Welcome Class of 2025

TerrEnce Charles

Originally from Washington D.C., Terrence Charles has spent the last 9 years working at David Kleinberg Design Associates designing high end residential interiors for a select clientele. He was educated at Parsons New School for Design in New York City and graduated with a BFA degree in Interior Design in 2014. Most recently, he was recently promoted to Design Director of the office in May 2025.

Thomas A. KLigerman 

Thomas A. Kligerman was raised in Connecticut and New Mexico and spent years in France and England as a student. These experiences sparked his interest in the rich history of domestic architecture, gardens, and landscapes. Before founding Kligerman Architecture & Design, Tom co-founded Ike Kligerman Barkley with John Ike and Joel Barkley. He began his architecture career at Robert A. M. Stern Architects and received his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and his Master of Architecture from Yale School of Architecture. He is passionate about the design process and loves studying and creating architectural models. He serves on the boards of several charitable and educational institutions. Tom and his family enjoy summer weekends racing sailboats on the coast of Rhode Island.

Naika Andre 

NJA Interiors is an award-winning, Connecticut-based full-service interior design firm known for its vibrant, layered approach and globally influenced perspective. Founded by principal designer Naïka Andre, the firm specializes in creating homes that are expressive, functional, and full of character.

A native of Montreal, Canada, Naïka holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design and

brings over 15 years of experience in the luxury residential space. Born to Haitian parents and shaped by global experiences—including time studying design in India—her aesthetic is a rich blend of cultural heritage, bold color, and thoughtful curation.

Her design philosophy is rooted in authenticity—crafting interiors that reflect her clients’ lifestyles and stories with warmth and intention.

Her work has been featured in House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, HGTV, Domino, and more.

Outside of design, Naïka enjoys antiquing, scrapbooking, world travel, and spending time outdoors

Max Sinsteden 

Max Sinsteden began working in interior design in New York at the young age of 15. Interning under the great David Easton for many years, Max was introduced to the work of high end residential interior design. During his college years Max worked with Charlotte Moss, who became a mentor to him. Following a period working at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Max formed an interior design firm with his former business partner. The pair—operating under O&S—decorated homes across the US, England, Ireland, and as far afield as India. Over nearly a decade and a half, Max worked on projects from new construction to seventeenth century homes, New York City apartments for urban clients to estates in the countryside for extended families.

An emphasis on quality and detail are paramount to his practice. Max believes strongly in supporting and incorporating the work of many talented artisans. In the last decade, Max completed three luxury commercial projects consisting of 300,000 sq ft of senior living campuses. His firm specializes in connecting clients with talented and appropriate architects, high-end builders, and then seeing his clients through the interior architecture; finish out selection, sourcing, procuring, storing, and installing all manner of furnishings, art, and accessories. In 2024, Max launched his own firm, Max Sinsteden L.L.C. growing his clientele and project scope. He is currently working on projects in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, and Texas.

Matthew Kowles 

Matthew J. Kowles is an interior designer based in New York City. Since founding his eponymous design firm, Matthew Kowles LLC, in 2019, Kowles has become known for his sophisticated and layered interiors—and also for being the kind of designer who consistently exceeds clients’ expectations. With both modern and neoclassical sensibilities, Matthew’s interiors feel personal, textured, and collected over time. While each project is a unique reflection of his clients, there is a distinct point of view and that threads through all of his work. Matthew’s interiors and expertise has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Luxe Interiors + Design, and Architectural Digest.

Olivia T. Mitchell 

Olivia T.M. Brock is a preservation-minded interior designer and decorator, based in Charleston, South Carolina. Olivia believes that all buildings have a unique story to tell, and approaches each project with a fresh eye to interpreting a home’s story. Eschewing trends, Olivia takes a classic, pared down approach to her interiors, allowing the architecture of the space to shine, and giving her projects a truly “lived in” aesthetic.

Prior to founding Torrance Mitchell Designs, Olivia trained with preservation-minded real estate developers and architects in New York, gaining a greater appreciation of how to adapt historic interiors for contemporary lifestyles while retaining historic integrity.

Olivia has been featured in Southern Living, Traditional Home, and House & Garden; and was named as one of “Four Preservationists You Should Have on Speed Dial” by Veranda Magazine.

She has a M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Middleton Place Foundation and the Merchant’s House Museum.

Jared M. Clark

Interior designer Jared M. Clark is a talented design professional who has comfortably flown under the radar while fulfilling the design dreams of his loyal supportive clients throughout the Eastern seaboard. His timeless style speaks individually to his clients needs.  He has the rare ability to predict lifestyle trends and craft a joyful home. 

