In the design business, overnight success is uncommon. Most well-known interior designers have spent years collaborating with clients, creating product lines, and establishing their brands. To become a household name, you’ll need a lot of hustle and a lot of media knowledge.
Today’s most well-known designers have taken a variety of paths to the top, but they can now be seen gracing the covers of publications with high-profile contracts and clients or securing frequent TV appearances.
They found out how to capitalize on their success and extend their influence globally once they got there. While these designers and architects each have their own specializations and styles, they have all made an indelible impact on the business and continue to influence how people live and decorate.
Kelly Wearstler
Kelly Wearstler was dubbed “the ruling grande dame of West Coast interior design” by The New Yorker in 2009, and her reach and influence have now expanded well beyond California. With her designs for Viceroy Hotels and Residences, Four Seasons Anguilla, and, most recently, Proper Hotels in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, the trailblazer has altered the hospitality sector.
Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, and Gwen Stefani are among her home clients, and she’s developed lines for Ann Sacks, Lee Jofa, the Rug Company, Georg Jensen, and Visual Comfort, as well as her own furniture and accessories collection. Honorable mentions here include Tiffany Brooks and Kelly Behun.
Jacques Grange
Since the 1970s, renowned French interior designer Jacques Grange has been creating unforgettable environments. He has created a diverse group of influential people throughout the years, including Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Princess Caroline of Monaco, and François Pinault.
On the business side, he’s designed the interiors of hotels including the Mark in New York, Francis Ford Coppola’s Palazzo Margherita in southern Italy, Hotel Mamá in Majorca, and, most recently, Cheval Blanc in St. Barts.
Honorable mentions here include Alyssa Kapito and Beata Heuman, so definitely check them out as well.
Justina Blakeney
With 1.2 million Instagram followers, L.A. designer Justina Blakeney has turned her diverse, plant-filled aesthetic into a hot trend and a thriving company. Since then, she’s published a New York Times bestseller, The New Bohemians, founded an online shop, and collaborated with businesses like Anthropologie, Band-Aid, Target, and Loloi Rugs, among others.
We Wild by Justina Blakeney, a limited-edition, size-inclusive clothing brand, is her most recent venture, and she hopes to create a brick-and-mortar location in the near future.
Justina partnered up with Jayne Design Studio and the Eponymous firm to expand her client list, and the partnership proved to be quite successful. Last year was the premiere of Justina Blakeney’s new art collection and curated collection.
Ken Fulk
Ken Fulk, who is based in both San Francisco and New York, has become the go-to designer for innovators like Sean Parker, Veronica Beard, Kevin Systrom, and Pharrell Williams, who all like his colorful, cinematic style. (The house he created for Michael and Xochi Birch, a tech couple, is presently on the market for a possibly record-breaking $35 million.)
Fulk also designed the interiors of some of the country’s most popular (and Instagrammable) hangouts, including Leo’s Oyster Bar, Felix Roasting Co., and Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, which is housed in a refurbished Catholic church.
The design for the rooftop dining at The Newbury Boston hotel and the remodeling of San Francisco’s three Michelin–star restaurants Saison is next on the agenda. The scope of interest of Ken’s projects range is from product design to lighting designs and furniture designs.
Nate Berkus
Nate Berkus made his television debut in 2002 on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and he soon established himself as one of America’s top designers, securing TV series, book agreements, and several collaborations.
Berkus’ namesake business, which he began at the age of 24 in 1995, has a long list of celebrity clientele, including Ricky Martin, and has collaborated on product lines with Target, Kravet, the Shade Store, and Framebridge.
He and his spouse Jeremiah Brent feature on TLC’s Nate & Jeremiah by Design, and the duo have released their newest Living Spaces line. Recent projects range from private residences to family home and beach house residential interiors designs.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard
Martyn Lawrence Bullard is the go-to decorator for celebrities including Elton John, Cher, Kylie Jenner, and Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian.
He’s also a favored collaborator for businesses, having created a dozen licensed collections for Ann Sacks, Custom Comfort, and Christofle, including tiling, beds, and silver crowns. Bullard is making his mark on the hospitality market with furnishings for Casa Laguna in Laguna Beach and the forthcoming The Prospect in Los Angeles when he isn’t designing for the stars.
Some of the worthy of mention designers include Jeffrey Bilhuber and Elle Decor.
Peter Marino
Peter Marino is the architect of choice for the fashion world. After working with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, George Nelson, and I.M. Pei/Cossutta & Ponte, the design icon launched his business in 1978 and has created shops for a who’s who of luxury fashion and jewelry companies, including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Bulgari, Hublot, Dior, Fendi, and Graff.
Like his home designs, his stores are noted for their high-end materials and stunning art displays. He recently debuted Louis Vuitton boutiques in London and Seoul, as well as a new Rubelli textile collection.
From Palm Beach and Santa Monica to Hong Kong, the range of modern home designs of Peter Marino range throughout the whole world. Today he is more active as a fashion designer but there are also current projects where he expresses his Design Philosophy.
Ashe Leandro
Chilled-out sophistication is the style. Jake Gyllenhaal and Seth Meyers are two of our clients. Ashe Leandro, the New York City business founded by former set designer Ariel Ashe and architect Reinaldo Leandro, combines modern luxury with natural materials to create places that seem open and ageless.
Work with Liev Schreiber and Seth Meyers, Ashe’s sister’s husband has been among her previous endeavors. Honorable mention is Jane Hallworth. She is employed by Ellen Degeneres to achieve a minimal look of her home.
Emily Henderson
Emily Henderson helped improve America’s decorating game by transforming bookshelves, cocktail tables, and mantels around the nation. Her big break came when she won season five of HGTV Design Star, and her succeeding program, Secrets From a Stylist, aired for two seasons on the network.
On her renowned blog and Instagram account, where she has over 835,000 followers, she shares her creative expertise with devoted admirers. Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, From Tabletops to Bookshelves, which she published in 2015, was a New York Times bestseller.
Henderson is Target’s home-style expert in addition to maintaining her interior design firm and content operation. Certainly one of the more innovative interior designers in today’s world, with past projects of beautiful interiors and awesome furniture collection.
Joanna Gaines
Joanna Gaines has built a design empire in only six years, with the support of her construction husband, Chip. Since the show’s debut on HGTV in 2013, the designer and TV personality has collaborated with major businesses like Target and Anthropologie, established a magazine, produced books, and popularized shiplap and farmhouse-style decor.
With the Magnolia Market at the Silos, a 4.9-acre retail and eating facility that attracts an estimated 30,000 visitors every week, the pair has also converted Waco, Texas, into a tourist attraction.
While Fixer Upper came to an end in 2018, the Gaineses are still on their way to dominating the design world. The next stop is a downtown Waco hotel with its own cable television network.
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