Founded by creative duo Lia McNairy and Azar Fattahi, LALA Reimagined is a Los Angeles–based design studio celebrated for its bold, eclectic and deeply personal interiors. The name itself is layered: a nod to their initials, their home city, and the transformative spirit of “reimagining” spaces. Together, they have developed a reputation for creating homes that balance richness and warmth with a dash of surprise, always striving to make their clients feel as though they’ve stepped into something magical.
Both with European roots, Lia and Azar bring old-world references - Spanish prints, Provençal textures, jewel-toned palettes - into dialogue with Californian ease, often challenging clients to see their homes in unexpected ways. Their work has become synonymous with fearless mixing, intuitive layering, and a commitment to individuality over trend. In this interview, they share their approach to balance, the power of instinct, and how they turn cold houses into soulful, luxurious homes.
LALA Reimagined is built around thoughtful, layered interiors - what does "reimagined" mean to you when it comes to home decor?
Lia McNairy: We originally came up with ‘LALA’ which which is our names, Lia and Azar, and Los Angeles. But then we thought of the word reimagined because we felt like it resonated with what we do - we come in and transform someone's life visually. We just wanted to be able to give someone a magical, reimagined space. We always want to create an environment where people walk in and think that they can’t believe they get to live there.
What are the guiding principles that shape your design decisions?
Azar Fattahi: We walk into a space and the second we get a feeling, straight away. We just know what we’re going to want to do. In fact, we design the house in our minds before the clients give any feedback, it comes to us right away.
LM: We try to respect the integrity of the environment of the house. We did one project in Malibu that is on the water, and a beach house was always going to take inspiration from its coastal setting. But then we inject some LALA into it, which means you're going to get color, a mix of prints and sometimes it’s presenting an idea the client would never in a million years think would goe together or they’d even want it, but in fact they need it!
Your spaces are very eclectic. How do you approach mixing materials, textures, and eras in a way that still feels cohesive?
LM: We trust our intuition and instincts and bring things together - Azar is never ever scared of bringing different tones together that sometimes I'm like ‘what, really?’ and she’s like ‘yes, we’re doing it’, and the end result is amazing. With us, there are no rules, if it pleases our eyes then we’ll strive to find a way to use it.
Of the many different tones you might put together, are there certain colors you find yourselves instinctively drawn to?
AF: We love jewel tones - we’re never not into jewel tones. The deep reds and deep greens, anything that has a depth to it, we’re really drawn to it.
LM: Yes, we’re very into burgundy.
AF: And we’re definitely having a pink moment.
LM: Azar and I both grew up in Europe, so there is always an element of the south of France, or Spain, old world prints mixed with fabrics from Dedar that are so rich and sumptuous. Those tones are just so cocooning, we’re obsessed.
What feels more important right now: individuality or timelessness?
AF: You can have both - we would never ask the client to invest in trendy things for their houses. On our first big project, you can walk in today and it still looks like it was just done, because we didn’t pick anything trendy, it was all just balanced.
In that case, how do you help clients define their own style without relying too much on trends? Because clients often like what they’ve been seeing recently, which inevitably is influenced by trends.
LM: We want to respect them, we want to find out what they see for their house. But from the fact they’ve decided to work with us we assume they want a piece of us. You know, we’re not the safe designers to call, we always assume you’re drawn to us because you know we’ll come in and turn your world upside down.
AF: But with us, even if there is a bit of push-back you know they’re going to feel amazed that they live there in the end. Clients can't envision things right away, it’s our job to not let them say no when they don’t have the vision. Right now we’re working on a project where they told us ‘psychedelic farmhouse’ as the vibe they wanted. I didn't even know what that meant, but then we delivered ‘psychedelic farmhouse’ on a moodboard and it was too much - and so we started finessing, making it more LALA.
That’s an intriguing brief! Where do you think it came from? What do you think people are craving more of in their interiors right now?
AF: Warmth, and a craving for it. We get hired to do a lot of these new houses that are going up in LA and feel a little cold, and our design makes it feel like home, warm and luxurious.
LM. Yes, luxury is important. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but with the right eye you can pick the right piece and you put it together and it feels like luxury. If someone challenged us to furnish an apartment using only flea market and thrift store finds it could end up looking like we spent a ton.
AF: You have to have the eye, to find the diamond among the junk, but we beeline for things, we just know.
Finally, what does a well-designed life look like to you?
LM: Being able to walk into a space where you love everything and everything pleases your eye, whether it is a fabric or a pillow or an object.
AF: The word that comes to me is ‘balance’, loving your surroundings is part of wellbeing, and the most important thing about life.
See more of Lia and Azar's work at LALA Reimagined
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