For many years, Jared oversaw the direction of home design at Ralph Lauren and later served as VP of Creative at Tommy Hilfiger.  He launched his career as a buyer for the famed 7th floor Home at Bergdorf Goodman after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology (where he was trained as a textile designer).  He then traveled the world developing and manufacturing innovations in textiles for home retail giants such as Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, CB2, West Elm, Martha Stewart, and Target. 

In 2020, Jared moved from NYC to Fairfield County, and in 2023 he opened The Clark, on Westchester Avenue in Pound Ridge, New York.  The Clark offers an eclectic mix of one of a kind vintage and antique furniture, accessories, custom upholstery, lamps and lampshades.  The shop has fast become a favorite of collectors, decorators, and stylish weekend shoppers.  

No stranger to the fashion and social set, Jared and his his work have been featured in magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, New York Times - Style, House & Home,  Wall Street Journal - MarketPlace, 

WMagazine, Hamptons Magazine, Avenue Magazine, Bedford & New Canaan Magazine, H&G Home & Garden CT-NY.

The master of the mix, Jared seamlessly merges the three dimensions of sustainability, style and functional design.  Home design services are offered through design consultations and full-service interior design projects both large and small scale.  Jared and The Clark design team welcome the opportunity to create the perfect home for your unique lifestyle! 

Helen BerGIN

Established in 2014, HBI is a full-service interior design studio dedicated to creating residential and commercial spaces that evoke feelings of authenticity and curiosity throughout Palm Beach, Southern Florida, New England and across the country.

Helen Bergin, Founder and Principal Designer was selected for the prestigious Kips Bay Decorators Show House 2024 where she showcased her 'Oceanic Wonderland'. She was Luxe Magazine’s Gold List Honoree 2025 and named Luxe Next in Design 2023. Helen was also featured as a Rising Star in Design by Traditional Home Magazine 2023

Blake Funston 

Blake Funston is an accomplished interior designer known for transforming important classic interiors into homes for modern living. Funston started his career at Christie’s Education in London. There, he delved into well-appointed aristocratic townhomes and country houses - intensely studying collections of 18th-and-19th-century furniture and decorative arts. These storied interiors helped inform a lasting sensibility of color, scale, pattern and taste. In 2017, Funston started working with world-renowned interior designer, Juan Pablo Molyneux. At Molyneux Studio, Funston strengthened his discerning eye, gaining exposure to the finest craftsmanship and design elements of the past and present. In 2021 Funston started his eponymous design firm, and in just four years has worked on projects in New York, Greenwich, Colorado, and the South of France. Blake Funston Designs was published by House Beautiful in 2023, and has since been featured on Homeworthy and Caleb Simpson house tours. Recently, Funston was chosen to design tablescapes for Scully and Scully and the 2025 Lenox Hill Spring Gala. Blake Funston resides in New York with his husband, a prominent Chinese art specialist at Christie’s.

Swagatika Rath
NYSID Scholarship Winner

Born in India and raised in Hong Kong, Swagatika brings a global perspective and a deep respect for craft to her design work. Before pursuing her MFA at the New York School of Interior Design, she worked in the manufacturing side of high-end hospitality projects, developing and manufacturing custom FF&E for renowned brands like Soho Home, Aman Hotels, and the Ritz-Carlton. That behind-the-scenes experience sparked a desire to shape not just the objects in a space, but the spaces themselves.

Now in her final year at NYSID, Swagatika is focused on creating spaces that weave together cultural identity, storytelling, and emotional resonance. Her work is informed by lived experience, cross-cultural design traditions, and a strong belief in the power of interiors to foster belonging and memory.

She is honored to be part of Rooms with a View and grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such a thoughtful and inspiring design community.

Garrett Carter

Based out of New York City, Garrett Carter focuses on intentional and architectural interiors, reflecting a refined and calm sense of timeless comfort. Throughout his years, Garrett has devoted himself to expanding his architectural and artistic vocabulary— consistently strengthening his eye, deepening his knowledge, and sharpening how he engages with space, texture and form. Garrett has had the privilege of working for Steven Gambrel, Tony Ingrao, and Stephen Sills Associates over the course of twelve years and has now established his own firm, Garrett Carter Designs. 

Garrett's interiors evoke understated elegance  - a beauty of restraint, balance and simplicity, all while combining the old and the new. His philosophy holds that stillness is a form of art, and every element, whether architectural or decorative, exists with purpose.