Introducing the New American Voices of 2026

Coast-to-coast, an emerging class of interior design stars are defying norms and reimagining the way we liveWho are the emerging talents reshaping American design? That is a question we editors of AD ask ourselves every year as we scour the country coast-to-coast for the stars of tomorrow—talents we christen as today’s New American Voices. For 2026, we are spotlighting nine firms, each of which is reimagining the way we live in their region and beyond. Taken together, these talents represent every corner of the nation while presenting original ideas for how our homes can look, function, and breathe fresh energy into the everyday. Quite simply, they are the names to know now.DyaliNew York CityPhoto: Amy LombardBorn in Queens to an Indian father and Nigerian mother, Rahul Ghera grew up immersed in different cultures and traditions. His family’s New York– and Mumbai-based embroidery business impressed upon him how fine craft could fuel different forms of expression, whether fashions for Todd Oldham, textiles for the home, or costumes for Broadway. “A technical skill set makes creativity more empowering,” says Ghera (pictured at home in Brooklyn). True to that thinking, he got his master's in architecture at RISD and cut his teeth at Ralph Lauren and in the offices of AD100 Hall of Famer Annabelle Selldorf. Since launching his firm, Dyali—named for his great grandmother, the embroidery matriarch—in 2020, he has mined that savvy to spearhead residential transformations in the Big Apple and beyond. Those include a 550-square-foot studio and the combination of four apartments. “For me, the dialogue between architecture and interiors is so critical,” he says. “They are always in conversation." —Sam CochranMatthew TsangAustin, TexasPhoto: Cathlin McCullough“A space should be transportive,” says Matthew Tsang. “I want a room to feel like an escape from everyday life.” The Texas-born designer (pictured at home) credits that immersive approach to his own multi­disciplinary résumé, which includes stints in floristry and hospitality. “Flowers taught me composition and scale; plants taught me about beauty; restaurants taught me flow and atmosphere,” says the AD PRO Directory member, who has designed eateries and residences coast-to-coast since launching his firm in 2014. Indoor-outdoor connections, sculptural forms, and objects from around the globe are hallmarks of his projects.Making cameos, too, are pieces from his own furniture line, Tissilent (a riff on his last name’s silent T) and botanical studio, Tree Things. Everything flows from the wabi-sabi sensibility at the core of his practice. “I am deeply inspired by Asian design principles,” he says, citing “restraint, calmness, intentionality. Those ideas have profoundly influenced design philosophies all over the world, including here in the US, and certainly my own.” —Livia CaligorGarance RousseauLos Angeles/New York CityPhoto: Amy LombardThere’s a reason that Garance Rousseau’s work so effortlessly synthesizes classic Continental élan and California joie de vivre. The AD PRO Directory phenom (pictured in Brooklyn) was born and raised between Los Angeles and Versailles, absorbing the best of both worlds. After studying industrial design and fine art at Parsons in New York City, Rousseau did brief stints in the offices of AD100 mainstays Kelly Wearstler and Waldo Fernandez before launching her namesake studio three years ago. She’s off to a fast start, with a range of projects that includes a Central Park–facing Fifth Avenue apartment, a Hudson Valley cottage for a Broadway and film actor, a musicians’ retreat in LA’s Mount Washington neighborhood, and a Swedish-inflected farmhouse painted cherry red for a science fiction writer in the Hollywood Hills. “I take an intuitive approach. I always start with the architecture and ask what the house wants,” she says, emphasizing her predilection for vintage furnishings and finely crafted custom details. “A great home should reflect nothing so much as the people who live there.” —Mayer RusMarshall NeveNew York CityPhoto: Amy LombardOne look around Marshall Neve’s tiny but treasure-laden apartment (pictured) in New York City’s Chinatown tells you everything you need to know about his incisive eye and wide-ranging tastes. Among the objets de vertu, you’ll find an African Bwa butterfly mask, a bevy of antique duck decoys, a Victorian bamboo book grabber, and a vintage Japanese fireman’s jacket. “I love English furniture and silver, Japanese and Chinese things, folk art, Americana. I’m not chasing any one lane or look exclusively,” Neve says of his broad aesthetic vision. “I’m interested in great furniture, art, and objects, so I like to keep the backgrounds laid-back and quiet—no big statements with wallpaper and fabrics.” A native of Fort Worth, he worked in advertising and social media before a move to a new home in Manhattan sparked an epiphany about his passion for interiors. His education in the field unfolded over five years of experience in the office of the AD100 firm Redd Kaihoi. He is currently completing an East Village apartment for actor-writer Benito Skinner. —M.R.Pat Austin DesignPortland, OregonPhoto: Christine DongAlways expect the unexpected in the work of the AD PRO Directory firm Pat Austin Design—an intriguing artisanal flourish here, a strange eruption of color and pattern there. Even the name of the studio is something of an oddity, an homage by founding partners Candace