There’s a new wave of design-minded creators who don’t just live in beautiful homes—they turn them into art forms. This year’s Design Vanguard Tastemakers are storytellers, stylists, and content creators who use their spaces to express identity, spark creativity, and connect with a community of people who care deeply about how home feels.
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Their styles are distinct, but they all have one thing in common: their homes reflect who they are just as much as how they live. They document the quiet details—the ritual of lighting a candle, the way natural light hits a bookshelf, or the layering of color and texture in a gallery wall—and in doing so, they redefine what it means to live well. These creators are inspiring others to find their own rhythm, not just through design choices, but through lifestyle and intention.
From Toronto to Atlanta to Los Angeles, the 2025 Tastemakers are curating spaces that are deeply personal, wildly inspiring, and far from cookie-cutter. Whether they’re teaching us how to transform rental apartments on a budget, using their homes as backdrops for cultural storytelling, or building community one lamp at a time, their influence is lasting.
These are the creatives we can’t stop scrolling for—and the ones we’re proud to honor this year.
MEET ABHISHEK DEKATE
Blending Japandi calm with Indian heritage, Abhishek creates warmth through restraint—and beauty through balance.
Abhishek Dekate’s home feels like a masterclass in quiet luxury. Based in Toronto by way of India, his aesthetic is a harmonious blend of Japandi minimalism, mid-century warmth, and subtle wabi-sabi imperfection. Layered textiles, rich woods, and sculptural lighting infuse his space with calm, while globally inspired accents bring depth and meaning. His attention to detail is evident in every corner—and yet, nothing feels overdesigned.
What makes Abhishek’s content so compelling is its restraint. There’s an intentional softness in the way he approaches design—letting texture and materiality tell the story. His longtime apartment has evolved over 11 years, shifting with him as he moved from student to seasoned creative. Now, it reflects a clear vision: that good design is lived in, thoughtful, and emotionally resonant. “I want my spaces to capture the rituals, routines, and quiet moments that make a house feel like home,” he shares.
Whether he’s styling a cozy corner or making a bold statement with Calacatta Viola marble, Abhishek’s work reminds us that comfort and confidence can coexist—and that your space should always reflect your story.
With humor, honesty, and heart, Sandy is making rental spaces feel like home—and helping others do the same.
Sandy Saintilus didn’t start out with a “dream apartment.” In fact, the name of her platform, My Ugly Apartment, was born from a time when she was sleeping on an air mattress and too embarrassed to invite anyone over. But instead of hiding that experience, she shared it—and in doing so, built a community of people reclaiming beauty on their own terms.
Sandy’s content is equal parts design and vulnerability. She shows what it looks like to invest in your home even when it feels temporary, to make things work within a budget, and to center how a space makes you feel. Whether she’s adding strip lights behind curtains for an instant glow or sharing personal reflections about how design helped her rebuild confidence, her approach is deeply human. “When you’re thoughtful about the four walls around you,” she says, “they pour back into you and positively affect how you carry yourself outside of your home.”
Her style is colorful, textured, and always evolving. But what stays consistent is her mission: to inspire people to love where they live—even if it’s not perfect, not owned, and not what Pinterest promised. Sandy is proof that great design starts with intention, not square footage.
From brutalist lofts to sculptural furniture, Yawkow’s spaces are as intentional as his presence in the design world.
Yawkow Banks is more than a designer—he’s a builder of worlds. The London-born, Atlanta-based creative first caught our eye for his textural, concrete-clad loft featured in our Personal Space series. Since then, he’s moved into a new space, launched a sculptural furniture line called W/FORM, and continued to champion mindful, layered living. His aesthetic walks the line between contrast and cohesion—stone meets softness, metal meets warmth. “It’s all about balance and creating a rhythm in the space that feels natural,” he explains.
But beyond the visuals, Yawkow brings intention to everything he does. He creates from observation—how light hits a surface, how materials wear over time—and his pieces often emerge from personal need before becoming part of a larger narrative. He also understands the deeper responsibility of visibility: “As a Black man, I feel both the weight and the privilege of that. I want to expand the conversation around design and show that it’s not limited to a certain look, background, or perspective.”
Yawkow’s home is a reflection of both where he’s been and where he’s going. It’s creative, grounded, and fiercely original—just like his voice.
A maximalist with a love for groovy color, Lauren turns her apartment into a joyful, nostalgic world of its own.
Lauren W.’s apartment doesn’t just have style—it has a point of view. Bright, bold, and unapologetically personal, her space is a maximalist dream anchored by orange, pink, and retro-inspired shapes that feel both comforting and chaotic in the best way. She describes her style as ever-evolving but always “Lauren-coded,” with design decisions rooted in feeling, memory, and pure creative joy.
Her early content series “Decorating My Groovy Apartment” introduced the world to her colorful, Y2K-adjacent aesthetic, inspired by everything from vintage 60s interiors to That’s So Raven. “There’s something invigorating about seeing people build their dream spaces,” she says. “It’s cool to see people build out their world in a sense by designing their spaces as a reflection of them.” That reflection shows up in every corner of her home—playful, expressive, and refreshingly real.
Lauren’s work reminds us that home should be fun, freeing, and deeply personal. Her content encourages a generation of renters, first-time decorators, and design lovers to lean into joy over trends—and to create a space that looks and feels like them. “You’re the main person living there,” she says. “Why shouldn’t you be able to decorate it as you want?”
With warmth, soul, and an eye for the unexpected, Luis turns his home into a layered celebration of culture, memory, and light.
Luis Arturo Sanchez’s home isn’t just a space—it’s a feeling. Known for his masterful use of mood lighting, expressive gallery walls, and playful shapes, Luis creates interiors that reflect both who he is and where he comes from. His style? “Culturally rooted, collected, and fun.” That warmth radiates through every image he shares—inviting, soulful, and full of personality.
For Luis, design is instinctual. He doesn’t plan where a piece of art will go or overthink his next corner vignette. He lets objects speak to him, and in turn, lets his space evolve alongside his life. From quiet moments at home in LA to design inspiration pulled from travels to Mexico, Luis finds beauty in the in-between. His recent project, CasaElRosario—a holiday home designed with his brother—has since sparked a new chapter: the upcoming launch of their design-build firm, Concio Studio.
At the heart of his work is storytelling. “I hope people feel at ease and inspired to weave their culture and personality into their own homes,” he says. Luis proves that good design isn’t just beautiful—it’s personal, emotional, and rooted in who you are and how you dream.
An engineer-turned-creative, Ashley builds bold spaces that balance structure, soul, and self-expression.
Ashley Basnight’s path to design wasn’t traditional—it was intentional. After a successful career in tech, she made the bold leap into full-time creative work, carving out space in the DIY and design world with her signature blend of engineering precision and visual storytelling. Her work lives at the intersection of function and feeling: warm, modern, and fearlessly expressive.
Whether she’s designing custom builds, sharing bold makeovers, or painting artful murals, Ashley’s spaces are full of energy and heart. She calls her style warm, modern, and eclectic—a mix of architectural structure, rich materials, and personality-driven moments. Her engineering background still shows up in her process, grounding even the most creative projects in thoughtfulness and balance. “It’s that mix between logic and artistry that really defines my style,” she says.
More than anything, Ashley wants others to feel brave when they see her work. Her message is clear: design is a reflection of self-worth, courage, and growth. “My home has become a reflection of who I’m becoming,” she says. “Every project is a moment where I chose to trust myself—and I want other people to feel that same confidence in their own space.”
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