Women's Day Special: 10 Women Leaders in Interior Designing - 2026
By Adlin Pertishya Jebaraj, Correspondent, Industry Outlook

Women's Day Special: 10 Women Leaders in Interior Designing - 2026

I still remember the first time I walked into a beautifully designed space. The room felt cozy, warm and inspiring simultaneously. This experience made me realize the true influence of design. Women leaders in the interior design sphere influence the experience of homes, offices, and hospitality spaces today.

These are the best women interior designers who introduce new ideas into the business. They use technology, art and culture to make people love spaces. Others are women-led interior design studios that design upmarket homes and worldwide hotel areas.

On this Women's Day, we are honouring women leaders who are influencing the interior design industry in this country. The list below mentions the best women interior designers in India 2026, who give hope to the new generation of designers.

Both designers are embodiments of high creativity, leadership, and influence in the field of women in architecture and design.

Sunita Kohli

Sunita Kohli is one of the most prominent female interior designers in India. She established her outstanding career in restoration, architecture, and design. She is well-informed about the past and the culture. Kohli is the head of the K2India design firm. The studio deals with building design, restoration, interior design, and furniture design. She has revived old structures, including the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Parliament House in New Delhi.

On one occasion, she said that restoration should not interfere with the original design of a building. She feels that a close design can make designers preserve architectural authenticity. Her studio works on government buildings, culturally and luxury homes, as well as hotels. This is what makes her one of the most well-known for award-winning interior designers in India.

In 1992, Sunita Kohli was awarded Padma Shri because of her contribution to heritage conservation and design. The youthful designers adore her designs as they are a blend of modern and traditional designs. Her projects demonstrate how residential interior designers can incorporate culture in modern spaces. She has reinforced interior design leadership in the country over the decades of her work.

Gauri Khan

Gauri Khan is among the most recognizable and popular female interior designers in India today. She is the head of Gauri Khan Designs, a design studio that functions in Mumbai.

Her studio targets wealthy homes, celebrity homes, restaurants and retail areas. She has a combination of glamour and contemporary comfort in her work. The trends of the luxury interior designers in India are represented in many luxury projects.

Her design works involve luxury homes of a number of Bollywood personalities and commercial hospitality.

In 2024, she won the award for Interior Designer of the Year at Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards. When she was taking the award, she offered an encouraging message to women entrepreneurs: You should never be restrained by age. When you dream about something, you will be able to achieve it.

Her studio also deals with restaurants and concept stores, as well as with boutique hospitality. These projects reveal her good standing in the industry of interior design for hospitality.

Shabnam Gupta

Shabnam Gupta is one of the most innovative women designers of interior design in India. She has started her own design company, The Orange Lane, in Mumbai.

The colors she uses are bold, her narratives are stories of art, and she uses multifaceted textures. These details produce expressive places, which are intimate and lively. The projects of Gupta cover celebrity homes, restaurants and hospitality areas. She has done the interiors of actors like Rani Mukerji and Kangana Ranaut.

Gupta is a designer of furniture and interior as well, and he created a furniture and home decor brand he named Peacock Life. This is the venture revealing how interior design entrepreneurs go beyond design studios.

Her work comprises residential homes, retailing, restaurants and experience spaces. She was ranked one of the most successful female interior designers in India by many designers. She works with a blend of modern art, hand-crafted and colorful materials. The factors that affect interior design trends 2026 in urban houses.

Sussanne Khan

Sussanne Khan leads one of the most distinctive women led design studios in India, The Charcoal Project.

Her style of design combines the industrial style with gentle artistic features. This makes the spaces bold and graceful. Her studio creates luxury residences, retail and commercial interiors. The modern materials and custom furniture are represented in many projects.

The work of Khan can be considered as the result of the increasing role of commercial interior design professionals in India.

Her works are concerned with narrative and emotional attachment to space. This renders her a powerful voice among the contemporary interior design leaders. Khan tends to work with international designers and artists. Such alliances increase the Indian design impact globally.

Lipika Sud

Lipika Sud was one of the pioneer women who had led the interior design field. She started Lipika Sud Interiors Pvt Ltd and established a reputation for the eternal space and flawless design. Her work combines both the cultural context and the modern functionality. She dwells upon powerful space organization and fancy material selections.

Her work includes home units, hotels and business places. She has a lot of clients with residential projects and luxurious hospitality settings, with whom she is trusted with high-value. Her designs are seen in big cities in India such as Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

In her opinion, design has to address individuals and their way of life. Another one of her frequently quoted thoughts illustrates her philosophy: Design is supposed to simplify life and make it worth living.

Her work demonstrates the impact that the leadership of interior design women could produce on aesthetics and functionality. She also mentors younger professionals and sends them to industry programs.