Cohu (left) and Ally Hasche to the late artist Pat Austin, wife of the celebrated rosarian David Austin, who named a flower after her. Although the firm works across a variety of design languages—a Craftsman in Tacoma, a contemporary home in Seattle, a Spanish Revival in Los Angeles—their interiors consistently emphasize bold forms, refined finishes, and a sophisticated approach to tone and texture. “We really respect the architecture, but at the same time we’re interested in the tension of the unpredictable. Nothing in design should be an easy cut and paste,” says Cohu. In 2022, the duo (pictured at their office) joined forces with Max Pluenneke to found Patty Studios, an atelier that makes fine carpets handwoven in Nepal. “We have no desire to become a big mogul firm,” Hasche says of the partners’ aspirations. “But we have big goals, big dreams.” —M.R.Insides StudioFreeport, MainePhoto: Tara RiceKacee Witherbee hears a common refrain from her creative clients: “We don’t want it to look like we hired a designer.” Layered and deeply personal spaces are her speciality. Since launching Insides Studio in 2022, this Georgia-born talent has built her name blending a reverence for the past—she studied historic preservation at the College of Charleston—with the deep-dish decorating tricks she learned under industry veteran Richard Keith Langham. These days, Witherbee, a former art director and production designer, might upholster sofas for a Maine living room with her client’s grandmother’s kilims, or create custom bubblegum-pink shades for a Brooklyn brownstone’s Murano-glass chandelier. At her own 18th-century Maine house (pictured), meanwhile, ever-so wonky architecture and prized objects, like an antique memory jar made from broken china (shown, top left), lend that intangible effortless quality her clients love. Little touches, Witherbee explains, “give a home real emotion and life.” —Hannah MartinBlessed Little BungalowAtlantaPhoto: Matt Odom“Growing up in rural South Carolina,” Amber Guyton recalls, “I didn’t know interior design could be a job.” To anyone watching closely, however, it was clear where her future lay. “I was always moving furniture, stenciling borders, and repainting walls.” When as an adult, having studied journalism and advertising, she started updating a 1940s San Antonio bungalow, her mom finally asked: “When are you gonna do this for real?” What began in 2016 as a home-renovation blog and decorating side hustle called Blessed Little Bungalow became a full-time occupation as of 2021. Today, the AD PRO Directory member (pictured at home) has projects throughout Georgia and beyond on the boards; a new line of bedding; a recently wrapped television pilot; and her first book, Soulful Maximalism, (Rock Point) hitting shelves on October 6. In it, she distills her bold, upbeat, and color-forward approach into four pillars: joy, culture, layers, and intention. “Some people hear maximalist and think it’s a dirty word,” she muses. “There is a way to be maximalist and keep things balanced.” Her first step is injecting happiness into a room. “Everyone deserves to love where they live,” she notes. “Interior design is for everyone.” —S.C.Hayley Bridget InteriorsNew York City and Westchester CountyPhoto: Amy Lombard“I really like to be in control of everything,” confesses Hayley Cavagnolo, founder of Hayley Bridget Interiors. And she means everything, “from the initial concept all the way through to the installation of clients’ toothbrushes. I even like to organize a home at the end of a job.” If her process is rigorous, the results are romantic—a mix of soft, organic hues; patinated antiques; and crisply edited vignettes. Since launching her firm in 2021, after seven years working for design star Michelle R. Smith, the FIT graduate has applied that “traditional yet refined” approach to projects across the country and beyond. Today Cavagnolo’s focus is on the greater New York City area, where she recently refreshed a Brooklyn town house (pictured) for Alice Russotti of Porta and has seven projects in progress. “I love pairing modern elements with classical design,” she says. “I like layers, but nothing too fussy.” —Katherine McLaughlinKelsey SundbergLos AngelesPhoto: Roger KisbyWhen Kelsey Sundberg starts a project, her first order of business is getting to know the homeowners. What are their daily rituals? What objects are they most attached to? “I’m more interested in how spaces are experienced than how they look,” says the designer, who studied weaving at RISD and went out on her own in 2022 after five years in the office of AD100 maestro Pam Shamshiri. “I’m drawn to objects that feel tactile and grounded,” adds Sundberg. Her narrative-driven process often takes her to the stacks of LA’s public libraries. Spaces of the past, she says, “can help identify how you want to feel in a room. Then, I massage that into something that makes sense for you and your house.” For fashion designer Lela Becker’s home in Pacific Palisades (pictured), she created a groovy riff on Lee Radziwill’s famous tented sitting room by Renzo Mongiardino. Whether Sundberg is helping a family friend rebuild their dream house as part of the fire relief initiative Collective or outfitting a Lake Tahoe–area hotel, “it’s about creating spaces that feel alive and have a memory.” —H.M.This story appears in the October issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.Not a subscriber? 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