Inspiring Interior Designers

Nov 23, 20202 min read

"Design to express, not to impress."

India Mahdavi

India Mahdavi is a true jetsetter. She is an Iranian-French architect and designer. Born in Tehran, she spent her childhood traveling between Cambridge, Massachusetts, New York, Heidelberg, Venice, and Paris. She later earned her architecture degree from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, before also studying at Parsons, SVA, and the Cooper Union. She returned to Paris to be Christian Liagre’s studio director, then established her own brand and studio there in 1999, designing hospitality and residential projects worldwide and opening two showrooms for her furniture and petite object designs. In 2016, Mahdavi received France’s highest cultural award, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Since the opening of her studio, Mahdavi develops through her creations a certain vision of happiness and color. She has designed numerous places such as bars, restaurants, retail concepts, clubs and hotel rooms.

The Gallery at Sketch London

India Mahdavi was given three months to reinvent The Gallery at Sketch for artist Mourad Mazouz. It has since become the most instagrammed restaurant in the world! The monochrome pink design makes David Shrigley's 250 drawings pop while also having a soft embrace. Mahdavi infused the space in an extravagant and lush Hollywood pink to embrace the classic brasserie. She states that, "My first desire was to paint it all pink and to stage the customer as if he were a part of a film. The pink contrasted with the radicality of the room. In this masculine atmosphere, I had to assert myself in front of this cubic room and vision: That of color and gentleness."

I am personally so inspired by India Mahdavi and her whimsy and playful style. Her use of color is immaculate and joyful. I have always ran across images of her work on social media accounts such as Pinterest or Instagram, but I never took the time to research the interior designer that was responsible for such amazing work. This blog post allowed me to finally learn who was responsible for these amazing spaces, as well as see her other work that she has designed over the years. She is able to take me to a colorful wonderland like no other interior designer.