Nadia Watts is Appointed to NYSID’s Board of Trustees
Photo: Mary Britton Senseney
The New York School of Interior Design is pleased to announce the appointment of Nadia Watts to its Board of Trustees. She is the founder and principal of Denver-based Nadia Watts Interior Design, a studio that creates distinctive interiors across the United States and internationally.
A graduate of Hollins University, Watts later studied at the New York School of Interior Design, where she further developed her understanding of design history, architecture, materials, and the practice of interior design.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Nadia to the NYSID Board,” says NYSID President David Sprouls. “Nadia clearly designs for modern life, but her appreciation of history resonates beautifully throughout her work.”
“NYSID has been an important part of my development as a designer, which makes it especially meaningful to join the Board of Trustees. I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to contribute to a school that has played such an important role in my own design education. I have always believed that the best design comes from understanding what came before us—history, craftsmanship, and materials—and finding ways to make those ideas relevant to how we live today. I look forward to supporting NYSID’s continued commitment to design education and the next generation of designers," says Nadia Watts.
While in New York, Watts worked in the American Decorative Arts department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, assisting with the exhibition Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall: An Artist’s Country Estate. The experience deepened her appreciation for craftsmanship, provenance, materials, and the relationship between objects and the spaces in which they live.
Watts founded Nadia Watts Interior Design in 2009. Over the years, she has developed a practice rooted in the belief that successful interiors should reflect the individuality of their inhabitants rather than a prescribed aesthetic. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, The Wall Street Journal, and ELLE DECOR, among other publications.
In addition to her interior design practice, Watts has expanded her work into product design. Her collaboration with Kravet through The Gem Collection, inspired by historic Tiffany glass, connected an important chapter of American decorative arts history with contemporary residential design. She serves as vice president of the Board of Trustees of The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, bringing together her personal connection to Louis Comfort Tiffany with her professional commitment to preservation, scholarship, education, and craftsmanship. Watts is the great-great-granddaughter of Louis Comfort Tiffany and the great-great-great-granddaughter of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of Tiffany & Co.
She is also active in the broader design community through organizations including the Design Leadership Network, the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, and the Female Design Council.
The New York School of Interior Design proudly welcomes Watts to its Board of Trustees and looks forward to her contributions to the school’s continued growth and leadership in interior design education.