Studio VAE

Studio VAE Interior Designer | San Francisco
Thoughtful interiors for the modern family. Approachable luxury for the Bay Area & beyond.

Studio VAE, a women of color-owned, full-service interior design firm, began with a shared vision — to make a difference in the design world and create a space where diversity, inclusiveness, and creative expression can thrive. We warmly embrace the unique viewpoints that each member brings and firmly believe in fostering mutual respect, building trust, and listening to one another. Our thoughtful

approach blends timeless design with contemporary innovation that seamlessly aligns with modern lifestyles. Drawing from classic shapes and forms, we ensure spaces embody inherent grace for enduring appeal and adaptability in an ever-evolving design landscape. With our clients' desires, personalities, and lifestyles at the heart of our process, we curate elements for enhanced functionality, seamlessly integrating wonder and elegance that resonate with the human spirit and elevate the art of living. We believe good design goes beyond aesthetics; it tells a compelling narrative through space, light, and form. It is an art of storytelling that resonates with you. We take immense joy in partnering with clients who share our commitment to the long-term journey of their projects, prioritizing the art of aging gracefully and homes cherished over time.

08/14/2026

Every finished room starts as a drawing. Watch the Parnassus Heights kitchen go from demo and framing, to the drawings that guided every inch, to the space it became. This is the part of the process no one sees, but it’s where the real design work happens.

Introducing Parnassus Heights: a full-home renovation on a quiet cul-de-sac near Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve.As an in...
08/10/2026

Introducing Parnassus Heights: a full-home renovation on a quiet cul-de-sac near Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve.

As an interior designer in San Francisco, this project was a personal favorite — a 1907 Edwardian belonging to an active family with a young daughter, renovated to hold up to real life, not just look good in photos. We touched nearly every room — kitchen, dining room, hallway, bedrooms, every bathroom — and reworked the basement entry so the everyday coming-and-going finally makes sense.

More on this project all week — starting with the full before/after.

Design 📐 - STUDIO VAE
Photography 📷 - Nicole Dianne - Interior Photographer
Styling 🌸 - STUDIO VAE

08/07/2026

We did not set out to just start an interior design studio.

We set out to build the client experience we always wished existed: one where you feel heard, not directed. A partner who helps you figure out how you want to live, not just how a room should look.

Not everyone walks in already knowing how this process works, and that is okay. We explain it as we go, and we want you to speak up along the way. That is still what drives every project we take on. 💖

We met on our first day of work in 2019. Same age, same start date, instant friends.Before that we’d each spent years at...
08/05/2026

We met on our first day of work in 2019. Same age, same start date, instant friends.

Before that we’d each spent years at high-end residential and commercial architecture firms around San Francisco, learning the parts of this job that don’t photograph well. Structure. Sequencing. What it takes to get a set of drawings built.

We reunited later at a design-and-construction startup, running the design team together. Two years after that, in 2021, we made it official. Studio VAE launched mid-pandemic, which was scary and fun in roughly equal measure.

What we found in each other was a shared way of working. Walk the space before you touch it. Read the light, the views, what’s already there. Reach for the matte stone over the polished one, because texture is the difference between a surface and something you actually want to put your hand on. And build for how someone lives, not for how a room looks in a photo.
Five years of working together. Still finishing each other’s punch lists.

Curious what your home could feel like? Link in bio.

08/03/2026

Before Studio VAE, we were both on the same in-house design team, started on the same day, and became fast friends almost instantly. Two designers, two very different sketchbooks, and somehow the same instinct for a room. Years and countless projects later, that instinct is still the thing we build everything on. Grateful this partnership found us. ☕️💕

Same room, new energy 💖A dining room should invite you to linger. For our San Jose project, we reimagined this space aro...
07/27/2026

Same room, new energy 💖

A dining room should invite you to linger. For our San Jose project, we reimagined this space around warmth, color, and function. This rendering shows our proposed design: full-height white oak cabinetry carries over from the adjacent kitchen, bringing in the storage the room was missing while tying the two spaces together. A lit niche in bright orange gives the eye somewhere to land, and holds the small pieces that make a home feel personal. Mustard and soft blue chairs carry a Bauhaus spirit: playful, primary, intentional. The window seat offers a quieter moment, a wooden bench with hidden storage below and a cushion made for settling in with a book or a cup of coffee, tucked into a niche where the walls and ceiling are painted blue to frame the afternoon light.

Swipe to see where we started.

Furniture usually arrives last, one piece at a time, once the big moves are settled. We think that’s backwards.A dining ...
07/20/2026

Furniture usually arrives last, one piece at a time, once the big moves are settled. We think that’s backwards.

A dining table can decide where a light fixture hangs. Sometimes it’s the reason a wall comes down. So we design furnishings alongside the architecture from day one, as one composition rather than an afterthought.
The reward is a home you love the day it’s finished, and still love years later.

New on the journal. Link in bio.

A study in balance at our San Jose project. This rendering imagines the kitchen shaped by Bauhaus principles: honest mat...
07/13/2026

A study in balance at our San Jose project. This rendering imagines the kitchen shaped by Bauhaus principles: honest materials, clean geometry, and color used with intention. White oak and mint green cabinetry set a quiet foundation, layered with mint green tile and white countertops for a fresh, tactile contrast. A cobalt pendant and warm orange accents bring the space to life.

We removed the wall between the kitchen and dining room, opening up sightlines and letting light move freely through both spaces. The result is a kitchen that feels grounded and airy all at once, form and function in conversation with each other.

One of the first questions we hear from new clients: “How long is this going to take?” We wrote this one for you. Our la...
04/13/2026

One of the first questions we hear from new clients:

“How long is this going to take?” We wrote this one for you. Our latest post walks through the real timeline of a full interior design project in San Francisco — no sugarcoating.

If you’re planning a home renovation in the Bay Area, this is your starting point. Link in bio😉

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