Prime Highlights:
- London-based interior designer Enass Mahmoud won the Next in Design 2025 award, with projects spanning London, Los Angeles, and the Middle East.
- Mahmoud’s design style is deeply rooted in her Sudanese upbringing, focusing on bold patterns, cultural identity, and personal storytelling.
Key Facts:
- Mahmoud founded her studio by chance after a social media client asked her to design a suite at London’s O2 arena.
- She follows three core design rules: create an invisible thread, have a point of reference, and make the space personal.
Background:
London-based interior designer Enass Mahmoud has built a growing international practice rooted in cultural identity, personality, and purposeful design. Her work spans a one-bedroom apartment in Victoria, a three-story townhouse in Los Angeles, and a large-scale project in the Middle East.
Mahmoud is the winner of the Next in Design 2025 award and founded her studio almost by chance. She had studied product design and always wanted to move into interiors, but her first major opportunity came through a social media connection. A client asked her to design a suite at the O2 Arena in London. That same client later bought a five-bedroom house, and her practice grew from there.
Her Sudanese background strongly influences her design style. She grew up seeing women wear colorful and patterned traditional clothes, which inspired her love for bold colors and layered designs. She puts the same effort and care into every project, which helps her to create spaces that feel personal and truly reflect the people who live in them.
Mahmoud explained that she follows three design rules.
Her first rule requires her to establish an invisible connection between spaces through the use of identical colors and materials and design patterns, which create a unified design throughout the entire house.
Her second rule is to identify a point of reference, such as a favourite artwork, fabric, or magazine image, that serves as a guide and keeps design decisions consistent throughout the project.
Her third rule is to make the space personal. A home does not need to look perfect, she says. It needs soul, character, and things that genuinely bring joy to the people living in it.
