We were lucky to catch up with Tuan Nguyen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tuan, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I had a creative spirit at a very young age, always drawing, painting and finding beauty in the simplest things. It wasn’t until high school that a hand drafting class gave some kind of structure to my love of drawing. That class made me realize my creative side could also merge with my technical side and there was a profession that merged all of that to create built environments. At that point I knew I wanted to go to architecture school and pursue a profession in design.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have worked within numerous facets within the design industry for over 20 years. After earning my Bachelors and Masters of Architecture degree from Arizona State University, I worked at various architecture, design-build and construction firms designing and building luxury modern homes in Arizona. However, during the recession in the late 2000’s I had to reinvent myself and fell into interior design by complete accident. Interior design was never on my radar as I had studied and trained to create the built environment. It was always about the structure and how someone experienced the larger space, and less about the micro details of living in the space with furniture and space planning. However, I was always obsessed with the details of how things came together and how thoughtful nuances created design magic… and once I realized interior design was just that, I never looked back.

With this background, I do feel that I bring a very unique set of skills to the design table as I understand not only interior design but also architecture and construction. I can respect and pay homage to the architecture, while understanding how things are constructed, which leads to a more holistic and creative design approach. At Nouveau Design House, we take a very holistic approach to every project to create more than just beautiful spaces, but more importantly curating meaningful spaces that reflect the emotions and memories of the client.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I would have to say the most rewarding aspect of being a designer is being able to listen to the needs and wants of a client and creatively curate a design that not only fulfills their wants but shows them what they didn’t know could be done. Even after showing a client on paper with renderings and samples of what we are designing, nothing beats the emotions at the reveal when they see it manifested in real life all together.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best thing that society can do to support creatives is to not under value what we do. Whether it be an artist, graphic designer or interior designer. Though creatives make things look easy sometimes, it only looks that way because of the years of passion, training, sleepless nights and lots of trial and error. The price we charge reflects those years of experience. Do your research and support the original artist, creative or designer. Don’t buy reproductions or knock offs. What we do is try to create beauty in this world and please don’t take that for granted.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/nouveaudesignhouse

Image Credits
Jeffrey Johnson Miranda Estes Gene Yoon