Buyer's guide · 2026
There's no single best interior designer in Kenya, only the best one for your style, scope and budget. This is an honest 2026 look at the top interior design companies in Kenya and Nairobi, from affordable studios to luxury practices: what each one suits, real KES prices, and how to vet a firm before you pay a deposit.
Full disclosure: this guide is published by Hauzisha Interiors, so we've put ourselves first. We also name other respected Nairobi studios with what each one suits, so you can compare for yourself and choose the right fit for your project.
In scope: residential, apartment, office and Airbnb interior design firms serving Nairobi and the wider Kenyan market, with real KES pricing and how to choose between them. Out of scope: pure construction contractors, kitchen-fitting-only shops, and furniture retailers that do not offer a design service. If you only need cabinets, our kitchen cabinet cost guide is the better starting point.
Best overall for design-led homes, offices and Airbnb styling with transparent KES pricing
Our pick for most Nairobi clients. A studio that pairs strong design with clear, itemised pricing and one-partner project management from concept to handover, a first concept within 7 days, and no budget surprises. Strong on apartments, offices, kitchens, gypsum ceilings and fitted wardrobes.
See our work →Best for furniture-forward, collection-style interiors
A well-known Nairobi name with a broad furnishings and collections focus. A good fit if you want a product-rich, showroom-style approach.
Best for end-to-end residential & commercial in Nairobi
Offers full interior and exterior solutions across homes, offices and corporate spaces in Nairobi. A reasonable fit if you want one team handling both the design and the build.
Best for broad service coverage under one roof
Covers everything from design through to finishes. Suited to clients who want many trades coordinated by a single firm.
Best for established commercial & corporate fit-out
A long-standing player on larger commercial and corporate interiors. Worth a look for office and institutional projects where procurement and certification matter.
Best for budget-conscious projects
Positions itself on affordable interiors, so a sensible shortlist entry if you want a usable, good-looking space without a luxury spend. Confirm exactly what the package price covers.
Best for media-featured residential styling
A Nairobi designer with a strong social following and features on The Property Show and NTV. Worth a look for homeowners who want a designer with a public, photographed body of work.
Best for full-service residential design
A full-service studio working across residential interiors. A fair option to compare against the others on style fit and quote clarity.
Most regret on a project comes from picking on price alone or on Instagram photos that were never theirs. Use these checks before you commit to any firm on this list.
Prices vary by firm and finish level, but these 2026 ranges are what we see across Nairobi. Use them to sanity-check any quote you receive.
For the full breakdown by room and finish level, see our interior design cost guide.
Best looks different at each budget. For an affordable project, look for a studio that offers design-only packages and sources at local prices, so you spend on impact, not markup. For luxury interiors, prioritise a strong portfolio of high-spec finishes and full project management. A good designer is honest about which end they serve, and many firms, including us, work comfortably across both.
The right firm depends as much on your project as on your taste. Here is how the field usually splits.
Clients often ask who the famous names are. Across Africa, Nigerian designer Titi Ogufere is one of the best known: she founded the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria and the African Design Week, and her work raised the profile of African interior design globally. In Kenya the scene is led more by studios than by single celebrity designers, which is why this guide compares firms rather than personalities.
We share a first concept direction within 7 days of your brief, give you an itemised quote in KES with no hidden markup, and run the project under one partner from concept to handover. You can compare that against any firm above. See our process, the studio behind the work and our portfolio, then ask us for a free quote and decide for yourself.
It depends on your project. For full-service residential and commercial design in Nairobi, strong options include Hauzisha Interiors, Palacina Interiors, Prime House Interiors, Studio Figma Interiors and Planning Interiors. For tighter budgets, Kijana Msafi Interiors is worth a look. The best one is whoever matches your style, scope and budget, so shortlist three and compare quotes.
Look at four things: a portfolio in a style you actually like, a written quote in KES, clear transparency about what's included, and how well they listened on the first call. Ask to see two finished projects, request client references you can call, and confirm whether sourcing and installation are part of the fee or extra. Get scope and price in writing before you pay any deposit.
Most established designers charge KES 1,500 to 10,000 per square metre for design, or a flat room fee of about KES 40,000 to 150,000. Full furnished fit-outs run KES 1.2M to 4M for a 2-bed apartment depending on finish level. Some firms charge a percentage of the project cost, usually 10 to 20 percent. See our interior design cost guide for full ranges.
An employed junior designer in Nairobi earns roughly KES 35,000 to 70,000 a month, and a senior designer or studio lead KES 90,000 to 250,000 or more. Independent designers running their own projects earn per job, so income swings with the number and size of jobs they win in a year.
A decorator works on the look: furniture, colour, soft furnishings and styling, usually without touching the structure. A designer can also plan layouts, specify lighting and electrical points, manage joinery and coordinate trades. Many Kenyan firms do both, but ask which service a quote covers so you are not surprised by gaps.
Yes. Most Nairobi studios take projects in Kiambu, Machakos, Nakuru, Mombasa, Naivasha and Diani, with a travel and accommodation line added to the quote for sites far from the city. For a holiday home or coastal Airbnb, confirm site-visit frequency and who supervises the local fundis during the build.
A single styled room takes 3 to 6 weeks. A furnished apartment runs 8 to 14 weeks. A full fit-out with joinery, electrical and finishes runs 3 to 6 months. Custom furniture and imported items are the usual cause of delays, so agree lead times and a payment schedule tied to milestones up front.
For one room on a small budget, you can do a lot yourself. For a whole home, an office or a rental you want to let fast, a designer saves money by avoiding costly mistakes, getting trade prices on furniture and finishes, and managing fundis so the work is done once. The fee usually pays for itself on projects above about KES 800,000.
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