From quantitative economics to interior design, Veronica Mishaan has taken an unconventional path to building her international practice. As founder and principal of Veronica Mishaan, with offices in New York, Bogotá, and Bermuda, she works across residential, hospitality, commercial, and product design, approaching each project through proportion, material, and an understanding of how people inhabit a space. Her recently completed Water Mill residence offers a current expression of that philosophy, balancing natural materials, art, and spaces designed for gathering. Here, Mishaan shares how her analytical beginnings continue to inform her work, why she resists trends, and what makes a house truly feel like home.
Your path into design began in quantitative economics before you founded Veronica Mishaan Design House with your mother. Looking back, how has that unexpected journey shaped the way you approach residential design today?
VM: Quantitative economics is built on variables, layers, and processes. I’ve come to believe the same discipline applies to interior design. It’s what separates a project that succeeds from one that just looks good in photos. From concept to completion, there are countless moving parts, not just in the design itself, but in managing the project that brings it to life.
Your work spans residential, hospitality, and commercial projects across New York, Bogotá, and Bermuda. How has working across different disciplines and cultures influenced the homes you create?
VM: Working across disciplines has reinforced that design is ultimately about human behavior and psychology. Working across cultures, meanwhile, has freed me from relying on trends. Instead, I focus on understanding the context I’m designing for and apply the same core principles of proportion and layering regardless of location.
Your newly completed Water Mill home feels deeply connected to its surroundings without relying on familiar Hamptons design tropes. What was your vision for the project, and how did you want the home to feel for the people living in it?
VM: For a home, the space has to hold up to daily life, not just a first impression. I wanted this house to feel timeless in use, and I designed it around the idea that a family needs different areas to gather and keep the conversation going. The kitchen flows around a large island, and the living room is grounded by an oversized custom sofa, so that after lunch, everyone naturally migrates there and stays.
Throughout the home, natural light, layered materials, and carefully chosen furnishings work together to create a sense of warmth and ease. How do you approach balancing architecture, interiors, and art so that a home feels both refined and deeply livable?
VM: The natural materials in this house, reclaimed limestone floors, zellige tile, leather, natural wood, create that sense of ease on their own. But it’s the proportion that makes a space actually succeed. People don’t necessarily register proportion consciously, but it’s always being calculated, and it’s what makes a space feel effortless rather than designed. “Art is the jewelry that finishes the outfit.”
Your projects never seem to follow a single signature style. Instead, each one feels highly personal to the client. What do you believe is the key to designing a home that is timeless rather than trend-driven?
VM: Designing a timeless home comes down to two things: truly listening to the client, and the composition of every element in the house. Color, print, material, proportion, it all has to be balanced. A timeless space is one that feels effortless, but that doesn’t mean plain. That balance is the ultimate goal.
As you look at your career today, what excites you most about residential design, and what do you hope clients ultimately feel when they walk into one of your completed homes?
VM: What excites me most is being able to improve someone’s well-being through the space they live in and wake up to every morning. It brings me real joy knowing I’ve helped someone appreciate their home more, and their lifestyle in general. “A well-designed home makes you want to spend time there, instead of constantly looking for happiness somewhere else.” I want people to understand that design is not just an aesthetic decision, but one that shapes your mood and well-being.
