Name:

Noa Blake Design

 

Location:

New Jersey 

_Occupation:

Interior Design Firm  

 

How would you describe your style?

I think the most notable thing about Noa Blake Design is that we don't fit into any one style box.  Our personal styles are so different from one another and the uniqueness of our look comes from the way they merge together, and how that translates to each individual client's wants and needs. 

Ariel definitely leans a bit coastal, she loves dusty colors and warmth in a light and bright way.  I tend to skew more mid-century and gravitate toward rich, dark tones and edgy elements.  We come together in our love of earthy materials and a focus on texture and layering. 

It's just the "Noa Blake" style, no other way to describe it!

Tell us a bit about your professional background. 

We grew up in an incredibly creative household.  Our dad is a Landscape Architect and our mom was always deeply entrenched in art. 

While so many families were bonding over sporting events growing up, ours was bouncing from antique shop to art gallery.  We learned at a very young age how to put together furniture on our own and were always given free reign to allow our bedrooms to show our personalities.  I studied Graphic Design in college and Malorie studied Fashion. 

Our paths brought us together first in Fashion & Home PR, where we learned so much about the product side of the industry and my technical background from GD was an incredible asset that I didn't fully realize until we began exploring Interior Design together.  We decided to go back to school at our local community college to ensure we had a foundation and honestly learned most of what we know in the field.  The best way to learn is to do.

How do you select art with your clients? Do you suggest the work and have them approve or do you look for art together?

This is so dependent on the client.  Many of our clients love and appreciate art so they share artists, pieces and even galleries that they like and we narrow from there to get the right pieces in the space.  Many of our clients are the opposite and they look to us for guidance, which can often be more difficult as there are endless possibilities and as I mentioned, the art selection can completely change the look and feel of the room from one choice to the next. 

We do include an extensive art survey during our intake process so that we can see what our clients gravitate toward.  This not only tells us about art but so many other important elements - whether they tend to like clean lines or soft ones, bold shapes, white space, what colors they're drawn to and which they stay away from, if they're
risk-takers or they're more comfortable playing it safe. 

Art tells a story.

Can you tell us your favorite design hack(s)?

That is such a hard one!  Every situation is so completely different. 

I will tell you that aside from art, accessories make the room.  You would be shocked how many times we install furniture before styling and then come back to add some accessories and the clients can't understand how the room changed so much when it had already seemed finished.  Books, plants, frames, objects - they are so necessary. 

I also think that if you're tight to your budget, an amazing way to maximize it is to purchase small stock upholstery pieces and recover them in amazing fabrics.  Our design is so much about texture and materials.  We can easily transform a stool from Wayfair into a work of art with the right textiles.