From Real Estate to Award-Winning Interiors: My Story - Nate Cohen Ward

Nate in his award-winning Houston project

Introduction

For years, my career was rooted in helping families find the right home. Working in new home sales gave me a front-row seat to what people value most: the excitement of a fresh space, the promise of a new chapter, and the potential a blank canvas holds. But I realized that what lit me up the most wasn’t just handing over the keys — it was imagining what those homes could become. That passion led me here: founding Nate Ward Design Associates and building a practice devoted to creating interiors that are collected, layered, and soulful.

Roots in Design and Building

Design has always been part of my DNA. I was raised in a family of builders and spent my childhood deeply entrenched in creativity and construction, watching homes rise from the ground up. That early exposure gave me a respect for structure, detail, and craftsmanship that still influences how I work today. It taught me that great interiors start with strong bones — but it’s the layers added afterward that make a house feel like home.

Education and Continuing Growth

My formal training includes a degree in Interior Design and continuing education through UCLA’s Architecture & Interior Design program. I’m committed to never stopping my learning process — design and art are endlessly evolving, and I find energy in exploring new methods, ideas, and perspectives. Every course, lecture, and workshop sharpens my eye and expands the tools I can bring to my clients.

3D renderings developed as part of my continuing education in UCLA’s Architecture & Interior Design program. These visual studies were modeled and rendered entirely by me, demonstrating advanced proficiency in spatial planning, material application, lighting, and digital visualization.

Professional Experience

My career has taken me through nearly every facet of the housing and design world. I spent over seven years with a luxury multifamily developer, where I saw stunning spaces created from the walls out and learned how large-scale projects come together. After that, I worked for more than nine years with home builders and as a licensed realtor, guiding clients to find their dream homes and helping them see the potential within each space. Those years gave me a unique perspective: I not only understood the architecture and development side, but also the deeply personal process of how families choose and imagine their homes.

Recognition and Growth

Since taking the leap into design full-time, my work has been recognized with the 2025 PaperCity Design Award for Best Residential Design (Under 3,500 sq. ft.), featured on Homeworthy, and highlighted in PaperCity Magazine’s Designers to Watch. These honors mean the world to me, not just as validation, but as proof that following this path was the right choice.

Winner — 2025 PaperCity Design Award, Best Residential Design (Under 3,500 sq. ft.)

My Design Philosophy

I believe every item in a home should evoke memory, emotion, or curiosity. The best spaces make you pause, wonder, even smile — they feel alive because they reflect the people who inhabit them. I love pairing unexpected pieces together in ways that spark intrigue and humor, yet still work as a harmonious whole.

For me, “decorated” is the wrong word. Decorating feels impersonal, as if you’re filling a space with objects that have no connection to the owner. My goal for every client is to create a home that feels collected, not decorated — as though they’ve curated and lived with each piece over time. A place where every item tells a story, and where design goes beyond decoration into something soulful, layered, and deeply personal.

What This Means for Clients

Because I’ve worked on every side of the housing and design industry — development, home building, real estate, and interiors — I bring a holistic view to every project. I understand the bones of a home, the psychology of how people choose to live in it, and the artistry required to make it sing. That combination helps me guide clients with both practicality and creativity, delivering spaces that reflect who they are while elevating how they live.

Conclusion

The journey from home sales to interior design wasn’t a sharp turn — it was the natural evolution of a lifelong passion for art, architecture, and storytelling through space. Today, I’m proud to dedicate myself fully to design and to shaping interiors that are sculptural, layered, and soulful.

If you’re ready to transform your home into something personal and timeless, book a consultation here.

All The Love,

Nate