Meet Kendra Nash: The Designer Behind Nash Design Group

Kendra Nash, Founder & Principal Designer
Nash Design Group

If you've spent any time exploring the homes created by Nash Design Group, you've likely noticed a common thread. While every project looks different, each one feels deeply personal, thoughtfully layered, and designed around the people who live there.

That philosophy starts with founder and principal designer Kendra Nicholas Nash.

A Peninsula Native with a Passion for Home

Born and raised in Atherton, California, Kendra has deep roots on the San Francisco Peninsula. Long before she launched Nash Design Group in 2011, she developed an appreciation for architecture, real estate, and the unique way homes shape daily life.

Her early career in Silicon Valley's fast-paced real estate market gave her a front-row seat to the relationship between design, architecture, and value. It also reinforced something she still believes today: great homes aren't just beautiful—they function beautifully, too.

That perspective continues to shape her work, helping clients make thoughtful decisions that enhance both the experience of living in a home and its long-term value.

Designing Homes That Tell a Story

For Kendra, design isn't about creating a signature look that gets repeated from project to project. Instead, every home begins with understanding the people who live there.

How does the family gather? What do they collect? What places inspire them? Which pieces hold sentimental value?

The answers to those questions become the foundation for the design.

Kendra is known for incorporating family heirlooms, treasured artwork, and meaningful objects into her projects, creating homes that feel collected rather than decorated. The result is a layered aesthetic that balances beauty with authenticity.

Her style is often described as clean, organic, and versatile, with a few unexpected surprises along the way.

Inspiration Is Everywhere

While travel remains one of Kendra's greatest sources of inspiration, she finds creative influence in everyday moments as well.

A flea market find. A favorite restaurant. The textures of nature. A vintage textile discovered while traveling. Even her husband's tattoos have sparked design ideas.

Rather than following trends, Kendra draws from these experiences to create spaces that feel personal, timeless, and uniquely connected to her clients' lives.

Collaboration is Key

One of the things clients value most about working with Nash Design Group is the firm's collaborative approach.

Kendra and her team partner closely with architects, builders, and craftspeople from the earliest stages of a project. Whether designing a custom home, a large-scale renovation, or a thoughtfully curated retreat, the team is involved from construction through final styling.

This integrated process allows every detail, from ceiling heights and cabinetry layouts to lighting and furnishings, to work together seamlessly.

A Growing Reputation for Design Excellence

Over the years, Nash Design Group has become one of the Peninsula's most sought-after residential design firms, creating homes throughout Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Woodside, Hillsborough, and beyond.

Kendra's San Francisco Decorator Showcase spaces in 2024 and 2025 have received widespread praise for its thoughtful blend of beauty and functionality.

More recently, she was named a 2026 Emerging Designer by California Home + Design, recognized as a LUXE RED Awards winner, and featured as an AD PRO designer.

Her work has appeared in publications including Architectural Digest, Real Simple, Sunset, Martha Stewart, California Home + Design, Rue, Aspire, HGTV, The Wall Street Journal, and more.

Giving Back

Beyond her design work, Kendra is passionate about supporting the next generation of creative professionals. Having built Nash Design Group from the ground up, she understands both the opportunities and challenges that come with growing a business in a competitive industry. She regularly mentors emerging designers and enjoys sharing the practical lessons she has learned about design, leadership, client relationships, and entrepreneurship. 

Kendra is equally committed to championing other female business owners, believing that collaboration, transparency, and community are essential to helping women thrive professionally. Whether offering guidance to a young designer navigating their first project or encouraging a fellow entrepreneur to take the next step in growing their business, she believes success is even more meaningful when it is shared.

More Than Beautiful Rooms

At its heart, Kendra's work is about creating homes that support the lives unfolding within them.

Whether it's a new construction project for a growing family, a forever home filled with meaningful collections, or a coastal retreat designed for gathering, every project is guided by the same belief: good design should feel personal, effortless, and built to last.

Because the most beautiful homes aren't the ones that simply look good in photographs; they're the ones that tell a story.