Our Story · Est. 2014

A studio devoted to the art of living well at home

Living Design Home is a residential interior studio shaping warm, considered spaces — where craft, materials, and quiet luxury meet the rhythm of everyday life.

Begin Your Project Explore Our Work
10+Years of practice
180Homes designed
14Industry awards

"Design is not decoration. It is how a home holds you."

— Alana Mendes, Founder
Our Beginning

From a single renovation to a decade of considered homes

Living Design Home began in 2014 in a converted carriage house, with one commission, one carpenter, and a stubborn belief that interiors should feel as good as they look. What started as a side practice between two friends fresh from architecture school has grown into a full residential studio serving clients from Brooklyn to the Berkshires.

Over the past decade we have remained intentionally small. We take on a limited number of projects each year so that every home we touch receives the same depth of attention — from the first measured sketch to the last folded linen on move-in day. Our work is rooted in restraint, warmth, and the quiet conviction that a well-made room can change the texture of a life.

A.M.
Alana Mendes Founder & Principal Designer
Design Philosophy

Four principles that shape every room we design

We follow a quiet set of rules. They are not trends to chase — they are the bones beneath everything we make.

01

Material Honesty

We choose materials for how they age, not how they photograph. Untreated oak, hand-troweled plaster, brushed brass, raw linen — surfaces that earn a patina and tell the truth about their origin.

02

Slow Craft

We work on our own timeline, and we ask our clients to slow down with us. Great rooms are not the product of speed — they are the product of iteration, of living with a space before deciding it is finished.

03

Edited Restraint

We believe in fewer things, chosen well. Every object in a room must earn its place. Our designs breathe — they leave room for the people who live inside them, and for the years that follow.

04

Lived Warmth

A home should feel like an embrace on a cold evening. We design for sensory comfort — the way light pools at 5pm, the way a wool throw softens a leather chair, the way a kitchen holds conversation.

By the Numbers

A decade measured in rooms, not headlines

We do not market loudly. The work is the portfolio, and the portfolio has grown slowly, one home at a time.

180+
Homes completed
10
Years in practice
14
Design awards
96%
Repeat & referral clients
The People

A small studio of designers, makers, and listeners

We are a team of seven, working between our Brooklyn studio and a woodshop in Hudson. We hire slowly, and we hire for taste, empathy, and a love of the long form of the work.

Alana Mendes

Founder & Principal

Trained at the Architectural Association in London. Alana leads the studio's design direction and works personally on every project from concept to install.

Julian Thorne

Design Director

Former senior at Roman and Williams. Julian leads materials research and oversees joinery detailing across all studio commissions.

Sade Okafor

Senior Interior Designer

A specialist in color and light, Sade leads our textile and finishes library. Her work grounds the studio in a quiet, sensory palette.

Rohan Patel

Studio Manager & Joinery Lead

Rohan runs our woodshop in Hudson and coordinates every install. If it is built, finished, or placed, Rohan has touched it twice.

Ready to Begin?

Let's shape a home that feels like yours

We take on a small number of new projects each season. If our approach resonates, we would love to hear about your home, your routines, and the room you cannot stop thinking about.

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