Lipika Sud has won the design forums and architecture organizations in India. A lot of industry observers believe that she was one of the first successful female interior designers to develop a powerful design identity.

Sarah Sham

Sarah Sham is a representative of the new generation of women leaders in the sphere of interior design in India. She established Essajees Atelier, one of the most well known women led design studios in India.

Sarah focuses on hotel and home interiors. Her designs are sophisticated with bold artistic reflecting. She incorporates high-quality material, sculptural furniture and lighting effects in order to produce memorable spaces. She tends to be found in high-end residential places, luxury hotels, and retail spaces.

She receives a lot of clients who want to visit her studio to order customized interiors that are both contemporary and classic.

Sarah often says, “Luxury design must be personal. It should be based on the story of the client.”

This design philosophy helped her become one of the best female interior designers in India. Her works have handcrafted components, textured artwork, and her works, as well as projects, are usually balanced.

She has been extensively covered in design magazines and online platforms in the industry. She also has a studio where she works with architects and developers in high end residential properties.

Vinita Chaitanya

Vinita Chaitanya is one of the greatest revered female leaders in interior design who advocates the concept of sustainability. She is the head of PRISM Architects, which is a studio that focuses on environmentally friendly spaces.

Vinita pays much attention to the interior design and India's sustainability. In her works, she incorporates natural resources, low-energy construction, and landscape-conscious architecture.

Her studio works on residential houses, business offices, and hotels. She is approached with projects that are both beauty and environmental responsible by many clients.

Vinita is sure that the designer should consider the consequences of the work in the long run. She will frequently hear the following:

Design should not harm nature and should enhance the comfort of human beings.

Her work is a strong illustration of how women can be strong leaders in interior design and make a significant change in the sector. She also mentors young professionals who are interested in green architecture.

Monica Khanna

Monica Khanna has established a good reputation among the major female interior designers in the commercial design industry. She is the chief of Monica Khanna Designs, which specialized in workplace and hospitality interiors.

Her projects revolve around business offices, shopping places, and hotel areas. She designs interiors that enhance efficiency and brand image.

Monica feels that design can assist people in working more efficiently. Her style is a mixture of ergonomics and aesthetic beauty. This equilibrium puts her in the ranks of renowned commercial interior designers.

Her projects show how interior design women leaders influence the modern working places. There are a lot of companies which now require designers who can comprehend branding and employee experience.

She is the embodiment of an increasing population of successful female interior designers who spearhead complicated business undertakings. The increasing number of women headed interior design studios is also present in her work.

Tanya Gyani

Tanya Gyani is one of the most inventive women leaders who influences the interior design industry in hospitality design. She is the head of Tanya Gyani Design, which deals with experiential spaces.

Her studio targets hotels, restaurants and luxury homes. The spaces designed by Tanya have a great emotional appeal to visitors. Designs are needed to tell stories of hospitality projects. Tanya combines lighting effects, texture and spatial flow in order to produce immersive spaces.

Her work is an indication of the increased power of interior design entrepreneurs who redefine hospitality spaces. Her studio has also done work on prime restaurants and boutique hotels.

Her projects are commonly covered in industry publications due to their visual uniqueness. Her creative designs have a blend of world styles and Indian cultures.

Tanya Gyani embodies the design enterprising nature of women designers in experience design. She also mentors the upcoming designers in terms of workshops and design forums.

Twinkle Khanna

Twinkle Khanna has established a unique reputation among women in the field of interior design. She established The White Window, which is a design studio with bold and contemporary interiors.

Twinkle Khanna had a successful career in the public before she ventured into design. Nevertheless, she was passionate about interiors and this made her decide to become a creative designer. She primarily concentrates her work on luxury residential and boutique commercial projects. The designs are usually playful, contemporary furniture and carefully selected pieces of decorations.

Twinkle Khanna is a new generation of interior design female business designers who mix both creativity and brand identity. Her publications are found in design magazines and lifestyle magazines.

Her experience demonstrates the way in which creativity may be transformed in any industry. She is still an inspiration to the successful female interior designers in India today, and students considering careers in interior design, entrepreneurs, and studio heads.

Conclusion

One thing comes to mind as I consider these stories. The future of design is in the hands of different voices and courageous ideas. These interior design women leaders demonstrate that the industry can be turned around by creativity, leadership and entrepreneurship.

To young designers, students and founders of studios, their experiences provide inspiration. They demonstrate the fact that love and hard work can create good careers in design.

The future of design will depend on bold thinkers and compassionate leaders. Fortunately, the next generation already has strong role models. And many of them are the inspiring women leaders in interior design shaping the spaces we live in.

🍪 Do you like Cookies?

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Read more...