Ishka Designs

Anishka Clarke originally moved to New York City to pursue an MBA in finance at NYU. Then, when she bought her first apartment, in Brooklyn, she began to think about space and flow as well as design. Her friends were impressed with the results and tapped her to help them with their own places. Her partner in life and business, art director and photographer Niya Bascom, eventually encouraged her to pivot. Two decades later, Bascom and Clarke, who share Jamaican and Guyanese roots, are the principals of New York–based Ishka Designs. Guiding principle: Art figures largely in their design equation. “It’s the glue of an interior,” says Clarke. “We bring in art from a cultural and spiritual standpoint so that it speaks to who the clients are. A work of art conveys something new every single time you look at it. It gives unconditionally.” Current projects: A passion for artisanship informs each project, whether it’s a pied-à-terre in Paris, a ski house in Colorado, or a penthouse in Tribeca. “Who they are, what they are, and what they want shape how we come up with tangible designs for our clients,” says Bascom.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Winter Issue under the headline “Fresh Perspectives.” Subscribe to the magazine.