ABOUT NOZ DESIGN + WHAT WE BELIEVE
There is a version of beautiful design that requires us to conform: it instructs us to soften our edges, quiet our intuition, and select what is safe. It teaches us that "good taste" means fitting in – the vibrancy of one’s specific life beiged-out into acceptability and the performance of keeping up. But the cost of this kind of beauty is the loss of Self.
Established in 2014, Noz Design believes the spaces we live in should reflect who we are – they should encourage us to be our most expressive, most present, most whole, our most alive. These spaces should honor where + who we come from, the people + beings we love, and the fullest life we want to lead in them. This ambition to create these spaces for our clients is at the center of Noz Design's work.
After breaking free from the security of a corporate career, Noz reclaimed her first love of design to build a studio around a simple but radical idea: that beauty feels best when it creates our own belonging. Guided by deep reverence for individuality and expression, Noz creates homes that celebrate the people who live in them – effervescent spaces that help our clients self-express, not as an indulgence, but as an exercise to root ourselves.
When people are freed to demonstrate who they deeply are, real meaningful connection activates: a home becomes a place where one's people gather openly, where stories are shared vulnerably, where individuality is celebrated. Each Noz Design project is an act of listening, understanding, and interpreting into experiential, aesthetic design: we conceive of spaces in which our clients feel seen, where their quirks are celebrated, and where their own humanity is beautiful. In these spaces, our own communities can flourish.
To us, the best design feels like coming home to yourself.
Based in San Francisco, Noz Design serves clients on residential, hospitality, and retail projects throughout the Bay Area, Lake Tahoe, New York City, and beyond. We believe in design as a collaboration with our clients’ fullest selves, in embracing the Beginner’s Mind of staying curious, fresh, + open-minded, and in the power of thoughtful communication that earns and upholds mutual trust.
At Noz Design, we are big believers that Home is critical to our mental health and happiness. As active members of the San Francisco community, we commit a portion of our income to local women’s shelters, SFMOMA, arts nonprofits, and animal welfare nonprofits. Noz Design is proudly a woman-owned, POC-owned business.
RECOGNITION
We are honored to have been awarded Best Interior Design Firm by San Francisco Magazine / Modern Luxury (2026). We are also humbled to be recognized by 1stDibs 50 (2026, 2025, 2023), Better Homes & Gardens Stylemakers List (2024), Luxe Gold List (2026, 2024), Architectural Digest New American Voices (2020), House Beautiful Next Wave (2020), and Sunset Magazine’s Best Designer of the West (2020). Our firm also won Best Kitchen at the Modern Luxury Design 9 Awards (2025).
Our work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Luxe, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, The Wall Street Journal, 7x7, SF Chronicle, Rue, Sunset, and HGTV Magazine. Noz is a regular on Architectural Digest’s “Space Savers” YouTube series.
NOZ NOZAWA, BIG BOSS
San Francisco-based Noz Nozawa is known for her commitment to artful and highly personal interiors. Fearless in her design choices, her spaces are grounded in a commitment to helping her clients access joy and love through the process and have earned her projects across the country as well as industry accolades. She takes pride in creating a workplace that promotes kindness, pride in the reward of work, and a human-first-employee-second culture. Noz holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics with a minor in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania.
KENDALL ST. CLAIRE, PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Influenced by her affinity for sustainability and San Francisco architecture, Kendall – who grew up in the Bay – gravitated back to the City after completing her degree in Environmental Design and Architecture at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her fondness for sustainable living translates from her work into her hobbies: in her free time, you can find Kendall scouring flea markets for art and vintage clothing. Beyond her technical design background, Kendall’s vast experience in the hospitality service industry has made her the ultimate team player, instilled a deep reverence for artisanal cheeses and craft cocktails, and established a penchant for restaurant design.
STEFANIE KEMPER, DESIGN
Stefanie is a born-and-raised Californian committed to ethical design, championing local artisans, and community-building through a queer and intersectional lens. She spends her free time serving on the board of a local LGBTQIA+ nonprofit and seeking inspiration from the vibrant architecture and culture of San Francisco's neighborhoods. Stefanie holds a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from San Francisco State University. Since then, she has worked on high-end residential projects in the Bay Area, New York, Napa, Jackson Hole, Tahoe, and beyond.
MEGAN ROCK, DESIGN
Megan brings an eclectic, instinct-driven approach to interiors, treating each space as an ensemble. She has a soft spot for the slightly offbeat, the perfectly imperfect, and anything that feels like it has a past life, which you can find both in her interiors and her distinctive personal style.
Originally from Idaho, she traded wide open landscapes for the creative melting pot of San Francisco, shaping a design perspective that is both grounded and unapologetically bold. With experience spanning high-end residential and hospitality design, her work has been recognized by leading industry voices. When not designing, you can find Megan adventuring with friends in her D&D group, scouring the city for hidden gems, or drumming with local Bay-Area pop punk band Pocket Veto.
ERNIE NOZAWA, SECURITY
Ernie is a born-and-raised Northern California girl. She leads our materials testing in-office, ensuring that rug samples are durable and scritchy enough for our clients’ pets. As a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Ernie serves as both our office guest greeter as well as our office guard against said guests, delivery people, and sidewalk canine troublemakers. Her passion for comfortable seating, performance textiles, and her city-girl-meets-Tahoe-mountaineer lifestyle makes her an iconic member of the team.
OUR AFFILIATIONS
Noz Design is proud to belong to these prestigious industry organizations. Noz presently serves on the Leadership Advisory Board of the Design Leadership Network, and is a former National Board member of AAPI Design Alliance and founder of the San Francisco chapter.
