ABOUT TAMARA
visit Tamara's interior design website & portfolio
NestbyTamara.com
To schedule a review, please reach out to us tamarastephenson1@gmail.com
tamara matthews-stephenson
designer & writer
917-328-1201
IFDA Rising Stars of Design, 2019 To schedule a review, please reach out to us tamarastephenson1@gmail.com
Tamara Matthews-Stephenson
is an interior designer,
freelance writer & product designer
In 2014 Tamara was named #1 Design Blog
in Modenus' Top 100 Design Blogs
2018 Modenus Top Influencer
2019 IFDA Rising Star of Design
named Nest by Tamara top interior design influencer
about Tamara
Tamara is a residential interior designer,
freelance writer and product designer
(co-owner and designer of home fabric collection Root Cellar Designs)
working and living in New York City. She and her family divide their time
between the bustling city and their beach cottage in the quiet hamlet of Springs in
East Hampton. The two different locations suit her personality well and have helped
to fine tune her design aesthetic, which some have referred to as"sophisticated cottage.”
Her interiors are a medley of modern furnishings, art and combined with antiques and
vintage finds, they are well edited yet layered and reflect the client’s personality
well since Tamara uses her astute observations to bring the finest combinations of
wares to each project.
interior design & writing
With two college degrees —a baccalaureate degree in English from Castleton University and
a certificate in interior design from Parsons School of Design — and over twenty years
experience working as an interior designer, Tamara has honed her eclectic skills as a designer,
writer and social media expert. In 2008, she began merging her former writing experiences with
her design training by penning her popular lifestyle blog Nest by Tamara. This year
Nest by Tamara blog received over 750,000 reads, and with this popularity Tamara is
often sought after to speak at symposiums, host events and invited on sponsored trips
traveling around the world from Paris' Maison Objet to Milan's Salone Mobile and
London's Decorex in order to write about cutting edge products and design, travel, e
ntertaining and hosting. In addition to running her design practice, she regularly
contributes editorials on assignments for websites and print publications, including
Dan’s Papers, Traditional Home, NYC&G and others. The blog audience grew
steadily and organically over the past 8 years, but much of the popularity can be credited
to Tamara’s innate ability to utilize social media across a variety of mediums in an
authentic and personal manner that is also professional.
a certificate in interior design from Parsons School of Design — and over twenty years
experience working as an interior designer, Tamara has honed her eclectic skills as a designer,
writer and social media expert. In 2008, she began merging her former writing experiences with
her design training by penning her popular lifestyle blog Nest by Tamara. This year
Nest by Tamara blog received over 750,000 reads, and with this popularity Tamara is
often sought after to speak at symposiums, host events and invited on sponsored trips
traveling around the world from Paris' Maison Objet to Milan's Salone Mobile and
London's Decorex in order to write about cutting edge products and design, travel, e
ntertaining and hosting. In addition to running her design practice, she regularly
contributes editorials on assignments for websites and print publications, including
Dan’s Papers, Traditional Home, NYC&G and others. The blog audience grew
steadily and organically over the past 8 years, but much of the popularity can be credited
to Tamara’s innate ability to utilize social media across a variety of mediums in an
authentic and personal manner that is also professional.
home textile designer, rootcellardesigns
In 2015, Tamara and her long-time friend fashion designer Susan Young began
collaborating on collections of textiles for the home.
They have now designed over four
full collections, their fabrics are sold in showrooms around the country to the design trade,
and they also make and sell collections of table linens and pillows.
Root Cellar Designs are made in America and the patterns are all created by the duo,
inspired by the history of decorative arts, nature, fashion and every day items.
collaborating on collections of textiles for the home.
They have now designed over four
full collections, their fabrics are sold in showrooms around the country to the design trade,
and they also make and sell collections of table linens and pillows.
Root Cellar Designs are made in America and the patterns are all created by the duo,
inspired by the history of decorative arts, nature, fashion and every day items.
philanthropy:
Tamara is a board member of non profit organization IFDA
(International Furnishings Design Association) New York Chapter and is acting
VP of Communications. She brought the non-profit organization onto social media,
writes their blog and created and manages their social media platforms.
Tamara was the former board member of The Flawless Foundation in New York City.
She chaired their annual fundraiser in 2102, planned the details from creating the dinner's
flower arrangements to decorating the room and tables for a 150-person dinner at the
historic Burden Mansion in New York City. She started the organization on social media
in their early days.
(International Furnishings Design Association) New York Chapter and is acting
VP of Communications. She brought the non-profit organization onto social media,
writes their blog and created and manages their social media platforms.
Tamara was the former board member of The Flawless Foundation in New York City.
She chaired their annual fundraiser in 2102, planned the details from creating the dinner's
flower arrangements to decorating the room and tables for a 150-person dinner at the
historic Burden Mansion in New York City. She started the organization on social media
in their early days.
Tamara is involved in myriad fundraisers and interior design industry charity events where she utilizes her creativity to showcase designs for a variety of causes. This past year she co-chaired the IFDA NY Chapter's annual Take A Seat chair charity auction in Soho, raising significant funds for the charity of choice, Habitat For Humanity NYC. In October, Tamara was invited to stylize a kitchen for Traditional Home magazine's annual Art of the Table in the Bilotta showroom and she partnered with Lenox, and in April she created a French sea-side dining room for charity event Design On A Dime with Housingworks. This upcoming April, she will be decorating a table for Lenox Hill Neighborhood House spring gala at Cipriani restaurant.
press
Mon Oncle blog
Global Lighting blog
Go Design Go blog
Housingworks blog
Circa Lighting blog
Kravet blog
Dot & Bo blog
Antiques Diva blog
Style Beat blog
Sarah Sarna's blog
Other recent press:
House Beautiful magazine
Pearson Showroom
FAUXOLOGY
Tamara's work featured in Elle Decor magazine
