Nina Takesh

With a career that spans luxury interiors, product design, and residential development, Nina Takesh has built a practice defined by timeless elegance and thoughtful craftsmanship. Drawing from her multicultural upbringing and a deep appreciation for history, she creates layered interiors that balance refinement with livability.

(Image above courtesy of Nina Takesh)

When you were a kid, what did you dream of becoming? Did any of those childhood ambitions lead you to where you are today?

I wanted to be an artist. I was obsessed with beautiful things before I had any framework for why. Growing up between Tehran and Beverly Hills, then spending time in France and Switzerland, I was surrounded by a lot of visual richness early on. My father was an architect, so there was always an emphasis on how spaces felt, not just how they looked. I think I absorbed more than I realized. The path to design wasn’t a dramatic decision. It was more like a slow recognition that this was already how I saw the world.

Was there a specific turning point or experience when you realized design was your true calling?

It came through Petit Tresor, the baby boutique I founded in Beverly Hills. It became the go-to destination for celebrity families and I was designing nurseries for everyone, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, you name it. But somewhere in the middle of all of that, I realized I was hungry to do more. A nursery is one room. I wanted the whole house. I stopped ignoring it and followed it into full interior design, and I haven’t looked back.

Is there a particular designer, artwork, or design movement that deeply inspires you?

18th-century French interiors, the hôtels particuliers with their hand-painted silk panels and layered botanical motifs. That period understood that a room should feel like it has a history, a past. That reference shows up in my work constantly, even when it’s not literal. The other thread is Persian design, the rug and tapestry tradition I grew up surrounded by. Dense, layered, objects with real memory in them. Both of those inform how I think about depth in a space.

How would you describe your design philosophy? Has it evolved over time?

Layered, considered, livable. Those have been consistent. What’s evolved is how much I trust committing to a point of view. Early on I was more cautious about how far to push a space. Now I understand that restraint and boldness aren’t opposites. The most restrained choice can also be the most confident one. It just has to be intentional.

Which of your projects are you most proud of, and what makes them stand out?

My latest flip project, Coldwater, has been one of the most creatively satisfying things I’ve done. There’s something different about having complete design autonomy, no client brief to answer to, just your own eye and instincts. The challenge I set for myself was staying classic and neutral enough to appeal to future buyers while still leaving room for the details that make a space feel considered. The door knobs were marble. The primary bathroom was wall to wall marble. And in the bar we had a little fun with my belarteSTUDIO wallpaper. Those moments are where the personality lives. It proved to me that restraint and specificity aren’t mutually exclusive. You can do both if you know where to spend your intention.

What is the most significant challenge facing the design world today?

Saturation. Trends cycle faster than ever and there’s constant pressure to produce content about design rather than just do it. The response has to be a return to specificity. Designing for a particular person in a particular place, with real references behind every decision, not just what’s performing on the algorithm this month.

What are you currently working on, and what projects or goals are on the horizon?

Right now I’m deep in a villa project in Turks and Caicos which has been a real creative undertaking. I’m also working on some namesake collections that I’m not quite ready to talk about yet, but stay tuned. The broader intention has always been finding ways to bring the aesthetic I deliver to private clients into people’s homes in a more accessible way. That work is ongoing and there’s a lot coming.

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