Best INTERIOR DESIGN FIRMS
North Carolina’s Award-Winning Interior Designers
TEW Design Studio is a diverse, full-service interior design agency that helps clients to form distinctive, yet livable spaces featuring exceptional materials and intricate details. Founded by Rima Nasser on the principle that design should be fun, exciting, and daring, we create uplifting spaces that are visually inspiring and easy to live and work in.
RIMA NASSER
Owner & Principal Designer
Rima founded TEW’s interior design company on the principle that diversity drives creativity and innovation. She leads our team with a unique cultural insight from her experiences both domestically and abroad. As a Palestinian, Rima’s family immigrated to Richmond, VA. when she was 15. She grew up enjoying architecture from around the world. From an early age, simple, earthy design caught her eye, as did the use of nature and Arabesque influences with bold colors and patterns. Rima’s approach to design is artful and purposeful.
Rima earned her undergraduate degree in Arts & Culture from George Mason University and graduated with a master’s in Interior Design from the Florence Design Academy in Italy. She lives in Raleigh with her husband Andy and two boys, Ziad and Rami, and dog Carl. Outside of design, you can find Rima working in her garden, painting, hiking, or playground hopping with her family.
FRANCES ACEVEDO
Interior Designer & Project Manager
She is one of our interior designers and project leads, who specializes in furnishings. Her strengths are blending color stories, textures, and patterns to create cohesive designs for our clients.
Frances grew up in Puerto Rico where she found inspiration through nature, dancing, and her culture’s vibrant colors. She started her interior design career with a degree from the University of Puerto Rico. Her love of color is often reflected in her designs.
In her free time, Frances enjoys trying out new restaurants and hanging out with her 3 dogs. She also loves traveling with her husband and daughter, Luna. Frances will always be an island girl at heart; the beach is her happy place.
JANAE ALSTON
Interior Designer
She is our interior designer on staff who specializes in furnishings. Her strengths are making interiors look and feel effortless and inviting.
Janae’s creative career took off after obtaining her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Interior Architecture at UNC-Greensboro. Her creativity thrives in thinking outside the box and being intentional with design. She is passionate about the power of color and pattern and describes her style as organic, soft, and modern.
In her free time, Janae stays busy with her fun crafting hobby that she has turned into a small business. She loves sunflower fields, pasta, pastel colors, and spending time with her husband and son, Kairo.
STEPHANIE PALM
Interior Designer & Project Manager
She is our kitchen and bath expert who is a wiz at space planning and maximizing floor plans.
Stephanie grew up in Florida with fond memories of its many pastel-colored homes. She has always believed that our home should be our happy place. Stephanie obtained her interior design degree in Chicago, has ten years of experience focused on kitchen and bath design, and is certified through the National Kitchen & Bath Association.
In her free time, she loves to go antiquing, attempt to garden, and enjoy lake life. She lives in Durham with her husband and their two dogs, Flapjack and Moose.
TRICIA LACARRUBBA
Administrative Specialist
We rely on Tricia’s attention to detail and her fabulous organizational skills, which are unmatched in our eyes. She grew up in New York where she earned her fashion buying and merchandising degree. Her background also includes marketing coordination and operations working with hotels and general contractors.
In her free time, Tricia loves being with her daughter, Piper, either baking, making crafts, swimming, or checking out the newest playground. She also loves thrifting and refinishing furniture when she can.
CHERYL COOR
Marketing Coordinator
Cheryl is our marketing coordinator and handles the bulk of our online presence. Her alma mater is North Carolina State University where she majored in Fashion Textile Management, a degree that offered a concentration in Brand Management and Marketing strategies. Her professional background is in digital marketing, having worked in both the tech and grocery industries.
In her free time, Cheryl enjoys walking with her dog Bumi, and getting out into the great outdoors. She also loves thrifting and learning new skills to become more self-sufficient such as sewing and canning.
MANAL SHUKHA
Studio Assistant
Manal is our studio assistant and works closely with Tricia to ensure our studio is organized and that our retail space is thriving. With an impeccable eye for design, she often helps us rearrange our space and even finalize ideas for client’s spaces.
In her free time, Manal enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and cooking. According to her food is its own love language and we couldn’t agree more!
Our Mission
We are a diverse team of creatives whose unique approach to interior design flourishes thanks to cultural insights, experience and training gained abroad. We help our clients take just the right risks with their interiors to bring out the authentic nature of their personalities. What results is clean, modern design with exciting textures and a personal, funky twist. At TEW Design Studio, our distinctive design philosophy to be fun, exciting and daring enables us to implement courageously functional interior designs for clients. View the industry recognition for our projects as well as our media attention.
